Vegan Nutrition with Marty Davey

Marty Davey is a Registered Dietitian and has a Masters degree in Food and Nutrition from Marywood University. She became a vegetarian in 1980 when she discovered that the chemicals in American meat made them unsellable to Europeans. She and her husband have raised their son as a vegan. She teaches nutrition and has a private practice specializing in assisting clients transitioning to a plant-based regime step by step. Her website is martydavey.com

My 20 month old is eating a vegetarian diet and continues to have loose stools. What can I add to her diet to correct this?

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Let 's start with what could need immediate attention. If your child is having bloody or black stools you need to see your pediatrician immediately. Also, be sure that your child is properly hydrated. If your child does not urinate or has almost no urine for 12 hours or longer, is dizzy or not alert, they are not hydrated and need attention from a healthcare provider.

If your child is basically healthy and has intermittent watery stools then these can be signs of a number of health issues which have nothing to do with being a vegetarian. These issues include celiac disease and other GI disorders, allergies, bacteria imbalances and low fiber. You doctor is the best person to rule out celiac or other GI disorders and a stool analysis will show any bacterial or parasitic infections. Being vegetarians, if you ingest dairy products, your child may be allergic to dairy. Curtailing dairy intake should clear up the symptoms. In addition to milk, some kids just can't tolerate juices. You can try decreasing or eliminating juice from your child's diet. A child under the age of two should be having only a couple of ounces of juice daily.

So, assuming you have checked everything out with your doctor, and there are none of the problems listed above, now you want to address dietary intake. Watery stools can be a response to diet changes. This is very common. Also, loose stools can mean the residual food is pushed through the colon without the necessary time to absorb liquids. An increase in fiber in the diet assists this absorption. Is your child getting enough whole grains?

Think about cooking grains. You add a lot of water in ratio to the amount of grains. The grains swell absorbing the water. Giving your child brown rice, quinoa, kamut or bulgar wheat may alleviate the problem. These foods absorb water in the colon and slow down transition time (the time it takes the food to travel through the digestive tract). The absorptive property of grains will sweep out toxins from the stool and the slow transit time will allow for water to be properly removed from the stool.

One herbal remedy I have used and noticed was listed in the book, Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child, by Janet Zand, Lac, OMD; Rachel Walton, RN; and Bob Rountree, MD, was Slippery Elm. I wouldn 't just make tea with the Slippery Elm herb itself with a child under the age of three unless you consult with an herbalist. However, I used the product, Throat Coat, (a commercial tea with Slippery Elm as its most prominent ingredient) for my son. It has a naturally sweet taste and I let him be the judge of how much he wanted. He drank about two tablespoons. His symptoms were eliminated. Now, it could have been that whatever was ailing him was done, but Slippery Elm and the tea, Throat Coat, have taken care of a host of the garden-variety GI disorders I have dealt with.

Watery stools can be a simple reaction to a diet change or a symptom of a more pressing health concern. Err on the side of caution and inform your healthcare provider with intermittent watery stools or diarrhea-like symptoms that last more than 2 days.

Get your own personal nutrition consultation with Marty here.

Disclaimer: The advice given here is for eductional purposes only. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.

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