I'm only 15, I just went vegan last week, is this bad for me? Will is stunt my growth or anything?

Question

Everyone's saying that "this is such an important time for you to develop". Is it okay to go vegan???

Answer 1

Congrats on going vegan! The American Dietetic Association is one of the nation's leading nutrition experts and it supports vegan diets for all ages: "Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence."

http://eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs....

To have a healthy vegan diet, you should:

1. Make sure you eat enough calories. Don't just live on low-calorie foods like salads.

2. Include a variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and grains in your diet

3. Ensure a reliable source of vitamin B12, by taking a supplement or eating fortified foods (like Silk soymilk)

If people keep giving you a hard time, say something like "I met with a nutritionist [or my doctor] and he/she said vegan diets are perfectly healthy for teens."

Good luck!

Answer 2

Wow, congrats on going vegan so young! :)

Answer 3

It won't stunt your growth, but you do need to get all of the nutrition that your body needs for your age group...It's the same whether you are a vegan or not.  Meat eaters get their nutrients in one way and vegans get their nutrition from eating healthy things that are not made from animals.

There are healthy meat eaters and healthy vegetarians...It doesn't matter how you attain your nutrients..It only matter that you do.

I am vegan and I have a very healthy and balanced diet.  I feel healthier than ever too.  I think I watch what I eat a lot more now.  

Like any diet, you can't just eat junk (not saying that you do)...You also can't live on salads alone.  

If you look for past questions by searching the site for older questions, you should get enough information to keep you healthy.

Take care and don't listen to them...What do they know anyways?  They are the ones supporting cruelty and putting themselves in harms way by making themselves more susceptible to obesity, heart problems, and cancer.  15 is not too young to know you don't want animals to suffer.

Tell them you understand what they are saying but they need to listen to what you have to say too.  If that doesn't work tell them to bugger off :)

Answer 4

no. you need dairy and meats to grow. plus you wont get near the calcium and nutrients you need.

Answer 5

It will not stunt your growth since that is genetically determined. A vegetarian diet isn't that hard for a teenager to follow, but I'd want to clear a vegan diet with your doctor and make sure your following a balanced vegan diet that includes iron, and B12.

Answer 6

This is hilarious! Stunt your growth? I think that fast food stunts our kids growth and their overall health! Did everyone tell you this too?

I am a vegan parent of a vegan family of six! And my oldest son has just grown an inch from last winter to reach a total of 6'2"! My younger sons are tall for their age too, but they haven't reached puberty, and yet most of the kids their age have (without the added hormones from meat and dairy my kids will reach puberty later). And they are very fit for their age (they may be 5 pounds over what I want them to be, but we just got over winter around here, in which they were not as active). I take them once a year to the doctor to make sure they are OK and doing well (blood tests mostly). So far all of my kids, even the 19 year old who continues to be vegan outside of the home, is doing well.

I will say that I do have them eating very healthy. They are not allowed to eat soda pop (vitamin waters are OK, but they only drink them when we can afford them) or any candy/donuts/junkfood. I have to make all their food so we don't eat any processed foods (needless to say I am busy!). I also supplement their diet with algae oil (EPA/DHA source), Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, and EFA oils (flax, black walnut, or hemp oil). My kids are probably the only ones who know that dulse flakes, that I put into their muffins in morning, is a seaweed. All my info is based on alot of research on vegan nutrition to make sure our whole family is healthy being vegan. It is not a matter of what you can not eat, it is matter of what should you eat and proceeding from there.

Answer 7

As long as you eat a balanced diet, it shouldn't be a problem. Everything you're cutting out of your diet can be replaced with food from a plant source. The key is, you have to teach yourself to make healthy meal choices as a vegan rather than someone that eats meat now - your parents probably taught you well but they relied on meat and dairy and eggs to stand-in for what plants could easily provide.

I remember when I was 15 - most of my friends and I ate HORRIBLE diets anyway! We lived off of drive-through french fries, popcorn, soda pop, delivery pizza and carbs (and meat galore for the non-veg ones among my friends group). There's really no need to kid ourselves in assuming that the biggest calamity at 15 would be going vegetarian - how many of those criticizing your decision actually now what teens eat? The lunch lines at my high school were loaded with buttery, fried garbage, iceberg lettuce (no real nutritional value), sugary soft drinks like Snapple teas and iced coffees, and candy bars and chips. When given the choice, all my friends would go for the greasy burger on a white bread bun.

This might in fact be the healthiest option because you can take the opportunity now to sit down and learn exactly what food is for. It's to fuel your body. Learn about all the vital nutrients that play a part in nourishing your body. Ask your parents if you can see a nutritionist to learn how to plan real, healthy meals - let's face it, in a nation with 30% of our population obese already, we don't have very many real role models. Take out some vegetarian cookbooks and books on being a vegetarian teen, there are plenty, including one written by a woman I know personally.

People are threatened at the idea that you might make such a decision at your own. But honestly, the standard American diet is probably more devastating to your body than cutting out animal products EVER will. In fact, that will give you an opportunity to eat whole grains, fruits and veggies and all the great stuff most meat-eating kids skimp on to make room for the ribs on their plate.

Answer 8

No. You can find all the essential nutrients that you would get from eating animal products in vegetables, grains, beans, fruits, etc. The only thing that vegans AND vegetarians need to watch out for is B12. As for calcium, eat green leafy vegetables and orange juice has lots of calcium in it.