How a strict vegan diet made my children ill

[Heated]

It's sensationalist, interviews someone with half a brain cell - well it is the DM - but is there any 'grain' of truth in it?

Fair enough, although my dd is very happy with eating any kind of insect she comes across!!

I accept the veggie bit, and of course I even know many of these people! I do really worry about the calcium intake of vegan children as I have seen the results of many, in most cases, teenage girls and young women who have restricted diets in that area.

But the calcium in cows milk is not as well absorbed as it is in green leafy stuff. So, that's not necessarily true tmmj.

My ds was brought up vegan for the first 3 years of his life-I studied things in depth and we had no ill health or bad side effect relating to our diet. he is now veggie and eats dairy etc this is due to an ilness I suffer with, the medication I am on reacts badly to soya so veggie we went.
I think like all things it just depends on how well you research, how dedicated you are to your childrens and your own health and how much you like cooking and getting cretive in the kitchen.

well, it's a difficult topic to give personal experience of, isn't it
because my ds doesn't like cow's milk and DOES like kale and tofu, very much
of course sometimes it depends what flavours you have been brought up with - other times can be personal choice
I know quite a few adults who simply don't like the taste of meat or milk - nothing ethical at all

ok ds shouting about something but will be back in a minute

Never mind healthy. A vegan diet can't be tasty.

well, I don't agree, nkf, and I suspect you don't actually know what you're talking about

anyway, LOL at your dd's insect diet bamboo

VVV is right, the calcium in plant food is much more bio-available than that in animal food. Plus the typical Western high protein diet (lots of meat and dairy produce) causes calcium loss from the body, one of the reasons why osteoporosis is common in countries where lots of meat and dairy produce are consumed. Vegans tend to consume more modest amounts of protein and so lose less calcium in this way. Their calcium intake may overall be lower than meat and milk eaters, but due to increased absorption from plant foods, and less calcium loss through excess protein, they remain healthy with a smaller intake.

Leafy green veg are a great source of calcium, plus tofu if prepared with calcium, soya milk with added calcium, sesame seeds and other seeds, and nuts.

btw I am not vegan!
I have been, though
and I know from a health point of view it's the best diet for adults and children
being vegetarian atm is a good compromise for my family, as dp is a meat eater by preference
so we all muddle along quite nicely on a mostly vegetarian diet with plenty of vegan meals which we all enjoy

someone mentioned letting your children choose when they are old enough and not forcing your views on them
well, sure, if your feelings on this kind of thing are not particularly important to you
if however you do feel strongly about animal welfare or the health problems of an animal diet then I would assume you will guide your children by your principles, like parents do on all other moral issues that are important to them

I have a book on being a pregnant vegan and bringing up a vegan child - given to me by a vegan mum who had a delightfully plump and thriving 2 yr old at tghe time.

I read it with interest and considered using some of the ideas but in the end didn't as it sounded so hard to do. for e.g. instead of milk almond milk was recommended. Soy and goat were not and vaious reasons were given ( not just that goat is animal derived). The shock horror part was the instructino on how to make almond milk. I mean, who wiht kids has time to actually make almond milk? Also there were instrcutions on how to make many vegan substitutes for meat/dairy foods which were very time consuming. The vitamin /mineral position was explained and the diet was actually quite high in fact but very good fat ( olive oil, coconut, nut butter and nut milk).

I fully bought the philosophy and ratioanale that you can bring up a thriving and stun ningly healthy kid on a vegan diet but personally couldn't find the time to do it.

I was vegan for 12 years, but gave up when it came to weaning my son, as I was sure I didn't have enough knowledge & skills to ensure he had a balanced diet.

You can buy nut milks commercially now, plus rice milk, oat milk etc
none are a substitute for breast milk or formula, but they are each nutritious in different ways for toddlers and older children

nobody needs to make vegan milk or meat substitutes - that's kind of missing the point

I mean have them by all means if you like them - there are loads available commercially - vegan convenience food is big business these days! but a healthy vegan diet is based on grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables, not mulched up chemical stuff formed into a sausage shape

yes
"children ill on preposterous restrictive diet" doesn't make such good shock horror headlines though does it

By bigmouthstrikesagain on Wed 25-Jun-08 12:11:04
I am a vegetarian - so are my children - they eat eggs cheese and milk and i keep an eye on iron intake - they are huge healthy and I have no concerns about their nutrition.

Its nice to hear of another veggie with veggie children! Nobodyseems to agree that my 3 yr old should be raised a veggie like i am, but he is, and hes bigger than the average 3 yr old.

F & Z - I didn't mean making vegan substitues per se. I meant making foods which were of themselves subsitutes i.e. that would form the protein or calcium requirements of tha tparticular meal - I worded it badly.

I remember reading hte book and thinking hta t it made solid spanking sense but that as it involved so much preparation and buying from specialist shops it wasn't practical long term.

I did however wean dd2 on some absolutely gorgeous vegan recieps from lucy burney~s books - funny enough dd2 is very skinny now but the fussiest most ridicolous eater even though she "grew up " on coconut curry casserole and root veg stew and an amaranth type pudding amongst others!!

Why does tofu get such a bashing? It is delicious, esp marinated cauldron onemy kids love it.
They love lentils, too. They are not veggie, but could still have a tasty diet if they were.
Children will eat what they are accustomed to, so if you never feed them these kind of foods they will think they taste odd.

ok - I do think vegan cooking is simple though - or maybe it;s just the way I do it
I mean makign something from veg and pulses and a grain to go with it, is really simple

I like those Lucy Burney books too!

My DH would leave me if I made the children veggie.
He kills the animals himself, and I cook them when I get home

Most Asian vegetarian food is also vegan and delicious. Millions of people around the world seem to do just fine without large amounts of diary products.

This is a typical daily mail distortion - these kids were ill because they were on a raw food only diet, not because they were vegan.

I eat meat but our diet is mainly veggie and a lot of our meals are vegan. DD does eat butter, full fat yoghurt etc but she also gets plenty of fats from oil, nuts, avocados etc.