Seeing a dietician with my son

[Prodromos]

Hi there,

I'm new to this forum and have lots of things I wish to share with people, but at the moment I have a pressing issue that has upset me and I would appreciate some advice. Background is that my husband went fully vegan about 6 months ago and I have slowly made the transition as we have a 3yo son and I wanted to ease him into a practically vegan diet slowly. Being a toddler he can be temperamental but overall he has adapted really well and has a hearty appetite. I have read lots of advice about vegan children and make sure we all have healthy and balanced meals. I am so much happier with the switch and feel really positive about our new cruelty-free lifestyle. However we had to go to the doctor the other week and my husband mentioned in conversation that we were vegan at which the doctor totally flipped and has rushed through an appointment to see the dietician at the hospital. I feel that we have to now justify the lifestyle decisions we have taken and it has really upset me.

Has anyone else been in this kind of situation?

[Veganfamily]

I have 5 children, all vegan from birth. When my first child was born I was told by a very uneducated doctor that she would be underweight and very unhealthy. Luckily she was (and still is at age 11) a healthy child, so we rarely had to see that doctor again. However when she was three, the doctor did insist on making us an appointment with a dietician. Luckily the dietician did have a good knowledge of nutrition and agreed that my daughter was growing well and getting more than enough nutrients from her food.
You do not need to justify your lifestyle to anyone, so dont worry. The doctor is worried because he is probably uneducated about sources of nutrition, and he thinks he is doing the best for your son. As long as you ensure that he gets good food and everything that he needs, you should have no problems.
I hope that reassures you a little. I know how worrying it can be!

[harpy]

Hello. Yes, with any luck the dietician will be more clued up than the doc and know that suitable vegan diets are fine for children. The fact that you have already read up about it all should reassure him/her.

I suppose as an extra safety net you could ask the Vegan Society to provide you with e.g. references to scientific papers backing up your position. There is a list here http://www.vegansociety.com/people/lifestyle/families/parenting/vegan_children/ but I'm not sure if any of the articles referenced is exactly what you'd need.

[horselesspaul]

Indeed. Don't worry.
Maybe provide your GP with a link to this site and other useful resources to help them educate themselves, as is their duty.

[Zero]

Unfortunately this is a pretty typical response, doctors are not clued up when it comes to nutrition and probably has all the usual misconceptions about veganism.

As Harpy says contact the vegan society if you need any help, I know some of the employees there and they are extremely friendly and more than willing to help with any advice.

Don't panic :)

[cobweb]

i say, humour them ;) - go along all innocent and wide eyed and see what they know about veganism.

i saw a dietician recently upon my G.P's insistance (not even our own doctor but a locuum who freaked!) - with my son, who is vegan and also autistic, which means that he will only eat certain food textures/tastes, etc :rolleyes:. I went along and the dietician just kept skipping over the fact that we're vegan (as if by ignoring it, it might go away :p), and she didn't know how to deal with an autistic child, either. I wrote a polite letter to her after the appointment explaining why we wouldn't be going back! :cool:.

[Korn]

I feel that we have to now justify the lifestyle decisions we have taken and it has really upset me.
Hi,

You don't need to justify anything more than your possibly non-vegan dietician, who both may feed her/his kids with a standard diet known for critical levels of a number of important nutrients (in addition for it's negative effect on the animals and the environment):

Nutrient deficiencies more common in meat eaters than in vegans (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24)

Based on pure statistics, both your doctor and dietician probably feed their children a non-vegetarian diet, which according to American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22615) is associated with a lot of problems, because vegetarian diets "offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer."

Ask them why they have chosen to feed their kids with such a useless diet (if they do) - since there are much better alternatives out there... better for the children, for the animals, and for the environment. ;-)


ETA: I think it's a good idea to see a dietician - some of them know little about vegan nutrition, and in case your dietician don't, it's good for her to meet vegan parents and kids, and because it's important to feed our kids with proper food, maybe she/he have some good ideas whether they're veg*n or not...

[veganprin]

I have a 5 year old daughter who has been vegan from birth. She is a very fussy eater and it is only recently (after 3 years of restricting her diet) that she has begun to try different foods. She's healthy though, normal weight, above average height - no different than any other kid.
I fail to see why you 'have' to go along with the appointment the doctor has made for you - who is he, God? Tell him you're all fine and he can mind his own business.

[twinkle]

My first reaction would have been to tell the doc to get lost, but although it's unlikely they would do anything stupid like reporting it to Social Services, and that if they did Social Services would probably tell them to get stuffed, but you do get these "Child of vegan parents horribly malnourished" stories in the press (when it then turns out the parents aren't even vegan, or are feeding the child nothing but apples or something), which could maybe cause some ill informed professionals to bindly start to panic.

[cobweb]

yes, twinkle, that is why i went to my appointment - plus, as Korn says, it gives the dietician something to think about! :D

[Cherry]

I'd just put it down to the doctor not being very clued up, as Twinkle suggested. Hopefully when they get the report back from the dietician they'll be a little better informed!

Do you have to take along a record of what your son has been eating? I'd want to do that anyway, so I could show them what a healthy and balanced diet he has.

[cookey]

Prodomos - I think seeing a dietician is a positive thing. I 've come in to contact with a few through my work (in cardiac and pulmonary rehab) and have often talked to them about my veganism - which they don't see any problem with.
I saw a dietician volontarily with one of my daughters when she was little because she had been hospitalised for respiratory problems and I got referrals to both dietician and homeopath because they were both free and thought I might gain extra information. She had no problem with my daughters (vegan at that time) diet. Although she was keen that we paid attention to vitamin D.
GP's in this country have very little training in nutrition and I wouldn't see them as an expert in anything (unless they have a special interest)- rather as a gateway to other specialists.
I would see the appointment as an opportunity to discuss your daughter's nutrition with someone who should understand that your diet is healthy. There's no need to feel you have to justify anything.

[xrodolfox]

We've got two vegan kids (ages 3 and 5) that've been vegan since before birth.

What we did was to interview many doctors before we came to our pediatricians (one of whom went vegan just recently!)

We shopped around for a doctor that we believed in and that met our needs. Perhaps it is time to look around for a doctor that actually knows your issues and isn't doing this all anew. What you need is support, not attacks.

My suggestion is to go to the dietician, but most of all, look around and see if you can switch doctors to someone who is on your side.

[vegetarian_cat]

what annoys me is that if a vegan adult or vegan child get sick,
the FIRST thing people and doctors blame is the diet.

But when omnivores or their children get sick (my sister's are always sick),
NOBODY even ever mentions their diet!!

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggh

[Prodromos]

Hi everyone, thanks for all your replies. My internet crashed yesterday and I'm only back on line, so sorry if you thought I was ignoring you :-) I have only had chance to have a quick skim through so far (the perils of using computer with a toddler!!) but you have really set my mind at rest with your helpful and constructive comments. Much mcuh appreciated

[treaclemine]

I hear that the new standard reference for registered dieticians in the UK:

http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1405135255.html

Manual of Dietetic Practice, 4th Edition

which is produced with the British Dietetic Association, has 14 pages specific to nutrition for vegans (including references). So you could ask to see that?

[Ruby Rose]

That's a really useful bit of info, treaclemine - thank you for that link. I'm assuming that the manual follows the same approach as the US and Canadian dietician advisory bodies (that a well-balanced vegan diet is appropriate for all stages of the life-cycle)? I wonder if the Vegan Soc were able to have input into the advice?
RR

[ellaminnowpea]

I'm assuming that the manual follows the same approach as the US and Canadian dietician advisory bodies (that a well-balanced vegan diet is appropriate for all stages of the life-cycle)?

Yep! The ADA (American Dietetic Association) has stated that veg*n diets are suitable throughout all stages of the life cycle. I believe they emphasize vitamin D, calcium, iron, and vitamin B12.

I love reading the updates from ADA. A lot of my professors are members. :)

Prodromos, I hope the appointment goes well. I'm sure it'll be fine. :thumbsup: Most of the dieticians I've come across know that vegan diets can be healthy, but they seem reluctant to fully support it. I'm usually the only vegan they've met!

[shellymi2nv]

doctors are not clued up when it comes to nutrition and probably has all the usual misconceptions about veganism. I read somewhere that the average med student in the US spends the equivalent of FIVE HOURS (or some small small small number like that) learning about nutrition during the four years of med school. So no wonder most MDs are clueless when it comes to nutrition :rolleyes: