Anyone else got a vegan teenager?

[Livvi82]

I would like to hear from parents with vegan children. My ds is 15 and has been vegan for one year. He eats a lot of food and I believe he is getting everything he needs. He eats a lot of beans, chickpeas, lentils, rice, pasta, nuts, seeds, oats, veg, fruit, good fats(olive oil, avocado) tofu, homous, soya bean protein. So a lot better than many teenagers. He is also talking a vegan multi vit with iron, B12, calcium etc and a vegan omega supplement. He's getting over the allowance of protein a day. However I can't help but worry, I've been researching amino acid supplements and was wondering if this would be beneficial?
He seems to have stopped growing and is quite small although genetically he's not going to be tall, he is meant to according to calculations reach a few inches taller. Anything else I should be looking at.

TIA

You should look for protein shakes that include L-arginine, L-lysine and L-ornithine, the main amino-acids involved in growth.
Several growth pathways such as mTOR are activated by exercise followed by protein ingestion, so it is not only the what he eats but also when he eats it.

Gluten on the other end, can slightly affect growth negatively, so if he is eating a lot of wheat, try to switch for rice, quinoa, ...

Which omega 3 is he taking? A lot of vegan brands provide ALA , which is not what he needs. Make sure he is getting DHA and EPA.
Does his multivitamin include iodine?

The B12 in a multivitamin isn't usually enough for a vegan. He should also increase his vitamin D, K2 in addition to calcium.

Do you know roughly the amount of proteins he is getting every day? Cronometer.com is a free nutritional analysis website.

He has a great diet @Livvi82 but maybe you can help him gain a few more cm

Thank you. This is helpful. He's not big on sport but does walk to school everyday and does the PE required. He has the omega supplement of DHA and EPA and also has a multi vit that includes iodine.
The protein shakes that include those amino acids, are they added to the shakes or is high in them naturally. Pea protein for example contains those aminos don't they? He did use to take a separate B12 which was higher and he did have a blood test and he had really good levels of B12, I may go back to that.
Protein wise I'd say he's always reaching over 50g sometimes a lot more and sometimes he may have a bit less I would say.

Height attainment is really multifactorial. Being active as in walking to school is not the same as intense exercise that leaves you breathless for a few seconds such as a set of sprints .
Easier said than done, I know. I have a son who is active but does fencing, rock climbing, etc.... and another who does athletics track and field, squad swimming....There is a 20 cm gap between them, much to the frustration of the shorter one.... I can't imagine suggesting my oldest to do a set of sprints. He would send me packing.

Daily requirement of 50 gr protein or so depending on his weight are the minimum for body functions. In certain circumstances, that minimum is not the optimal. Ideally you want 30 gr of protein at once in a. meal instead of smaller amounts spread during the day.

All foods have all amino-acids, even an apple will have arginine, so yes your son's pea powder will have those, but the best way to boost it, is to take a supplement.
iHerb has the greatest selection of supplements uk.iherb.com/c/l-arginine or uk.iherb.com/pr/now-foods-tri-amino-120-capsules/840 . You were considering them in your opening post, give it a try.

Other factors are a bit more complex... any chance of a sauna in the house? Stressful situations such as heat shock will release hormones but only if infrequent, so not a daily habit, but a once a week.

Hormones are a response of the body to specific situations, stresses and needs. You are doing intense exercise - even only 5 sets of 100m - or extreme temperature , the body adapts and releases hormones to make you cope.

This said, some boys shoot up all at once, other keep growing slowly into their early 20s.