Is there any advice on how to be a vegan when you're a teenager?

Answer 1

The number one most important thing to remember as a vegan (whether you're 14 or 84) is balancing your proteins to eat a wide variety of different foods and not rely on pre-packaged convenience foods and meat analogues to replace the meat and dairy products you are not longer eating. Many of these foods can be fortified with the vitamins and minerals that vegans need, in particular B12. Eat small amounts of many different plant-based whole foods, and you can easily meet your nutritional needs. All it takes is a little bit of planning and a willingness to try different things so you don't end up resorting to eating convenience foods that may just be full of empty calories and have little nutritional benefit. The are MANY cookbooks, websites, blogs, and podcasts that offer guidence in what to eat, where to find it, how to prepare food and how to be a healthy vegan.

As for vitamin B12, any person can be deficient in it no matter what diet they eat, not just vegans. Many people will say that a vegan diet is not safe because it lacks this important nutrient that supposedly can be gotten only from animal sources, such as meat and dairy. And while it is true that people who eat meat-based diets get their vitamin B12 from eggs, milk, and meats/internal organs, what's important to remember is how the B12 got into the meat and eggs in the first place. And - it's not found only in animal products. Vitamin B12's orgins are bacterial, and, according to Becoming Vegan (Davis and Melina, 2000), there are no plant or animal sources that produce it. It originates in soil as a bacteria. Vitamin B12 gets into eggs, milk and meats by virtue of the animals being supplemented with it in their diets or eating plants that have absorbed the nutrient from soil. Also, B12 occurs in meat products through contamination via slaughtering. Vitamin B12 does occur in blue-green alge, which is the primary component of spirulina, a popular dietary supplement. Many people can be deficient in vitamin B12 for two main reasons: 1) Diets high in pre-packaged, processed, unfortified foods often lack this important nutrient (and this is also true of essential fatty acids); 2) Because of modern intensive agricultural practices, much of the soil that we grow our food in has been depleted of essential nutrients. Vegan or not, it is important that you supplement your diet with B12 through fortified foods and nutritional yeast, as well as a sublingual (under the tongue) B12 supplement. It is not enough that you take a multi-vitamin with B12 in it, as B12 is best absorbed under the tongue and B12 in a multi-vitamin will go through your digestive system and not be absorbed in the most optimal par of your body.

You need to create complete proteins at as many meals as possible. The concept of food combining to create complete proteins is a myth. It was popularized by Francis Moore Lappe in Diet for a Small Planet in the 1970s, and she is often cited as the originator of this concept, which she is not. However, combining of foods to create complete proteins is a myth because many foods contain protein, even vegetables and fruit. It has been proved many times over that food combining for "optimal nutrition" is not necessary. Eating a varied whole food plant-based diet will help anyone get the protein they need. It has been demonstrated that the standard North American diet includes an overconsumption of protein that is three times higher than what our bodies need. High intakes of protein can lead to acidic environments in the body that leach calcium from our bones, which our bodies do to offset this acidity. The leaching of calcium from the bones can lead to diseases such as osteoporosis. Many beans, dark leafy greens and some seeds and nuts, such as sesame seeds, almonds, and quinoa, contain high amounts of a type of calcium that is more easily absorbed by the body than calcium from milk and other dairy sources. And keep in mind that calcium does not occur naturally in milk, milk products, or in eggs -- it is added to cows' diets (as well as chickens' diets), or the animals consume calcium via the plants they eat. Calcium is a mineral that is present in soil and the earth's crust, and plants get it through the soil they grow in.

Also, most beans have only part of the proteins you need. This is true of many foods, not just beans/legumes. When people talk about complete proteins, what they are really referring to are the amino acids in food that are essential to our health. There are 18 amino acids essential to human health that our bodies cannot produce. Thus, we must get them from the food we eat. Many of these 18 amino acids are present in part, and sometimes in whole, in many plant-based foods. Quinoa, for example, which is an ancient Andean grain, is the seed of a grass-like plant that contains all 18 amino acids and is a very healthy source of minerals like iron, calcium, and several vitamins. There are many plant-based foods, such as kale, collards, broccoli, and other leafy greens, that are incredibly nutritious and offer considerable amounts of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Any diet that includes a wide variety of produce, grains, legumes, nuts, and other plant-based foods, will offer all the proteins your body needs. It is simply not necessary to eat animals or the things that come from their bodies (eggs and milk) to get protein.

If you pair them with a grain like rice, they become a complete protein. Combining rice with beans to create a so-called complete protein is not necessary. While it is necessary to include grains in any diet for the important nutritional benefits they offer, protein needs can easily be met with a vegan diet that includes a variety of whole grains, seeds, nuts, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. Soy beans are the only vegetable that already are a complete protein. Soybeans are not a vegetable. And they are not only a bean. They are a legume. Peanuts, which are often thought of as a nut, are actually a legume too.

That's why vegans eat tofu. This is most certainly not why vegans, or anyone in particular, eats tofu. People who eat tofu, whether vegan or not, do so because they like to. Also, tofu (both traditional and silken -- there is a difference between the two) is an incredibly versatile item that can be used in countless ways in so many dishes with delicious results. The nutritional benefits tofu and other soy products offer is a secondary benefit for may people who simply like to eat it.

Be very careful. Any person at any age needs to take care in making sure they eat a healthy diet that will provide them the nutrients they need. At 14, you are still growing and developing your body. If you don't eat enough nutrients, you'll have health problems that could have lasting consequences. But this is true for any person of any gender at any age. If you are serious about becoming vegan, you need to know your facts. Your parents might be concerned about your interest in veganism, and you need to know for yourself and for them the information that will keep you healthy and happy. They want you to be healthy, so no matter how they react your wishes you need to know how to handle their concerns by educating yourself and them. Here are just a few sources to get you started (make sure you past the entire link in your address bar in your web browser):

Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Plant-Based Diet

http://books.Google.ca/books?id=R7FRvTyRF0cC&dq=Becoming+Vegan&pg=PP1&ots=6jEPuY5Frr&sig=hZpL3g2qKjztyixOpIsXk-ssZ3A&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPP1,M1

Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World

http://veganfreak.com/

The Vegan Society

http://www.vegansociety.com/home.php

VegSource

http://www.vegsource.com/

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

http://www.pcrm.org/

Compassionate Cooks (great podcast resource)

http://www.compassionatecooks.com/

Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating

http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&id=ONYfgAGyvPQC&dq=Vegan+the+new+ethics+of+eating&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=3EETdH0Owz&sig=_5EQTF2okqokDB-6mqWdskQf0y4&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result

Compassion Over Killing

http://www.cok.net/

Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary

http://www.peacefulprairie.org/freerange1.html