A researcher claims that children need nutrients that can only be found in animal source foods.
According to Chinese medicine, our diet should consist of a mixture of Wood-element and Earth-element foods. Wood is provided by plant-based foods. Earth is provided by animal-based foods and, to a much lesser extent, nuts and beans (which belong to both elements). A vegan diet thus has excessive Wood and deficient Earth.
Also, Wood tends to diminish Earth, making the vegan diet even more unbalanced. People who are on a vegan diet for a long time are often emaciated due to the lack of Earth.
For children, the problem is even worse, according to Chinese medicine, because growth requires Earth element foods. If it’s very difficult to get enough Earth in a vegan diet, it’s virtually impossible to get enough Earth for growth.
A lacto-, ovo-, or lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet is much better. Even that requires some caution.
My own view: as far as I know, there are no traditionally vegan cultures, only lacto- and/or ovo-vegetarian ones. There may be a reason for that….
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