Vegan Infant

[Soul Rebel]

I happened to be in our local co-op when the nutritionist was there. I decided to ask her a couple questions I had about B-12 and DHA. I could tell she did not approve of my diet when the word vegan came out of my mouth. She gave me a hand out she made that is titled "Why Babies & Children Need Animal Products". She told me I would be jepordizing my son's (1 year old) health if we ate no animal products. I agree with the B-12 and DHA information in her handout becuase of the information in The Food Revolution, but she then goes on about Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Taurine, Cholesterol and Fiber. In her cholesterol paragraph she actually says that very low blood cholesterol levels is highly associated with a increased risk of cancer. What do you all think about this? I am going to read Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon that is recommended on her phamplet and also Becoming Vegan which is recommened by John Robbins. I don't plan on eating animal products again, but I want to make sure my wife and I take any supplements we should to ensure the health of our child. I guess I just expected a nutritionist to be open to all eating styles and was kinda offended by this one.

[puffin]

http://www.vegansociety.com/html/peo...egan_children/
Hope this can help.

[Korn]

She gave me a hand out she made that is titled "Why Babies & Children Need Animal Products".

If someone would have handed out a leaflet like that to me, I would either have sued the author, or told the 'expert' that I'll look for another nutritionist... probably both!

I agree with the B-12 and DHA information in her handout because of the information in The Food Revolution

What information is this...?

I am going to read Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon that is recommended on her phamplet

Sally Fallon is the president of Weston A. Price Foundation, the #1 (and only?) anti-vegan organization in the world. I've looked inside that book. Here's some of the stuff Sally Fallon suggest that parents should put in their baby formula: Beef or chicken broth, organic liver, lactose, whey and cod liver... poor baby. And poor animals.

You mention a lot of nutrients, and maybe it's better to start threads about each of these nutrients (we probably have threads about most of them already). Nutritionists that aren't educated about vegan nutrition seem to have a tendency towards suggesting animal products instead of admitting their lack of knowledge, but there are a number of books about vegan/vegetarian nutrition for children and babies out there written by people who have dived much deeper into this than can be done in a leaflet. Even if you trust that vegan food is better for your kids, I'd suggest to read a few books about this topic, because you'll feel better with more knowledge and also have more info if you get questions from others.

[Soul Rebel]

If someone would have handed out a leaflet like that to me, I would either have sued the author, or told the 'expert' that I'll look for another nutritionist... probably both!


What information is this...?


Sally Fallon is the president of Weston A. Price Foundation, the #1 (and only?) anti-vegan organization in the world. I've looked inside that book. Here's some of the stuff Sally Fallon suggest that parents should put in their baby formula: Beef or chicken broth, organic liver, lactose, whey and cod liver... poor baby. And poor animals.

You mention a lot of nutrients, and maybe it's better to start threads about each of these nutrients (we probably have threads about most of them already). Nutritionists that aren't educated about vegan nutrition seem to have a tendency towards suggesting animal products instead of admitting their lack of knowledge, but there are a number of books about vegan/vegetarian nutrition for children and babies out there written by people who have dived much deeper into this than can be done in a leaflet. Even if you trust that vegan food is better for your kids, I'd suggest to read a few books about this topic, because you'll feel better with more knowledge and also have more info if you get questions from others.

I think its funny that the handout has all these facts, but no footnotes on where the information came from. I took it becuase that is one less she can hand out to someone else. Mine went in the recycle bin.

In the book Food Revolution and Diet for a new amercia Mr. Robbins recommends either a B12 supplement or eating foods fortified with B12. He also recommends daily flax seed oil or a DHA supplement for pregnant or breastfeeding women. She talks about both of these in the handouts but doesn't tell the reader a meat eater could also be defficient in these also.

I've tried to read alot on supplements and things over the past two weeks and have pretty much decided on what I think it best for my family as far as supplements and fortified foods, I just like to hear what other take. I listed the other vitamins mentioned in the handout for for reference, I have done a search on them on this webiste.

[j&k]

This "nutritionist's" advice is sorely lacking in credibility and factual support. First, one of the last things a pregnant woman should be taking in is preformed Vitamin A. This is toxic in relatively small doses, and most doctors will advise pregnant women to watch very closely what their intake of this nutrient is. Whereas natural mixed carotenoids found naturally in fruits and vegetables (not just isolated beta carotene) are healthful to pregnancy in any and all doses.

Sally Fallon's book is not worth reading. It is nutritional trash without scientific support.

Your wife should be taking in at least 800iu's of Vitamin D a day unless you are in an area close enough to the equator and are getting sufficient sun (without sun screen and with skin exposed) every day. If Vitamin D levels are low in the mother, then breast milk will have low levels or no levels of vitamin d.

DHA is also very important. You should also ensure a good source of B-12. It is never a bad idea to ensure adequate nutrient levels by taking a good supplement (no iron, preformed vitamin A or isolated beta carotene). But, that being said, no supplement will ever replace a well-balanced diet.

And, as a vegan, you have all of the world's heathiest foods at your disposal, so there is no reason you and your wife should not be able to be as healthy as possible and raise your child very healthy as well.

By the way, I have a 19 month old boy (who is 100% vegan) and he is as healthy as can be. If you don't mind me saying, he is gorgeous too

You do not need to be concerned that being vegan is a problem for any of you!

Best,
Josh

[Seaside]

Hi Soul Rebel! You should check out www.vegantwins.com. These children have been vegan since birth, and they are thriving!!! Their parents are vegan too, and you can contact them if you are interested, by using the link on their page.

[Korn]

There's a forum for vegan and vegetarian parents called vegfamily.com - but we also have a number of vegan parents here, including some that have vegan-since-birth kids (myself being one of them!).

There's one thing that's special for children/babies: they normally never like taking blood tests, and can find it quite traumatic. IMO both vegans and non-vegans should take blood tests to monitor their B12 levels, but for a child, it's IMO better to give them a little B12 to avoid the pain/fear/hassle with blood tests. Just don't overdo it. If your wife had healthy B12 levels during pregnancy/breast feeding, and especially, if the breast feeding period is long, the babies will get good amounts of B12 from their mother.

When our 3 year old son was three, there was an article in a newspaper saying that vegan kids could suffer from not getting enough Omega-3, based on a study comparing babies getting fish oil with vegan babies taking some plant oil that did NOT contain Omega-3 (so much for scientific studies!!!!). Even our non-vegan doctor found this funny: he knew that our son then had better than average motor skills and could read and write lots of words in in addition to being a really nice guy too . He was as far from 'suffering from his diet' as he could be. But eating vegan (or non-vegan) in itself is no guarantee for good health, so I think the questions you ask, Soul Rebel, are important.

Did you find answers to all your questions (about the various nutrients you mentioned)? If not, keep asking!