Vegan Diet - Healthy?

[Lily C.]

Today I was talking to a preteen and her mother about nutrition, and her mother explained that the family follows a strict vegan diet (no dairy, eggs, or meat). The mother was actually a raw vegan or raw foodist, and she only eats unprocessed vegan foods that have not been heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Do you think a vegan diet is healthy enough for growing kids and teenagers?

P.S. I am not criticizing any type of alternative diet as I am a lacto vegetarian (no meat or eggs, yes dairy).

[BabyLady, BSN, RN]

A well balanced vegan diet can be perfectly healthy. A poor diet, of any kind, is poor. Some vegans may need to learn how to balance their diet, as in the case of the couple (from Alabama?) that basically starved their newborn to death by only feeding it soy milk. Some cultures, like the Indian Jains and I think Krishnas, have been beyond vegan for a while (vegan, plus some other food restrictions). Obviously, their culture and religion has survived generations, so it can be done in a healthy fashion.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004393.html

But the infant mortality rate in India is 5x that of the USA.

[Reno1978, BSN, RN]

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004393.html

But the infant mortality rate in India is 5x that of the USA.

And it's obvious that the blasted vegan diet is to blame....

[Atheos]

In parts of Africa they NEVER eat dairy products.

Yet in those same parts they have lower incidents of osteoporosis.

The other thing to remember is that milk is NOT the best or only source of calcium. It's the EASIEST source which is why the government was pushing in the earlier part of the last decade.

Food Amount Calcium Yogurt, plain, low fat 8 oz 415 Skim milk 1 cup 306 Spinach, frozen, Boiled 1 cup 291 Yogurt, plain, whole milk 8 oz 275 Cheese food, pasteurized American 1 oz 162 Cottage cheese, 1% milk fat 1 cup 138 Baked beans, canned 1 cup 154 Oranges 1 cup 72 Trail mix (nuts, seeds, chocolate chips) 1 cup 159 Almonds 1 oz (24 nuts) 70 Blackeye peas, boiled 1 cup 211 Green peas, boiled 1 cup 94

Milk isn't the only source. Stop believing everything the government tells you. There are many ways to get nutrition without propping up the Dairy Industry.

A true vegan, and vegetarians, with proper intake can easily get all the vitamins, proteins and minerals they need.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

The infant mortality in India is most likely due to economic factors, availability of medicine, etc.

[talaxandra]

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004393.html

But the infant mortality rate in India is 5x that of the USA.

I think we can look at other factors (contaminated water would rank highest,followed by standard of medical care, irregular maternal access to food, poor education) before veganism. And the vegan Indian religions Loner cited do not comprise the total Indian population.

Infant mortality is clearly multifactorial - that's why your infant mortality rate (6.4) and life expectancy (78) is lower than ours (4.6, 80.6), Canada's (4.6, 80.3) the UK's (5.0, 78.7) and New Zealand (5.7, 79.0), among others - one factor does not a (valid) statistic make.

[Reno1978, BSN, RN]

I think each Vegan has their own philosophy regarding why they choose to eat a Vegan diet. For some, it's strictly health reasons and for others, it's because of animal cruelty reasons.

I have many Vegans in my family and one thing I am most impressed with is how fulfilling their meals are. I've been impressed with my cousin's Vegan Thanksgiving feasts on many occasions: http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html

There are many nutritional considerations that Vegans need to be aware of in order to ensure all of their nutritional requirements are met. A website that does a good job explaining this is: http://www.veganhealth.org/

[Pepperlady]

I think each Vegan has their own philosophy regarding why they choose to eat a Vegan diet. For some, it's strictly health reasons and for others, it's because of animal cruelty reasons.

I have many Vegans in my family and one thing I am most impressed with is how fulfilling their meals are. I've been impressed with my cousin's Vegan Thanksgiving feasts on many occasions: http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html

There are many nutritional considerations that Vegans need to be aware of in order to ensure all of their nutritional requirements are met. A website that does a good job explaining this is: http://www.veganhealth.org/

If everyone paid as much attention to our diets, as the vegans pay to thiers, we would be the picture of health. Even vegetarians need to do some planning to prevent missing B12 and other essential nutrients, but that is still far healthier than the fast-foods that so many teens call a normal diet.

[talaxandra]

I've been impressed with my cousin's Vegan Thanksgiving feasts on many occasions: http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html

I love Jennifer's website - bought the book (and the lunchbox!), and have been inspired to try several of her recipes. She's awesome! (Though there's no way, if I had kids, that I'd be half as creative or enthusiastic about their meals!)

[BabyLady, BSN, RN]

Children have a hard time, even with a regular diet, getting the nutrition that they need. I know I struggle with this with my own, and they eat foods I personally can't stand because I want them to have a more varied diet than what I have. They eat things most kids won't touch such as tofu, soy, and spinach. I introduced these foods very early on in life...to them, they are a part of the every day.

Given this, in addition to it being difficult for an ADULT to get the proper nutrition, I don't think that a vegan diet is for growing and developing bodies. When little Susie or Johnny is old enough to understand nutrition and make the right food choices..both in and outside of the home..then if they want to follow in their vegan parent's foot-steps, I see nothing wrong with this whatsoever.

But this isn't how the human body is designed..as much as we like to alter it.

There is a difference between beging vegan because of an inability to access quality foods and there are clean and drug-free meat/dairy sources available.

If you look at the countries, such as India, that don't eat meat b/c of religious regions, a historical outlook will also show that these animals are frequently infested with parasites in that part of the world...even the Jewish kosher laws, when you think about it, are also about basic sanitation that would have been beneficial thousands of years ago.

[talaxandra]

It's true that religious reasons for many dietary restrictions are based primarily on parasitic disease and other consequences of eating the prohibited foods.

Most Western vegetarians and vegans make that decision based on other factors, including the fact that it's possible to have a healthy diet without eating (vegetarians) or in any way exploiting (vegans) other creatures.

It's also true that it's a decision which requires more thought and effort than an omniverous diet does to get a complete nutritional balance. That doesn't mean it's not possible, or that it's not worth the effort.

Provided the food provider knows what they're doing, a meatless diet is healthier than most alternatives, and the children of vegetarians and vegans I know are the least picky eaters of my friends' children - more adventurous trying new foods, and more interested in food preparation.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Absence of dairy products, primary d/t the expense of such items...they are very expensive in Asian countries because of lack of land for which to keep them. Beef is just as expensive for the same reason.

The don't consume dairy past infancy like we do in the USA and Europe..and this is reflected in the normal dietary pattern even when dairy is available. For example, have you ever been to an Asian restaurant (Americanized or Authentic), where anything had milk or was covered in cheese? You generally will not find a dish that contain these ingredients in recipies.

What I meant by higher, I meant a major health issue that starts to plague women much younger in the East than their Western sisters. Yes, osteoporosis is a healthcare concern in women in the USA in Europe, but what I'm saying is that if you compare this to Asian countries, their rate/severity/age of onset is much higher than in the West.

I'm not going to get into the "humans were made to consume meat" debate, but I would like to see a source for your statistics about the rate of osteoporosis, or are you just going by what your RD friend told you? I acknowledge Asians are at high risk for it.

edit to add: I did find a good source, that addresses the problem in Asia: http://www.iofbonehealth.org/download/osteofound/filemanager/newsroom/pdf/osteoporosis-fact-sheet-01-07.pdf Also it still states the highest rates of hip fractures for instance are in the USA, Denmark, Sweden, etc. Industrialized dairy eating folks.

I was recently in Thailand and I asked one of our Thai guides about dairy and he said the Thai people find cheese to be stinky and fatty, and milk upsets his stomach. He didn't mention expense. So it's also a matter of choice, and perhaps lactose intolerance, in addition to expense. Thailand has plenty of rural land for animals if there was a market for dairy. Japan and Korea, probably not, but not all Asian countries lack farmland.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

I thought Northern European types had the highest rates of osteoporosis?