Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
Leo
Virgo
Libra
Scorpio
Sagittarius
Capricorn
Aquarius
PiscesWhy Teens Shouldn't Be Vegetarians
Guest blogger JJ Virgin: Not too long ago, I wrote about why parents shouldn't pick on picky eaters. However, there's one type of picky eater that I'm particularly concerned about: vegetarians. Many kids make the decision to give up meat independently of their parents, due to concerns about their weight, an interest in animal rights or the influence of vegetarian celebrities. In fact, vegetarianism is gaining in popularity among young people: A 2005 Harris Interactive study found that 3 percent of Americans between 8 and 18 were vegetarians. That may not sound like a lot, but in a previous poll, that figure was 1 percent.
- share:
-
-
-
more:
- |
- 40 Comments
Such a terrible article. The American Dietetic Association, the leading group of nutritionists in the world, says that vegetarian diets, including vegan diets, are appropriate for all age groups, including pregnancy, infancy, childhood and old age.
Besides, any so-called nutritionist who uses the word “carb” as if it has any real meaning is a quack.
I agree with both Jamie J and Alicia totally! This article really isn’t helpful and is misleading also. As adults we are responsible for ensuring our dependents get a healthy balanced diet, regardless of what they eat, it can be totally be achieved whether you are a veggie or a vegan. As a long-term vegan I’m more than ok, none of limbs have fallen off, I can even do all of the same things other people can!!! I just choose not to use my body as a graveyard for animal corpses and I applaud others for being compassionate enough to do so also. I just hope the majority of people are not put off going veggie by this article and go onto approach organisations who actually know what they are talking about!!!!
If your child decides to become a vegetarian and you want to support them consult your pediatrician.
Make sure that they are eating cereal and soy milk that are fortified with B12. (If they are vegan double check, some soy milk is processed in dairy facilities.) Some B12 can be gained from mushrooms as well. Know what is and isn’t in the food they are eating and get them a good multi-vitamin. Skip the fake meats, they don’t add much.
If you can, use this as a teaching moment to encourage them to grow a small veggie garden. If they grow heirloom veggies they’ll get worlds more nutrition than the tasteless junk mass grown for the market.
You can also use this to spend more time with your teen. Have fun working out new recipes so that their food isn’t bland. You can make main meals that are good for them and add meat separately for the “carnivores” (lol) so that everyone is eating healthy.
So since you don’t condone teenagers being vegetarians you are going to hand out misinformation. Which even if this were true a simple regiment of daily dietary supplements would more than compensate for any lack of nutrition not being taken in from the diet. Thanks for trying to force your opinion with half truths and misinformation though.
I don’t know how a teenager could even be a vegetarian! When I was that age I wanted protein not fats. If teens have the willpower go for it. But it seems they would lean to bad starches and lipids to make up for the missing factor of protein!
Guest Blogger JJ Virgin needs to get educated on the subject before she writes and publishes an article! This article is filled with false and misleading information. I’m very disappointed in your website for allowing this inaccurate information to be included in your website. B-12 is not lacking from a regular vegetarian diet. A vegetarian diet is good for you! It’s true that some teens and adults do not eat healthy diets, but it probably comes from lack of education, fast food eating, or laziness, not a vegetarian diet. Next time, write an article you know something about!
Wow! I never thought I would take an article so personally. I do not agree with your insertion. In fact, several of my friends and I starting living a vegetarian lifestyle when we were in high school. All of us are now almost 30y/o and extremely healthy. We keep our regular doctors checkups and have never suffered from anemia, a lack of iron, or a lack of B-12. I think that this article would be better written if it was approached differently and outlined how a teen can be a healthy vegetarian and get the nutrients needed without meat. http://cleverlychanging.com/?p=460
This is simply contrary to fact. The scientific information about the benefits of a vegan diet and the hazards of a meat and dairy diet are well known in the medical and scientific community. And The American Dietetic Association heartily recommends a vegetarian diet. Here’s what they say at their website:
“Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence. Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits…and have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer.”
Dr. Frank Oski, former director of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University said, “There is no reason to drink cow’s milk at any time in your life. It was designed for calves, it was not designed for humans, and we should all stop drinking it today, this afternoon.”
Dr. Spock agreed, saying, “[T]here was a time when cow’s milk was considered very desirable. But research, along with clinical experience, has forced doctors and nutritionists to rethink this recommendation.”
Anyone who says that a vegan/vegetarian diet is deficient is just ignorant of the science.
And what is your suggestion for the ethical aspect of it? Teens should be ignorant? They should be heartless? They should act immorally if it’s for their own selfish benefit?
And what if pure vegetarian (= no animal products) kids lack an essential nutriment? Meat-fed kids lack TONS of nutriments (calcium, iodine, vitamin C, vitamin E, fiber, folate, magnesium, source: USDA. Food and Nutrient Intakes by Individuals in the United States, by Region, 1994-96.) and absorb more protein and cholesterol than what they need, which result in health issues a lot more severe than “chest pain”, such as diabetes, heart problems, obesity, osteoporosis (later in life obv), attention deficits, asthma, autism, etc.
Besides, vegan friendly B12 (synthesized from bacteria and whatnot) supplements are available in any health store, so “vegetarians” are not those who lack it, “uninformed people” are. If vegan education was widespread, things like this wouldn’t happen. The solution isn’t to make people go back to contributing to the murder and slavery industry, it is to educate them on nutrition.
(ps. don’t confound vegetarian diet (100% non animal) and ovo-lacto-vegetarian diet, veganism not being a diet, but a vow to be compassionate, therefore to adopt a pure vegetarian (no animal products) diet, among other things)
Yikes!! I’m not here to throw stones, but please understand that well planned Vegetarian & Vegan diets have been scientifically proven to benefit human health by reducing the risk of many diseases (including some types of cancer) as well as helping to maintain healthy body weight & adding years to our life!! Animal studies (I hate to even mention animal testing, but it does add value to my point) has shown that mice on animal protein diets got the most cancer, and mice with cancer were able to reverse the disease by eating a plant based diet.
Please refer to The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell.
We need to remember that all of the nutrients we get from “meat”, originally came from the plants consumed by the animal. Vegans & Vegetarian simply cut out the middle man. As for B12, Vegetarians do get this bacteria from eggs & dairy. Vegans must get it from fortified foods or supplements. I do agree that if teens are only eating “processed junk”, they are not on a good nutritional path. But if they are consuming a “well planned” plant based diet, they are most definitely on their way to a life filled with optimum health & longevity!
This is one of the most irresponsible articles I’ve ever read. Shame on you. That is all.
There is so much misinformation in this article, it’s hard to know where to start. Do you even no where B12 comes from? I don’t mean to be unkind, but any author publishing online has a responsibility for a reasonable amount of accuracy. This article is, at best, a regurgitation of nutritional myths. Floating misinformation as fact in this way is reckless and dangerous. I would refer the author, and all readers, to educate themselves with scientific fact from sources that know what they’re talking about - like The American Dietetic Association (ADA), and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).
Here’s a direct quote from The American Dietetic Association on their position on vegetarian diets: such diets, if well-planned, are healthful and nutritious for adults, infants, children and adolescents and can help prevent and treat chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes.
Better yet, please read T. Colin Campbell’s, The China Study, and get back to us.
This article contradicts the stance of the ADA, and many many other accomplished dietitians, nutritionists, doctors and associations. B12 is in many foods a vegetarian can eat, and can easily be supplemented for vegans. A vegan diet encourages a broader palate filled with fresh fruits and veggies. If your teenager isn’t getting them, encourage them to eat a broader variety of healthful foods, not hormone laden animal products. Even organic grass-fed beef still get antibiotics, and have a hormone rush before slaughter that stays in your meat. Please research more before forcing your teen to go against their own morality, especially when meat is so unhealthy.
I decided to stop eating animals at age 13, and was lucky to have supportive parents who helped me make good eating choices. Instead of discouraging young people who are thinking critically about their impact on the world (and their health!), I suggest doing your research and helping teens live out their convictions responsibly.
I loved what youve done here. The design is elegant, your content classy. Yet, youve got an edginess to what youre offering here. Ill definitely come back for more if you keep this up. Dont lose hope if not too many people see your vision, know youve got a fan right here who values what youve got to say and the way youve presented yourself. Good on you!
Most people, when they criticize, whether they like it or hate it, they’re talking about product. That’s not art, that’s the result of art. Art, to whatever degree we can get a handle on (I’m not sure that we really can) is a process. It begins in the heart and the mind with the eyes and hands.
Hi , I enjoyed this awesome post. Bookmarked it.
A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them.
I admire your website , it’s filled of lot of information. You just got one perennial visitor of this site!
What?!!! That’s very misleading… how can you claim to be a nutrition expert when you don’t know that B12 is found in eggs, milk and other dairy products, all of which are mainstays of vegetarian diets?