Is it possible that a child's vegetarian diet could be responsible for him catching so many colds? Nutrition expert Emer Delaney looks at the problem.

Raisingkids member's problem
I have a four-year-old son and I cook three meals a day (different breakfasts each day) and he gets his 5 fruit and vegetables every single day. We're vegetarian and we get our protein from tofu and lentils. He's in nursery and seems to get a cough or runny nose every second month. Is this normal? Has it got something to do with his diet?

Nutrition Expert Emer's Advice
It's very common for kids to pick up all sorts of bugs from nursery. As your son is vegetarian, it's very important that his diet is healthy and well balanced and you include all the food groups at each meal.

Starchy foods, which include bread (wholegrain varieties are great), breakfast cereals (some can be high in salt though, so make sure you read the label), rice, pasta and potatoes, are a good source of fibre, B vitamins and minerals and should make up a major proportion of your meal.

Beans, pulses, tofu and textured vegetable products are all great sources of protein which you are already including in your sons diet. Soya, rice, oat, peas and coconut milk are good alternatives to cow's milk and are a really great source of protein - buy the calcium fortified varieties where you can. Supermarkets now also have soya yogurts and soya cheese which should be included for variety. It's really important for children to have an adequate source of protein in their diet as it's needed for growth and development, so including a variety of these foods is important.

Just to note, vitamin B12 is mainly found in animal products, so it is important for vegetarians to eat fortified foods, e.g. Marmite, Tastex or Borrmere on toast or bread or take this as a supplement. Cereals are also fortified with vitamin B12 and seaweed is also another source.