Bill Clinton and Mike Tyson have joined the ranks of Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi in adopting a vegan diet, clearly signaling the popularity of the diet among adults. What I've been hearing as I travel around the country, though, is that more and more kids are adopting a vegan way of eating, and some parents who are unfamiliar with it are curious about this new trend, especially since it's so different from what they grew up with. So how should you react when your child announces one day, "Mom/Dad, that's it -- no more meat, dairy, or eggs for me!"?
First of all, be really happy. Children today are in the worst physical shape of any generation in history. One in three is overweight. One in five has an abnormal cholesterol level while still in high school. One in three children born in 2000 will develop diabetes at some point in his or her life, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A child who has decided to go vegetarian -- or, better still, vegan -- gains a measure of protection against all of these problems. And isn't it a great thing that your child cares and is concerned about where his or her food comes from? Good job! Developing and acting on empathy is surely a good thing for everyone.
The American Dietetic Association, which reviewed all of the science on vegan and vegetarian diets, says that they are better for our children than diets that contain meat, dairy, and eggs. In the ADA's position paper on plant-based diets, they write, "Vegetarian diets in childhood and adolescence can aid in the establishment of lifelong healthful eating patterns and can offer some important nutritional advantages." As just one example, researchers studied a group of 1,765 children and adolescents in Southern California, and vegetarians were, on average, about an inch taller than their meat-eating friends.
That makes sense: Look at the many athletes who are now going vegan because it improves their endurance and performance: Mac Danzig, the Ultimate Fighting Championship winner, ultra-marathoner Rich Roll, tri-athlete Brendan Brazier, "Olympian of the Century" Carl Lewis, and football star Ricky Williams are but a few who nod to their diet as a big contribution to their success.
So as more and more of our kids adopt a vegan or vegetarian diet, we would be wise to join them. The American Dietetic Association explains: "Vegetarian diets are often associated with a number of health advantages, including lower blood cholesterol levels, lower risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure levels, and lower risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Vegetarians tend to have lower body mass index (BMI) and lower overall cancer rates."
And vegan food is very easy to work into your routine: You just find the meals that work for the family and can go into your weekly rotation. Some very simple options include bean burritos, baked beans and veggie sausage, lentil soup, whole grain breads, pizza made with Daiya (cheese made from tapioca) or any other kind of non-dairy cheese, vegetable soups and salads, oatmeal, rice, quinoa (a complete protein grain), and non-dairy milks like rice, almond, oat, or soy. You might also want to check out some meat substitutes like veggie burgers and dogs, etc. Every mainstream grocery store now stocks Morningstar and Boca products, both of which are great transition foods for the new vegan. Best of all, they are well liked by most kids.
Are you one of those parents (close to 100 percent, in my experience) who worries about your child's eating habits? According to Dr. Neal Barnard, faculty member of George Washington University School of Medicine and President of the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine:
Vegan children have better nutrition than other kids. This is in part because they are skipping the cholesterol and animal fat, and in part because as they search for new foods to eat (to replace the meat), they often discover and start eating healthy foods. While all kids are supposed to eat their veggies, according to the ADA, vegan and vegetarian kids actually do!Here are two simple rules that ensure good nutrition:
Let's consider a few key nutrients that are critical for growing children. Here's what Dr. Barnard says:
Protein: There is ample protein in grains, vegetables, beans, and bean products (including tofu and soymilk). If your child consumes a normal variety of these foods over the course of a day, she will receive all the protein she needs.
Calcium: Green leafy vegetables and legumes -- or "greens and beans," for short--are rich in calcium. This is particularly true for broccoli, collards, kale, bok choy, and Brussels sprouts. Less valuable for calcium is spinach, because the calcium in spinach is poorly absorbed. You'll also find plenty of calcium in fortified foods, such as fortified orange juice and most soy milks. And don't fight over vegetables your child doesn't like. Just serve the ones that do go over well. Tastes broaden as the years go by.
Iron: Greens and beans come to our rescue again. They are rich in iron. And vitamin-C-rich foods, such as citrus fruits, tend to enhance the absorption of iron consumed in the same meal. If you are concerned, a daily vitamin-mineral supplement will have you covered easily.
Vitamin B12 is essential for healthy blood and healthy nerves. It is not found in unfortified plant foods, although it is present in dairy products and eggs, which you may or may not be serving. But vitamin B12 is easy to find in many fortified breakfast cereals, fortified soymilk, and in all common multiple vitamins. I recommend that everyone -- vegetarian or not -- take a multiple vitamin or other convenient source of vitamin B12 every day. Studies show that meat-eaters often run low due to poor absorption.
Dr. Barnard goes on to say:
"If you are interested in trying soy-based meat substitutes, they may have health benefits. Girls who consume soymilk, tofu, or similar products on a daily basis during adolescence have significantly less risk of breast cancer in adulthood, compared to people who avoid soy. That said, soy products are not essential. There is plenty of good nutrition in the other beans, as well as in the broad range of vegetables, fruits, and grains."
A stir fry with tofu, rice, and veggies is super fast and tasty for everyone, as is a hearty chili with beans and veggie protein crumbles (again, found in your grocer's freezer). It's really quite easy to "veganize" your favorite family traditions. Good snacks are bagels with peanut or almond butter, whole grain pretzels, or apples and bananas. And a great way to sneak in a veggie for your child is to make a smoothie with juice or non-dairy milk, blueberries and banana; then throw in a handful of frozen broccoli. You can't taste the broccoli (I promise!) and because of the blueberries, your kids won't see green!
Happy Eating!
Ellen Kanner: Meatless Monday: What Raw Vegan Looks Like
Vegan.com — Recipes, Resources, & Information
Either way, vegan ain't good for anyone.
Meat grown in normal conditions - from grass fed animals, with no hormones or anti-biotics, the way it used to be done before factory farming, is not harmful, especially if eaten in moderation. This is one reason why chronic and metabolic deseases, like diabetis, cancer; high cholesterol, high blood pressure, thyroid malfunction and hormone disbalance have increased exponentially in since the advent of factory farming and are called "modern deseases".
The way we grow our food is in direct realtion to its quality and nutrition value (or lack thereof) and with the epidemic of rapidly declining health in America. Add to that the lack of variety that comes from the traditional American diet and you have a permanently sick nation.
Stop spreading nonsense in order to defend vaganism. Whether part of a vegan diet or a regular diet, advising processed faux-food to children is very wrong.
Part of the problem, is that when something works so well or so horribly for us, it's hard to imagine others having such a radically different experience.
You can argue that personally it's more important to you to enjoy the foods you love or not worry about it than achieve what's optimal (or as close as we've figured out), but you can't argue that it's all relative.
from http://www.ajcn.org/content/70/3/516S.full
Thats right boys and girls, unless you have a family history of ischemic heart disease there is no real benefit to this diet. As an added bonus it is hard to follow and requires supplementation that could be very bad for you. For even more fun you could eat fish, dairy and eggs and be even healthier than vegans or heavy meat eaters.
Knowledge is power..... but you can't have any if you have brain damage from a bad diet.
Just say no.
What do vegetarians have against vegetables?
It's entirely possible for kids to be healthy vegetarians, so long as they are taught how to eat properly. And we should be doing that for ALL our kids, anyways.
The truth is, rather or not you think eating meat is an important part of your diet, our current factory farming practices are unsustainable and do incredible harm to the environment. The amount of land, resources, and grain that goes to meat livestock is obscene. The conditions the animals live in are inhumane and unsanitary. We pump hormones and drugs into the animals like it's going out of style. A 2005 report by Environmental Defense estimated that 70 percent of the antibiotics used in the U.S. go to chickens, hogs, and beef cattle. America’s farmed animals produce 1.3 billion tons of waste per year, or 5 tons for every U.S. citizen.
I realize that a vegetarian diet isn't for everyone, but the amount of meat Americans eat is unhealthy and we can't sustain the production without doing more harm to the environment. Reducing the amount of meat eaten helps everyone. If Americans reduced their meat consumption by even 10% it would free 12,000,000 tons of grain - enough to feed 60,000,000 people.
I get the same hate when i tell people i don't eat animals or dairy (stopped eating fish at 14), and have no interest in doing so... i find it easier just to tell people i am allergic to all dairy and choose not to eat meat. People do get so defensive as soon as you utter the "v" word. I swear I'm not Vegangelical, I don't have time to bang my head against a brick wall challenging your core beliefs about food. You can eat whatever you want, its all good, just acknowledge that it was once a living creature that was killed for you and give it the thought and respect it deserves... In undergrad (at UGA) my major was animal science, and let me tell you those baby piglets scream like crazy when taken from mom and have their tail clipped.... not to mention are slaughtered, "humanely" or conventionally.
That being said, I totally support small farms and fight for farmers to have the right to slaughter and sell meat from their farms. Meat should be expensive, properly raised (according to species specific needs) and something that you eat on special occasions, or perhaps at most 1-2 times a week.
None seem to be referencing any scientific studies or any data. How do you come to your opinions?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism
"The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada have stated that
at all stages of life,
a properly planned vegetarian diet is "healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provides health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases"."
And that lame ADA paper was written by a man, WInston Craig, who is vegan for his religion. He is a faculty member at a Seventh Day Adventist University, http://www.andrews.edu/cas/nutrition/faculty/craig_winston.html, where part of his job is to work on getting people to be at least vegetarian, if not vegan. The position paper, as it were, http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/2009_ADA_position_paper.pdf, offers conclusions that a separate panel of members evaluated for sound evidence. 80% of the conclusions Craig makes are considered to be either limited in the data existing to support the conclusion or actually not even able to be evaluated with any certainty, because there is no evidence to support the claim.
There are two reasons why I read comments..one to see what people are thinking and the other to gather factual information...
Imo there is not enough research going into diets and nutrition...and a lot of opinions. For example how much water should be drunk in one day? The source of the 8 to 10 glasses of water is unknown..but you read it constantly.
Death by veganism in NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/21/opinion/21planck.html
While many vegans maintain their diet for health reasons, there are those that are vegan for "moral" reasons which can get sticky in a debate about optimal diets. If vegans were ONLY vegan for health reasons, there would be far less animosity on all sides.
It doesn't help when authors such as this one use post hoc ergo propter hoc arguments to make claims about how unhealthy eating ANY animal products can be and that imitation vegan foods are just as tasty as meat and dairy products. Some of us are still bitter from when well intentioned adults tried to push carob on us as a "healthy" alternative to chocolate when we were kids.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15702597
Forum Nutr. 2005;(57):147-56.
Vegetarian diets: what are the advantages?
Leitzmann C.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16441942
Proc Nutr Soc. 2006 Feb;65(1):35-41.
Health effects of vegetarian and vegan diets.
Key TJ, Appleby PN, Rosell MS.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19562864
J Am Diet Assoc. 2009 Jul;109(7):1266-82.
Position of the American Dietetic Association: vegetarian diets.
Craig WJ, Mangels AR; American Dietetic Association.
Source
Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI, USA.
Abstract
"It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes."
Imo its possible to have a healthy vegetarian diet...but it takes effort and knowledge
If we want our kids to be healthier, eliminating HFCS and processed foods is a good start, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. While Americans may eat far more animal products than is healthy, I've yet to see any study claiming that a vegan diet is more healthy than a Japanese, Mediterranean or a dozen other non-American diets high in fiber, fruits and vegetables with moderate animal content, especially for children. Ironically, we know far more about nutrition for our cats or dogs than for our kids.
By the way, there is very little evidence that a high fiber diet is beneficial. That claim is right up there with the cholesterol myth.
http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/32/2/239.full
However, I do think this article should be removed, because it could be just the impetus some halfwit needs to make their baby "go veg."
Adults have the choice and adults are capable of self-monitoring and changing if something is not working but children and especially infants cannot provide the feedback necessary.
Their growing systems needs are so different from an adults that deficiencies can have a profound effect before anyone notices anything.
Isn't is just as "irresponsible" to "force" a baby to eat processed foods, drink milk with rGBH, and meats full of antibiotics and hormones? No, I'm guessing you wouldn't say it was because that's how it's always been. So it's not for you, we get that. It might not even be for me. The truth of the matter is that everyone needs to eat more responsibly.
Any diet that rejects processed foods, hormone/antibiotic laden meat/dairy and includes more plants and nourishing plant proteins and fats are much better off than the standard American diet, so I really can't knock most vegans because they are doing some good for their children. Those kids are much better off than the ones eating McDonalds every other day. There is no denying that.
Animal product supplementation can be beneficial IN SMALL AMOUNTS (as we are omnivores, not carnivores), but if it is non-organic, and corn/cannibal fed, that is counterproductive.
Personally, my family eats a diet rich in unprocessed plant foods with eggs being our main animal fat/protein source. They are by far the most nutritionally superior animal food.
I especially find it difficult to believe that eggs cause problems with the female reproductive system. Nothing would stop any habit like preventing reproduction in a population.
If anyone feels that one type of protein is superior, or more or less plants, meats, fruit, fish, etc. is better or worse, I suggest it is because of a genetic pre-disposition to utilize certain foods better over others based on ancestral diet.
Dairy, for instance, especially milk, was much more common in some populations than others so we find descendants with more or fewer cases of lactose intolerance depending on the ancestral habit of drinking milk.
For me, if I eat too many eggs, I do not feel well so I make sure I do not have them everyday or more than two at a time. (Which makes me unhappy when superior deviled eggs are around.)
I find it amusing that there is such debate about what is evident as the optimal diet. One end believes the more meat the better. The other claims that animal products in ANY amount are harmful. Neither are correct!
I have loved being more informed about something as intimate as diet - it's what makes up our physicality. I couldn't imagine putting one more dead carcass (sorry to be gross, but that's what meat is! It's weird to think about, but true.) into myself ever again.