Errores dietéticos en el lactantelas bebidas vegetales (parte 2)

Resumen

Introduction: In common practice some families that use regularly vegetable drinks are found. Sometimes as a part of a varied diet, sometimes substituting cow’s milk. Milk is an important food during childhood and a key constituent of the diet in infants and toddlers. If there is a need to avoid milk, it should be substituted by a food with a similar nutritional profile. Goal: To review the composition of commercially available vegetable drinks in Spain as well as to present data on the relationship between intake of infancy and nutritional deficiencies in this age. Methods: Information present in the web and nutrition labels in packages was obtained. A bibliographic search was done (PubMed, since 1990) using as Mesh terms: “vegetable beverages or rice beverages or soy beverages or plant milk beverages or rice milk” and “infant nutrition”. Results: 74 trade mark vegetable drinks were reviewed (24 soy drinks, 14 rice drinks, 12 almond drinks, 16 oat drinks and 8 horchata drinks). At least 27 cases of nutritional deficits when vegetable drink were consumed as exclusive or principal drink by infants have been published (3 using soy drink, 15 with a rice drink, 9 with almond drink). There was a correlation between soy drink and rickets, kwashiorkor and rice drinks, and metabolic alcalosis and use of an almond-based drink. Discussion: As a recommendation it would be profitable if vegetable drink packages include in the labelling a comment alarming on the use of these drinks as exclusive or main drink in infancy and young children and that they are not an alternative to cow’s milk. Pediatricians should be aware of the nutritional risk when babies consume these products regularly.