Growing up as a lacto-ovo vegetarian before it was even remotely fashionable, it's no surprise that my classmates picked on me for my "chicken poo looking" packed lunches. By the time I started high school, I was fed up and decided to hide my vegetarianism from my peers. I even, for a time, pretended to be "a real omnivore" by joining friends in eating meat, fighting my gag reflex the entire time.
More and more teenagers are, today, are doing the exact opposite in deciding that they want to stop eating meat and become proud, open, vegetarians. Rather than being embarrassed of the meat-free diet they were raised on, these teens might face a different problem altogether — convincing their meat-eating parents that becoming a vegetarian won't make them deficient in essential nutrients.
Teens deciding they've had it with eating animals do so because they have strong moral convictions or want in on some of the many health benefits vegetarianism offers. They’ll doubtless know that, as vegetarians, their risk of heart disease is reduced by 30 percent, that their risk of obesity is much lower, that they’re less likely to suffer from high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol, and that they are lowering their risk of developing lung, pancreatic, colorectal, and prostate cancers by as much as 40 percent. Did I mention they also have a lower risk of appendicitis and gallstones?
Did you know that raising meat for human consumption produces more greenhouse emissions than all forms of transportation together? By being vegetarian, you don’t just care for and about your own health, but also contribute to the wellbeing of the planet as a whole. And that’s before we even start talking about animal welfare!
How should you, as a concerned parent, react to your teenager's announcement that they are becoming vegetarian? SteadyHealth spoke to Casey Brown, who became a vegetarian as a teenager and is now a nutrition student at the University of Maryland as well as an intern with the Vegetarian Resource Group, to get the inside scoop.
Casey offers the following tips:
- Be supportive and encouraging of their choice – try to understand your teenagers reasoning for wanting to make this transition.
- Buy various vegan books (health and recipe books) to have as resources.
- Educate yourself on vegetarianism. [Casey, of course, directs you to the wonderful resource library offered by the Vegetarian Resource Group!]
- Purchase groceries your teen will need for his/her meals (Or help your teen shop)
- Cook vegetarian meals together a few nights a week to help teach your teenager the basics of different cooking techniques and how to use different ingredients This will allow your teen to become more familiar with different recipes he/she can eat.
- Encourage them to eat balanced meals.
- Help them plan their meals if they need some new ideas.
- Be open-minded to trying vegetarian/vegan restaurants, visiting animal sanctuaries, and attending vegan events/lectures.
What You Need To Know About Your Teen's Vegetarian Diet
If you didn't already know about the many health benefits a balanced vegetarian diet offers, and you do now, because we briefly mentioned it above, your process of educating yourself on vegetarianism — one of Alicia's most important tips — has already begun.
"That's all good and well," you may think, "but there's junk food vegetarians out there who eat nothing but cheese pizzas, and I don't want my teen to be one of them!" You're quite right.
Among the things you and your vegetarian teen are going want to watch out for are:
- Protein: Beans, cheese, eggs, tofu, and nuts are all excellent sources. Registered dietician Reed Mangels, points out that teens from North America who otherwise eat a varied diet that contains enough calories aren't going to have any problems obtaining enough protein, neither is it necessary, as was once advised, to make sure to get proteins from multiple plant sources in a single meal.
- Iron: Vegetarians have ample access to iron through such things as leafy greens, dried apricot, and beans. Did you know that consuming foods rich in vitamin C on a regular basis helps boost iron absorption?
- Vitamin D: Comes from sunlight, eggs, and fortified foods. Anyone who doesn't have regular access to any of these should take a supplement.
- Vitamin B12: Comes from animal proteins such as milk and eggs, as well as fortified foods. Vegans should take a supplement.
- Calcium: Leafy greens, broccoli, figs, beans and almonds are all sources, in addition to dairy products.
READ Growing Strong And Healthy Vegetarian Kids: From Preconception Through Infancy
While it's always good to assess and reassess the quality of one's diets, including the nutrients one consumes, I hope that this brief list demonstrates that it is really not hard to remain healthy on a vegetarian diet as long as the basic rule of choosing a wide variety of foods from different food groups is observed. Just like meat-eaters don't go about their lives calculating whether they've had enough iron or vitamin C today, neither do veggies have to.
Got A Newly Vegetarian Teen? Don't Make These Mistakes!
Alicia Hückmann, a vegan college student from Germany who is passionate about sharing her views and also interning with the Vegetarian Resource Group, told SteadyHealth how her family reacted when she decided to ditch meat:
“While my family tolerated (or rather ignored) my decision to become vegetarian, they would get me into loud arguments for choosing a diet that is ‘known to cause deficiencies’. Today, so about two years later, this has stopped but they still won't taste any of the dishes I make, let alone let me cook for them once in a while.”
Alicia was aware that her parents simply cared about her health and were concerned when she decided to become a vegetarian first and a vegan a year later, however, she says,
“their approach showed me that they had little faith in my ability to take responsibility for my own life”.
“For teenagers who struggle to be regarded as independent young adults, this is one of the worst things that can happen,” she points out, adding:
“Teenagers who become vegetarian stand up for their personal values and for what they think is right. Their decisions are often based on profound knowledge about the animal industry, health, and the environment and show that they are critical thinkers who do not mind swimming against the tide. For this reason, I think that everybody who is willing to do the transition deserves support and encouragement by their family and friends.”
Alicia advises meat-eating parents to introduce meatless days and bond with their teens over vegetarian cooking. By doing this, and by asking open-ended and neutral (rather than negative) questions about your teen's reasons to become a vegetarian and the foods they are going to be eating, you show respect for and interest in your teen's life-changing decision. What's more, with a teen who is proactive about nutrition, you could even benefit directly: who doesn't want family dinners cooked by their kids on a regular basis?
READ Nutrition During Pregnancy for Vegetarians
No Meat, No Big Deal
Restaurants in India are labeled either “vegetarian”, or “non-vegetarian”, essentially setting not eating meat as the standard by which all else is measured. People across the globe have thrived on meatless diets for a very long time, and your vegetarian teen, having access to the internet therewith a ginormous body of research, is not going to be any different. While the transition to vegetarianism may be a big change, it will soon become the "new normal"; it will soon become something that isn't a big deal at all. (Except, that is, if your teen develops a knack for really tasty cooking! That is a big deal!)
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