does being vegetarian stop your growth?

Question

today is day four of me being vegetarian; and my dad told me that if i don't eat meat then i'll stop getting taller (maybe it's just an excuse to get me to eat meat). do you think it's true? i'm already taking calcium supplements everyday. thanks!

i mean stunt. sorry!

Answer 1

Like most people, your dad doesn't know anything about being vegetarian. A healthy veg diet makes a healthy person just as a healthy standard diet makes a healthy person. Same goes both ways for poorly planned diets.

There have been vegan Olympic gold medalists and a vegan woman can create an ENTIRELY NEW,HEALTHY HUMAN BEING INSIDE OF HER. Many of these children stay vegan and grow up to be perfectly healthy adults. So just keep yourself educated about what you eat and don't let anyone tell you that a veg diet is lacking anything essential.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Lewis
http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML_(Draft).htm

Here are some more veg people:
http://www.mikemahler.com/index.html
http://www.vegetarianbodybuilder.com/index2.html
http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/?page=bios
http://www.andreascahling.com/andreas-about
http://www.billpearl.com/career.asp
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-23-27/Salim-Stoudamire-Runs-on-Broccoli.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Danzig
http://www.scottjurek.com/career.php
http://www.nfl.com/players/rickywilliams/profile?id=WIL271115
http://www.brendanbrazier.com/raceresults/index.html

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There is a Japanese analogy/proverb that goes like this, "The nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down". People are like this everywhere. When you tell your family that it is your personal belief that animals should not be eaten, they take a look at themselves and it can be subconsciously translated into, "What you do is wrong and I choose to be right."

Your parents have probably been taught a huge amount of misinformation by their parents and their teachers while growing up. You really need to research vegetarian diets and health before you even think about saying the "V-word" in front of your parents or anyone else.

When you have gathered enough information and feel confident in a vegetarian diet's ability to maintain or even improve health, you may mention to them that you have made the decision. They may be shocked, angry, worried, curious or many other things, but you must NEVER react to their behavior and always stay calm. If they are able to speak to you and respect your choice, please tell them everything and answer all questions. If they are rude, inconsiderate, judgmental, violent, or verbally abusive, refuse to continue any conversation until they can speak to you with respect.

The best advice is to study everything that you can about a healthy vegetarian diet and keep yourself in good shape (better than most people your age or than your friends/family if possible). If nobody that you know shows a genuine, positive interest in your choice, don't give them the privilege of the knowledge that you have gathered. Work your way around any attempts they make to trivialize your beliefs and if possible, go shopping with your parents and buy things that aren't obvious veggie fare. Instead of trying to sneak fake meat into the cart, toss in lentil soup, peanut butter, pasta, fruits & veggies or anything else that you have learned is needed to fill any gaps in your diet.

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If you want to become a lacto-ovo vegetarian, the transition should be quite simple. Almost all meats have widely available commercial replacements. All that you have to do is replace any flesh in your diet (beef, pork, poultry, seafood) with meat analogs or just leave it out altogether.

You should keep in mind that a journey such as this can be quite short but should just be the beginning of a longer one to a plant-based diet with no animal products. This is because of the reality of factory farming in which animals that are kept alive to produce milk, eggs, etc suffer much more and longer than animals that are raised to a certain weight and then slaughtered.http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/
http://meat.org
Some people use the word "vegan" in reference to this idea, but be aware that applying that label to yourself should always come with the inclusion of wise activism and advocacy.http://www.veganoutreach.org/advocacy/index.html
Two extremely important examples of this are that you should never speak to someone about vegetarianism/veganism without their consent and genuine interest or as a comment on what they are eating AND your dietary beliefs should never be used as an introduction or explanation of who you are as a person. Veg*ism should be something that comes up AFTER people get to know you and they offer you a situation that makes it confusing to withhold the information/discussion. Also, if you are presented something that you choose not to eat or you are
ordering food/eating together somewhere/picking the best place to eat.

When you you hold off on the subject until it's necessary and then act like it isn't a big deal at all, people are usually surprised and WAY more interested and curious than if you were to bring it up when someone's eating or just using it as a conversation starter.

A responsible vegan ALWAYS studies the subject of their own health and how to keep their body completely provided for in every sense. http://www.veganhealth.org/sh
To neglect their body is to define a plant-based diet as unhealthy and is the opposite of helping the animals.

Just to clear things up, the vegetarian/vegan diet is not composed of salads, vegetables, fruit and fake meat. Fruits and vegetables are always important but they DO NOT make up the largest portion of any healthy diet.
A balanced plant-based diet includes grains(breads, pasta, rice,cereal), legumes(soy, beans, peas, lentils), fruit and vegetables.
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/food_groups.html
http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/
http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/eating.html
Being vegan can be an art, one whose challenge is to take things that involve the suffering of the innocent and change them into something free of cruelty.

A vegan woman can create an ENTIRELY NEW,HEALTHY HUMAN BEING INSIDE OF HER. Many of these children stay vegan and grow up to be perfectly healthy adults. So just keep yourself educated about what you eat and don't let anyone tell you that a veg diet is lacking anything essential.

Technically the term "vegetarian" does imply that you don't consume anything that comes from the body of an animal that requires killing it. Many ingredients such as gelatin and glycerin are found in many candies, Fig-Newtons, and many of other foods as well as rennet found in many cheeses.
http://www.happycow.net/health-animal-ingredients.html
The best thing to remember is to take your time so that for example: when you are comfortable not eating beef and pork you can then give up chicken when you are sure you can make the commitment permanently.
Depending on your age or reliance on parents or regional options, it may not be best to give yourself a label. The important thing is to do your best to make progress and be committed to your compassion towards animals. Never put your focus onto what you or other people use to describe yourself.

If you meet someone that talks down to people for eating meat, dairy, etc or to you because they think they are "more veg" than you, laugh in their face and tell them they are a disgrace to the entire philosophy. People like this only hurt the idea of veg*ism AND the animals. The point of all of this is to live compassionately and and as free from cruelty as you can, all the while maintaining your health and a positive attitude. People who don't maintain either, need not open their mouths and represent our beliefs.

If you actually choose to read all of this, I hope it helps. If not, feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

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I'm vegan and these are some of my favorite things to eat:

Breakfast: bananas, cream of wheat with brown sugar and soy butter, cereal, pancakes or french toast with real maple syrup, vegan "sausage" patties, smoothies.

Snack: BRUSSEL SPROUTS =) no joke

Lunch: vegan "sausage" sandwiches, sandwiches with vegan deli slices(Tofurkey is the only one that's kinda funky), fruit, dinner leftovers, couscous salad, vegan sushi, potato or pasta salad.

Dinner: sloppy joes, "sausage" and gravy with homemade biscuits, Spaghetti and Trader Joe's "meatballs" or TVP, lasagna, Thai pad see ew, pad khi mao(drunkard's noodles), pad prig king, tofu+eggplant with basil sauce, yellow thai curry with tofu or vegan chikn and veggies and jasmine rice, Indian dal with homemade roti or dosai, channa masala, aloo gobi, vegetable or minestrone soup, pizza, STEAMED "PORK" BUNS with potstickers or spring rolls, sweet&sour/orange/lemon chikn, vegan pho or wonton soup, baked tofu, BBQ homemade seitan (tastes like BBQ'd ribs), kabobs

I use these sites to find recipes:
http://www.foodnetwork.com
http://vegweb.com
http://www.recipezaar.com

Answer 2

Your dad is wrong. Like most people, he probably doesn't know much about nutrition (ask ten people on the street where they get their selenium from and I doubt one could tell you.) Most people, like your dad, just go on believing that the diet they were raised on is the "right" one.

Going vegetarian is a very healthy choice. The research is out there that proves we live longer and have lower instances of heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and even some types of cancer. The research is also out there that proves that vegetarian kids, even ones veg from birth, are the same size as their meat-eating counterparts. You need good nutrition to grow as tall as your genes code for. Going vegetarian is a perfect opportunity to learn about nutrition and set yourself up for a lifetime of good health.

Look for a book called "Raising Vegetarian Children" by Stepaniak and Melina. Get your dad to read it, too. It has some info about vegetarian pregancy and infancy, but also includes lots of information about healthy teen vegetarianism and stuff for parents about how to deal with a veg teen. Plus, it has some really great recipes, including school lunch ideas.

Quitting meat can actually help you retain calcium. Most meat eaters get WAY more protein than they need and excess protein leaches calcium from the bones. Milk has been touted as this great source of calcium, but the animal protein in it results in calcium loss. Quinoa, a grain that you cook like rice, has more calcium in a cup than a quart of milk does. It's also a complete source of protein and iron.

Just do your research and show your dad what you've learned. That should help him feel more comfortable with your decision.

Answer 3

It will not stunt your growth. Period. You should take care to eat a balanced diet which is a bit harder without meat, but it is perfectly healthy. Your dad is just worried that you won't get proper nutrition. Do a little research so you can assure him you know what you have to do to be healthy.

Enjoy.

I'm not sure where you're from, but the "average" American diet includes 6 times as much protein as the body actually requires. So it's true you have to figure out how to make healthy combinations (ex: beans and rice combined provide you with a complete protein) but you don't need as much protein as you were probably eating with meat.

Answer 4

No, plenty of people are raised as vegetarians and have grown. Growth is based on genetics.

You still need to be sure you are getting the proper nutrients if you are still growing, but there is nothing in meat that cannot be found in vegetarian sources.

It is not hard at all to get enough protein, etc from a non meat source. Beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables all contain protein.

Answer 5

Not if you get enough calories from a variety of foods: 1500-2300 depending on weight. Tell him you're researching it, then tell him what you learned.

WOW....acording to these answers, meat eaters are just as alarmist as vegans. A meat-less diet isn't a handycap....it's the most common diet on the planet when factoring in all animals(and ironically, the animals people eat - for that "superior nutrition")

Too MUCH protein is a bigger problem; it also depletes calcium.

- "FOR EVERY CHICKEN YOU DON'T EAT I'LL EAT FIVE"
Aren't you the one who's already eating 5 a day for the one I don't eat??

Answer 6

Being a vegetarian doesn't stunt your growth, however your bones & muscles need plenty of protein otherwise you won't grow. Now that you are a vegetarian, make sure you eat a diet rich in cheese, nuts, beans, & soy to get the necessary protein that you need. Remember to consume enough calcium too!

It sounds like you are still in school since you are concerned about growing still. You may want to ask your school nurse or one of the health teachers for resources on eating & living a healthy vegetarian lifestyle. They may even have some resources available to help your father cope with your dietary decisions & to understand why a vegetarian lifestyle is healthy.

Answer 7

Some people think that since meat is often less calorie-dense than many other foods we consume, being vegetarian is the "healthier" option. Personally, I think that one can be omnivorous and healthy almost as easily as being vegetarian and healthy. The reason I choose not to eat meat is because of how commercialized and inhumane the industry has become, especially in the United States. I don't think that it's innately "wrong" to eat meat, or healthier not to. Everyone has their particular reason.

Answer 8

get together with others who eat good vegetarain diets. It is very easy to do a wrong veggie diet and get sick... like too much pasta and cheeze diet!
You can get plenty of protein and such, but need to look at also getting B12! Get some good books, go to potlucks and talk. There are some very wise vegetarians out there who will help you make sure you get a balanced intake. Your dad is not a good source of information about something he does not practice. So learn about it, for if you do not like alot of veggies, beans, etc, then you might want to eat meat! It must be balanced nutritian! It is a learning curve!

Answer 9

Well, there's vegetarian and then there's vegan. You need a lot of protein when you are growing. One source is meat. But you can also get protein from eggs, cheese, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. Pasta might have protein, too. Look on the box. If you drink 3 glasses of milk a day, I think you'd be okay. You can also get protein from nuts and soybean products like tofu products. You can get Bocca burgers, made out of soybeans, in the frozen food dept. of the grocery. There are other meat substitutes there, too, but I don't know what they are. Go grocery shopping with your folks, ask for some Bocca burgers and ask your Dad to have one, too. I haven't had them, but I hear they are pretty good. It wouldn't hurt a lot of us to cut back on the meat we eat, but I could never be a vegetarian and most definitely not a Vegan.

Answer 10

not a chance... tell your dad I SAID, he should have spent more time in school learning how to research before his mouth opened. That is false... I have gotten nothing but stronger and height has nothing to do with vegetarianism... If he needs proof have him look up sources of complete protein and see the sources that are vegetarian... Sorry and I don't mean to sound like I'm bashing your father... but he has absolutely no idea what he's talking about.

Answer 11

He's right. You really have to be a freaking chemist to get the right combination of supplements and plant crap to make up for a growing young person. OR you can eat a normal, balanced diet that includes meat, fish, poultry, dairy and seafood and enjoy a life free of worry and stunted growth.