Child in hospital with rickets.

[PTA]

A GLASGOW girl who was fed berries and nuts by her vegan parents has been admitted to a city hospital with rickets.

Experts said the 12-year-old had the spine of an 80-year-old that was prompted by lack of vital vitamins.

The youngster, who has not been named, was admitted to Glasgow's Royal Hospital for Sick Children with the bone-destroying disease.

advertisementAnd she has already suffered a number of broken bones prompted by lack of vitamin D which is found in liver, dairy produce and oily fish.

It emerged today she was fed none of these since birth because vegans don't eat animal products.

Specialists at the Yorkhill hospital are coming under increasing pressure to report her parents to authorities.

But Dr Faisal Ahmed, who is looking after the girl, said: "We shouldn't name and shame the parents. Mum feels guilty and the whole thing just feels bad."

Bill Aitken, Tory justice spokesman, said: "If the girl has come to clinical harm something must be done."

The Vegan Society, which has 250,000 members also said the girl's parents must take responsibility.

A spokesman added: "I would suggest it is not the vegan diet itself that is to blame - but the parents".

Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS refused to comment.

In addition to diet, a lack of sunlight is also responsible for a lack of vitamin D.

Experts slammed parents who impose their strict eating regimes on children.

Professor Tom Sanders, head of nutrition at King's College in London, said: "Some of them think we can live on fruit and nuts."

In 2001, vegans Hazmik and Garabet Manuaelyan of Middlesex, admitted starving their 10-month-old daughter Arenai to death.

She had been fed nothing but breast milk, raw fruit, vegetables and nuts. Her parents were sentenced to three years' community rehabilitation.

She had been fed nothing but breast milk, raw fruit, vegetables and nuts. At 10 months (apart for the nuts which are an allergy and choking issue) that sounds like a perfectly acceptable diet.

But it obviously wasnt Cov, otherwise they wouldnt have been sentenced.

she might not have been able to digest the raw fruit and veg.

i saw that story in the paper, was a bit that two people well known in the vegan movement wouldn't be better educated in how to work around possible nutritional defs.

that 10mo should have been fine on bm, fruit veg and nuts so long as quantities weren't limited

If the child had been obese then there would be no question of the authorities getting involved.

By imposing their strict diet on a child they have damaged her body. Why were these parents so ignorant of what a child needs to grow properly? Surely there are ways of being vegan yet allowing your child perhaps a vegetarian diet.

I know the argument could go that we make our children eat meats and dairy products but that allows children to make their own choices. My friend is vegetarian and her younger ds showed he wasn't too keen on meat from very early. She knew how to cook for him to make sure he had the proper nutrients while also appreciating that her dh and other ds liked meat.

maybe she was a really fussy eater? we don't know. and would the parents of an obese child be reported? wouldn't they be helped? isn't it just that their problem would be more visible to the naked eye?

I am amazed that a 12 year old has been kept on a vegan diet. Did she never socilise, go to friend's houses for tea, birthday parties etc? What about school? Did they not notice something amiss? I suppose she could have been home educated.

This isn't about diet it's about woeful ignorance. A vegan diet, if properly supplemented, can be very healthy.
I wouldn't impose it on a baby or young child tho...

Am also re the 10 mo starving to death. I know a child who refused anything but breast till well over a year old and tho thin she is now a healthy lively 5 yo.

Message withdrawn

It is not right for all children - both couples should have seen the baby/child was not thriving and changed their Godddamn principles ffs

I am all for freedom of choice - where the child actually has a choice in the matter

That story (about the 10mo) is in more detail here. It seems the parents weren't just vegan, but frutarian and repeatedly ignored doctors' advice that their child was ill.

Sorry Pruners, I'm not very good at that sort of thing, tend to mess it up somehow but I did not read it in the Sun. It was in the Glasgow Evening Times and I was not aware that it had been run in the nationals.

I remember the case involving the 10m old and it was reported that the parents were fruitarians. They had given dc bm but had weaned her on a diet of raw fruits, juices and nuts

"I am amazed that a 12 year old has been kept on a vegan diet."

er, there's nothing unhealthy or abusive about a vegan diet
there are many healthy vegan adults and children world wide
this girl was obviously NOT eating a balanced, normal vegan diet

Message withdrawn

Sorry, didn't see earlier post - had typed it twice thanks to dd's innate deleting skills

Vegans eat a whole lot more than fruit, nuts etc.

They also eat carbohydrates, soya products [shock horror]

Friends who are vegan are not bringing up dcs to be, partly because of dietary concerns for young children and also because they believe should be a choice. Their dcs have dairy and fish and the option of having meat at the gps house.

I've heard from another vegan that you can over-rely on soy, that too much is not good -is that true? and if so what's the problem associated with it?

sorry, that should say soya

for a lot of people veganism / vegetarianism is an ethical / moral decision

allowing your child to make important decisions about MORAL choices is something that ost of us save until they are older, approaching adulthood or beyond

vegan parents who choose to bring their child up vegan have every right to do so, in the same way that Christian parents have the right to bring their child up as Christian, or parents of teenagers to say "no boyfriends staying the night here".

I am confused - Is this all about a 10month old or a 12 year old?

I know what you mean Franny but many traditional vegan cultures are aware of dietary requirments - some (a few?) in the Western world take it on as a fad, a gesture, a political or moral statement and don't do any research.

My dh was an ignorant vegetarian for years!

12yo according to Daily Record but tbh i am off to look for a more reputable source

the Times