Re: Mom needs help w/13-year-old vegetarian

Misconceptions about vegetarian diets abound. Some of the misconceptions come from confusing the standard definition of vegetarian (no meat, poultry, fish, or shellfish, but does include dairy and eggs) with the standard definition of vegan (no animal products of any kind, meaning no meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, milk, dairy, nor eggs).


Vegans need a source for vitamin B12. It is rare to find someone who has kept so completely to a vegan diet and for so long that they're B12 deficient. Usually B12 deficiencies show up in the non-vegan elderly whose medications or digestive disorders have made them have difficulty absorbing the B12 which is in their diet. Vegetarians who get milk or cheese get plenty of B12. Vegans who get enough calories but who cheat a little and get a little animal products somewhere also probably get enough B12. (The cheating means they're not really vegans.)


Meat is a good source of complete protein, but it isn't the only source of protein. When people first start looking at vegetarian diets, they often worry about protein, but it usually isn't a problem. Not getting enough protein usually comes down to not getting enough calories in general. Milk and cheese and eggs have protein. Legumes and grains combine to make a complete protein. It used to be thought that they had to be eaten at the same meal to make that complete protein, but later research has shown that as long as they're both eaten in the same day or week, no problem. (See the 25th anniversary edition of _Diet for a Small Planet_.)


When looking at problems with vegetarian diets, researchers often get confused in that they see individual deficiencies in vitamins or protein when the overall problem is a lack of calories (starvation). In the absence of mental illness (anorexia), malfunction of the digestive system (can be caused by medication) and in the United States where that's unlikely, even a haphazard diet, as long as it includes enough dairy, eggs, and some variety of vegetables, a vegetarian diet should be healthy enough.


--Lia

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