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Is it a Good idea for a 15 year old to become a Vegetarian? What are the health benefits? Can you get all the nutrients you need as a vegetarian? Do vegetarians eat dairy products?
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There are many health benefits. A 15yo meat eater has already done some damage to the arteries leading to their heart and brain due to the high cholesterol levels in meat. If you keep eating meat in about 20 years your arteries will be almost 50% blocked. Lacto-vegetarians eat dairy. ovo-vegetarians eat eggs, and lacto-ovo vegetarians eat both eggs and dairy. Don’t over do it on eggs and dairy though since they are also high in cholesterol.
Get the Vegetarian Starter Kit from –
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/
Vegetarian Nutrition for Teenagers
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/teennutrition.htm
Get yourself a vegetarian cookbook. There are a few written just for teens like:
The Teen’s Vegetarian Cookbook – Judy Krizmanic
A Teen’s Guide to Going Vegetarian – Judy Krizmanic
Student’s Vegetarian Cookbook – Carole Raymond
Vegetables Rock!: A Complete Guide for Teenage Vegetarians – Stephanie Pierson
The Starving Students’ Vegetarian Cookbook – Dede Hall
The Vegetarian Kids’ Cookbook – Roz Denny
Better Than Peanut Butter & Jelly – Marty Mattare & Wendy Muldawer
These are some questions you should ask your self. What nutrients a vitamins are lost as vegetarian? How am I going to replace protein? How much more money is it going to cost to buy vitamins monthly? There’s alot to be learned about nutrition in this question. I hope you pursue these questions.
Hey there!
I became a veggie when i was 14, remember it’s real important for teen girls to get enough iron! i read ‘Feeding Vegan Kids by Reed Mangels’
"Many members of The Vegetarian Resource Group are glowing testimony to the fact that vegan children can be healthy, grow normally, be extremely active, and (we think) smarter than average."
you don’t have to Label yourself as a vegetarian.
eat some meat.
that is what i do.
most meals i eat mostly vegetables and fruit.
every once in a while i’ll eat some chicken , fish or maybe even a little beef.
so 90% vegetables 10% meat.
after all i do need protein.
Well, it’s not a bad idea for a 15 year old to be a veg as long as they stick to a varied and balanced diet. Yes, you can get all the nutrients you need as a veg. Again, it’s about a varied and well balanced diet. Some of the health benefits include lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and lower incidence of obesity.
Some vegetarians do eat dairy and even eggs. That’s called "lacto-ovo". That’s probably the easiest way to go veg, especially for young people. Vegans don’t eat any animal products, and for many this includes honey on the "do not want" list. That is the hardest one to stick with for young people, IMO. Also, vegans have to be very mindful about what they eat. Some of the B vitamins are only found in animal products in significant amounts, so there’s a risk of malnutrition unless they take supplements. Oh, and for a vegan the supplements would have to contain no gelatin, of course. It is an animal product after all.
yeaa i’ve been a vegetarian for 13 years.
it’s actually much healthier.
vegetarians eat dairy but vegans DONT.
good luck!
((make sure you take a daily vitamin!))
A vegetarian diet is good at any age. You just have to make sure that you are eating a variety of foods that contain all of the nutrients that you need. Protein should not be an issue as humans eat far too much of it anyway, and it is in most foods that you eat.
Should you decide to go vegan you would additionally have to look into a B12 supplement. But for now, you should be ok.
Remember there is vegetarian ‘junk’ food too, try to stay away from it, or it will not be a healthy switch.
I turned vegetarian when I was 7, after I found out the meat was the byproduct of Charlie Chicken and Peewee piggy that I liked to visit down the farm!
Aside from iron deficiency when I was around 13, I’ve never had any problems I could pinpoint as being down to my vegetarianism. If we’re honest, unless you’re obsessive it’s pretty unlikely you’re getting ALL the nutrients you need whether you’re vegetarian or not. I wouldn’t worry too much; our bodies adapt, and I actually think the younger you turn vegetarian, possibly the better, because your body is changing so much, it has a chance to get used to it and develop accordingly.
Yes, vegetarians can eat dairy products. There are many types of vegetarian. If you choose not to eat dairy, you’re a vegan.
Health benefits vary according to what you eat as a vegetarian. If you stuff yourself with chocolate and pasta drenched in fat-laden sauces 24/7, you’re not going to experience any health benefits at all; that’s just common sense! However, if you eat plenty of fruit and veg, grains, nuts, seeds, eggs, and dairy, (everything’s fine in moderation) you’ll no doubt find your skin, hair and nails will appear more glowing, vibrant and healthy with time.
As it also means you’d probably be cutting way down on crappy junk and saturated fats, which lets face it, just bog everyone down, and if overeaten, significantly contribute to weight problems, your body is going to feel so much "happier", and you’ll likely feel a lot better both mentally and physically.
Just don’t restrict yourself too much; eat that cake, eat that chocolate, but if you want to stay/become healthy, make sure the good stuff makes up the majority of your diet and the food is good quality (if you can)!
It’s totally up to you, but if you’re purely doing it for health reasons, and are reluctant to give up the meat, I’d just cut down on the meat a little or eat healthy variations, but not go all the way. You should be sure, or there’s really little point in bothering.
Hope that’s helpful in some way!
Take care
You can be a perfectly healthy person on a vegetarian diet.
You can also be very unhealthy.
Just like you can on a meaty diet.
If you get a decent balance of veggies, fruit, cereals etc you wil be fine and have no nutrient worries.
Can I suggest you look through this site, its designed for people of your age and will have lots of advice for you:
http://www.youngveggie.org
I’ve been veggie since i was 14, 29 years ago ( gosh ! ) and never had any problems, and never felt the need to take supplements either, thats just not necessary
As I see it, it is a good idea for people of all ages to choose to be vegetarian or vegan. Not ingesting growth hormones, antibiotics and steroids is a dynamite health benefit right off the bat! It is also important to realize that most diseases begin in the colon. As flesh foods have no cellulose fiber it takes up to two weeks for that fecal matter to clear the colon and it leaves a residue that prevents proper absorption of the nutrients, whereas the wastes from vegetarian foods are evacuated from the colon much more efficiently, usually within half an hour of eating, so the absorption of nutrients is easier.
Entire cultures are and have been vegetarian for thousands of years so yes you can definitely get all the nutrients you need by eating vegetarian foods. As an American vegetarian we are so blessed with fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and wonderful beans and legumes, tofu, tempeh, seitan and dairy products that are free of gelatin and animal rennet. Additionally, there are transitional foods that make it easy for people to make the shift
without too much of a challenge; companies that have produced things like Tofurky’s Italian Sausage, Bratwurst, or Keilbasa; Yves Hot Dogs, Gimme Lean Ground ‘Beef" Style Soy Crumbles and Breakfast Sausages among many others. The only issue vegetarians need to be conscious of is Vitamin B12 which is available in Tempeh and Nutritional Yeast. Protein is everywhere — but Quinoa is the only grain that contains all the essential amino acids that the body does not produce — so you do need to balance the grain with beans and legumes, or nuts and seeds or dairy. It is easy. It is fun and totally delicious and wonderfully creative.
For some awesome recipes check out http://www.your-vegetarian-kitchen.com or veg123.com and for great information on why to choose the vegetarian diet check out http://www.sos.org/veg
Good luck and have fun!
I’m 12 and became a vegetarian when I turned 6!
Vegetarian-only cut out meat.
Vegan-cut out animal by-produces and meat(honey,milk,dairy etc.)
I just turned a vegan and couldn’t be happier!
And not only is it healthy but it’s great for the animals!
http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm