It's crazy when you think about all the different kinds of foods we eat.

We just swallow and hope it all works out for the best.

Well, as it turns out, there are better ways to think about keeping our bodies humming healthfully along.

Welcome to the Nutrition Facts podcast.

I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

In this episode, Dr. Christine Dennis continues a deep dive

into the research around reading plant-based kids. Dr. Dennis is our new senior research

scientist who also happens to be a plant-based parent. Today, Dr. Dennis asks, how can we plan

well-balanced plant-based diets for infants and kids?

The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics considers plant-based diets suitable for pregnancy,

as well as during lactation, infancy, and childhood, when they are well-planned.

So what goes into planning a well-balanced plant-based diet for infants and kids?

For infants, breast milk is the basis of nutrition, consisting not only of critical nutrients,

but also immune-boosting compounds providing both short and long-term benefits.

The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of life and continuing with the introduction of complementary foods.

What do we know about the breast milk composition of plant-based moms?

Vegetarian and vegan mothers provide breast milk with comparable nutritional value, with a couple

important caveats.

In a direct comparison of breast milk from omnivore and vegetarian or vegan moms, the notable difference

was lower DHA, the long chain omega-3, and the milk from plant-based moms due to their

avoiding fish, which is probably a good thing given how contaminated the aquatic food chain is.

Thankfully, ensuring proper supplementation with pollutant-free sources can bridge this gap,

...