Lay Off Of The Veggies A Bit

An overly vegetarian diet is bad for your kids:

Children who grow up on a strict vegetarian diet could suffer physical and mental health problems, a University of California scientist told attendees Monday at a Washington, D.C., science conference.

Lindsay Allen and her colleagues at UC Davis studied 544 children in Kenya, where children are fed almost exclusively on staple crops, Britain's Independent newspaper reported. Their diet lacked nutrients essential for the growth of brain and muscle tissue, Allen reported at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference.

Allen said just two spoonfuls of meat a day given to these children produced a dramatic improvement in their physical and mental development, the newspaper reported.