Turning vegan
Just when you've mastered integrating the needs of a lacto-ovo vegetarian into your family meals, your teen announces that she has turned vegan. She explains that although people who drink milk and eat eggs don't kill animals, they do exploit them, and she just doesn't want to be part of it. Vegans eat no meat, eggs, milk or milk products, honey, or gelatine (which comes from the skin, bone marrow, and connective tissue of animals). Purist vegans also avoid using other animal products. They don't wear or use products made from leather, wool, or down. Some will not use glycerine soap (from animal fat) or moisturizing lotion containing lanolin (from sheep's wool), and they won't wear silk (made by silk worms).
Dining out with a vegan can get complicated. At some fast-food restaurants, the only thing a vegan can order is a tossed salad. But she can have fries if they're deep-fried in vegetable oil. If you know your daughter and her friends are heading for the local fast-food hangout, suggest she eat before "going out to dinner." But take her vegan commitment as an opportunity for the family to explore different restaurants. Indian restaurants serve many curried vegetable-only dishes, and Chinese restaurants excel at tofu stir-fries and other vegetable-only dishes.
Nutrition check for vegans
As a vegan, your teen faces even more concerns about adequate nutrition. Not only does she need your help to ensure she receives sufficient energy, iron, and zinc, but also sufficient calcium, protein, and vitamins B12 and D.
Calcium Good vegan sources of calcium include tofu made with a calcium compound such as calcium sulphate, broccoli, kale, sesame butter, and almonds. Soy milk is now calcium-fortified.
Protein Choose whole-grain breads, nuts, nut butters, chickpeas, hummus (made from chickpeas), lentils, and soybean products like tofu. It was once believed that only by combining specific plant foods in the same meal would you consume a complete protein. Now dietitians know that if you eat different plant foods over the course of the day, you absorb all the amino acids needed for complete protein.
Vitamin B12 Because plants contain no vitamin B12, a vegan will need a daily supplement of 1.0 mcg of B12 to prevent a deficiency. (This dosage is available in most multivitamins.) Another way a vegan can get B12 is by choosing soy milk for breakfast cereals or simulated meat products fortified with B12.
Vitamin D Chemicals in the skin form this vitamin when your body is exposed to the sun. The climate from November to March or April in most of Canada doesn't guarantee enough sunshine for people to produce adequate vitamin D, so Health Canada regulations ensure that milk and margarine are fortified with vitamin D. If your vegan child spends less than 15 minutes per day outdoors (without sunscreen) or lives in the Far North, where sunlight is limited, he needs a supplement containing 2.5 mcg of vitamin D daily.
