I am a growing teenager, is it bad to stop eating red meat?

Question

I am 13 and don't eat red meat anymore. my friends tell me it is bad sometimes cuz i am not getting enough iron. Please tell me more things and nutrients that i would be missing and please give me an alternative!

Answer 1

You can get additional iron from other sources. Red meat is really not good for you on the whole. Broccoli is a good source of iron as are many other vegetables. You can always take an iron supplement found in a multivitamin.

Answer 2

You just have an atypical diet for your area, thus why your friends are worrying. Think of it this way, the Japanese eat a mostly fish diet, and they're incredibly healthy. Moreso, there's some studies that show that even going vegetarian can improve your health. There's a kind of correlation between eating less meat and having better health, I'll put the link below.

However, you do have to get the nutrients from other sources, and because I'm no expert I'd say go to a dietitian(your doctor or a gym would tell you which to go to) and find out what you have to eat to ensure optimal health.

Below I'm adding the link to the China study, which has some notes on meat consumption.

Answer 3

My 12 year old is a thriving veggie, has been for years. She is an honor roll student, brown belt in karate, and clearly healthier than her meat eating friends. The majority of people will tell you that you NEED meat. Ignore them, you dont as long as you get good sources of protein from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, eggs, cheese, and other nutritious foods. Quinoa (pronounced keen wa) is a delicious grain that is like tiny pasta. It is a super source of protein and nutrients. We don't use supplements because we drink lots of freshly made carrot, celery, apple, parsley, and swiss chard juices. If you feel you need a vitamin supplement, get your mom to help you chose a good one-liquid vitamins are best, I recommend Buried Treasure brand from the health food stores. Good luck on your lifestyle choices. Let them be just that YOUR choices-dont let other people influence you. Realize that most people who eat a standard diet are completely clueless about what is in foods and beverages consumed by the masses. Be one that strays from the herd (literally) and learns about alternative ways of eating

Answer 4

that is not true at all!

I am now 14 years old and I've been a vegetarian since I was 6. you will be missing out on a lot of protien and iron, but there are simple ways to get them back.

cheese, nuts, and peanut spread are all good sources of protein.

I am not 100% how to get iron, but I take a "Flintstones Complete" vitamin, every other morning. it gives me all the iron I need in one day.

Answer 5

I was not awakened to VEGANISM thru fear and threat I was awakened thru COMPASSION and thought on that issue. So just take this for what it is as a perspective after the fact of me waking up to be vegan :ISN'T your question similar to saying - "should I stop slaving out the brown man NOW or later or what? I mean I have a field of cotton to pick...."

Or perhaps : what if humans were being EATEN by others wouldwe want them to "think" and "mull" over the idea of stoppoing to eat us or would we want them to stop "flat out"?

I hope you can COME TO SEE THRU in the name of compassion, and just keep these perspectives in the back of the mind to REALIZE that we as MAN are not really any different than creatures we as a "collective earthman society" ABUSE today.(The laws which condone such are why I as a member of "earthmen" am still very responsible for the MURDER and RAPE even though I have been on a VEGAN DIET now for sometime, I hope for a change in LAWs)

Answer 6

You'd be doing yourself a favor to stop. I read that the red meat in our stores is so full of hormones and antibiotics and other carcinogens(cancer causing elements) that it's as bad for you as smoking! I am a vegetarian and give blood all the time. Just eat the stuff other people said- brocolli, pinto beans, etc.

Answer 7

You'll be fine. Plenty of people don't eat any meat at all and they're fine.

You may want to cut down on dairy, though - it interferes with iron absorption.

Answer 8

Fish and chicken will provide you of all the iron you need if eaten in the right amounts.
Green vegetables have "not heme-iron" which is less absorbed in your intestine, they are a bad source for iron...you would have to eat a basket full of it to compare it to 150 gr of chicken.
Take care

Answer 9

don't worry. I'm 15 and stopped eating meat altogether when I was about 12. Just take vitamin supplements and eat your green veggies, and you'll be fine.

Answer 10

no way, eating red meat is bad for you. it has been proved to cause certain cancers such as lymph node cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer, and there are plenty of alternatives out there. i'm a veggie, and i get all the nutrients i need. check out http://www.goveg.com/vegetarian101.asp for recipes and lots of info on vegetarianism if you want to become one.