worried about son going vegan

[emerald0518]

My husband and I are going to greatly reduce dairy and meat. We are worried about our 13 month old doing the same. I have read a lot and watched the Forks over Knives documentary and can totally understand the benefits but for some reason we are concerned about reducing our son's dairy and meat. He has always eaten a diet full of organic veggies, fruit, whole grains, brown rice, barley, quinoa, eggs and other dairy products and then turkey and chicken. I am just concerned that he will not get the essential nutrients he needs from meat and dairy strictly from plants. I have also read that soy is not necessarily great for you either. How can we replace the amino acids from turkey, chicken and fish? What about the healthy fat from whole milk for there brain development? We just want to make sure he continues to be a healthy child and gets the nutrition he needs.

[jamietwo]

I've raised my almost-13-year-old on a plant based diet (he's never eaten meat, eggs or dairy). We started eating this way for health reasons and are now committed to this way of eating for ethical and environmental reasons as well. We do organic too!

Plants contain all the necessary amino acids. The only "good" thing your son can get from meat that he can't get from plants is B12.

You don't have to eat soy - we don't because it doesn't agree with us. In fact, if you do, I would recommend eating the "whole food" vs processed soy foods.

We get all the fat we need from plant foods. Fat from cow's milk is not healthy! It is designed to grow calves into big cows in a short period of time. Human milk is designed to grow children into intelligent adults! Once children wean (assuming they aren't weaned prematurely), they don't need milk to be healthy!

I understand how you want the best for your son! I feel the same way about mine. Even after going plant based several years ago, it took me a while to give up the "healthy fat" ideology. It can be hard to change beliefs we've held all our lives. It sounds like you're headed in the right direction! Keep reading and asking questions! Good luck!

Here are some reading suggestions if you're interested:

-Jeff Novick's forum here on these discussion boards (maybe ask your question over there) - he's a super knowledgeable RD.
-Dr. McDougall's hot topics (you can get to them from the home page).
-other info from this website's home page
-The China Study by T. Colin Campbell PhD
-Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. MD
-The Starch Solution by John McDougall MD
-other books by Dr. McDougall
-Or if you prefer, go out to YouTube and search for Dr. McDougall to listen to some of his talks.

[LadyDi]

Great suggestions by Jamie.
The more you learn the more you will understand that a souly plant base diet is the best way to nurture your son.
About the B12 one small tablet under the tongue a day takes care of that. It used to come from the earth back when people weren't so sterile with everything. This is truly a natural way of eating and you will be doing your son a big favor by providing him with a perfect diet.

[Katydid]

I've raised my almost-13-year-old on a plant based diet (he's never eaten meat, eggs or dairy). We started eating this way for health reasons and are now committed to this way of eating for ethical and environmental reasons as well. We do organic too!

Plants contain all the necessary amino acids. The only "good" thing your son can get from meat that he can't get from plants is B12.

You don't have to eat soy - we don't because it doesn't agree with us. In fact, if you do, I would recommend eating the "whole food" vs processed soy foods.

We get all the fat we need from plant foods. Fat from cow's milk is not healthy! It is designed to grow calves into big cows in a short period of time. Human milk is designed to grow children into intelligent adults! Once children wean (assuming they aren't weaned prematurely), they don't need milk to be healthy!

I understand how you want the best for your son! I feel the same way about mine. Even after going plant based several years ago, it took me a while to give up the "healthy fat" ideology. It can be hard to change beliefs we've held all our lives. It sounds like you're headed in the right direction! Keep reading and asking questions! Good luck!

Here are some reading suggestions if you're interested:

-Jeff Novick's forum here on these discussion boards (maybe ask your question over there) - he's a super knowledgeable RD.
-Dr. McDougall's hot topics (you can get to them from the home page).
-other info from this website's home page
-The China Study by T. Colin Campbell PhD
-Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. MD
-The Starch Solution by John McDougall MD
-other books by Dr. McDougall
-Or if you prefer, go out to YouTube and search for Dr. McDougall to listen to some of his talks.

I would also add Dr. Joel Fuhrman's 'Diseaseproof your Child' to this list.

Kate

[TerriT]

I believe all of Dr McDougall's grandchildren are being brought up following this diet. And if you go to the Engine 2 website and take a look at their blog, Rip Esselstyn's two young children (Dr Esselstyn's grandchildren) eat a plant-based diet too. On the Engine 2 Facebook page the other day they posted a picture of what the children were eating for supper.

Another good book I would recommend is Dr Attwood's Lowfat Prescription for Kids. It's long out of print but can be found on Amazon easily.