'Green teens' need variety to be healthy

[Guest guest]

http://www.courierjournal.com/features/health/2003/02/hf-1-med-3003.html

 

Eat Right

'Green teens' need variety to be healthy

 

 

By DARLA CARTER

DCarter

The Courier-Journal

 

Katrina Potter, a vegan, said former clasmates would rib her about her diet.

Photo by Sam Upshaw Jr.So you decided to become a teen vegetarian this year. Now

you're stuck in a rut — living off cheese pizza and french fries.

Not only are you boring your taste buds, you're missing out on essential

vitamins and minerals crucial to staying healthy.

Sure, you feel invincible now. But if you don't change your eating habits, you

might not have the energy to pull that all-nighter when finals roll around or to

frolic endlessly over spring break.

" I know some people who have tried to be vegetarian, and they don't include

enough protein or they don't get their milk in, " said Michelle Schuppe, a

registered dietitian and clinical nutrition manager at Jewish Hospital. " They

feel really rundown and kind of out of energy after a few weeks, or they're

getting sick all the time and they can't figure out why.

" It's because they're not getting the nourishment they need. "

It's a common problem for teens who choose a vegetarian life style — often more

for social, philosophical or environmental reasons than their health.

Having strong convictions is good, said Holly Clark, executive director of

EarthSave Louisville, a group that promotes plant-based eating.

" I'm like, 'Grandma, Nanny, did you put ham hock in your greens? I can't eat

that.' "

-- Brittany Stevenson

 

 

" You're making a great difference by doing this — and you're going to impact

animals' lives immensely — but you're not going to be able to continue to do it

if you don't know what you're doing and you don't do it the right way, which is

the healthy way.'' (Clark's group will offer a vegetarian cooking class for

teens March 2. Call 458-8515 for details.)

The key is for teens — and others who decide to become vegetarian — to eat a

varied diet of healthy foods, including a variety of fruits and vegetables,

whole grain products, beans and pasta, said Schuppe and other experts.

Think salad. Think veggie burgers. Think bean burritos. Think tofu.

" It sounds kind of cliché, but seriously, just eat a balanced diet. . . . Try

not to have all of one thing, " said Sara Thurman, a 19-year-old vegan (the term

used for people who shun not only meat but any food from an animal, including

milk and cheese).

Thurman, a student at the University of Louisville, became vegetarian at age 12

after deciding " I didn't want to eat any more animals. " She became vegan soon

afterward. She said she has gone from eating pizza " all the time " to eating " a

good mix of vegetables and other things. "

She also takes a daily multivitamin to make sure she doesn't miss any important

nutrients.

Carol S. Johnston, a professor in the department of nutrition at Arizona State

University East, recommends that vegans take B-12, vitamin D and calcium

supplements.

" Technically anybody who is eating a healthy, well-balanced diet every day

doesn't need a supplement, " Schuppe said, but sometimes diets fall short because

of " our hectic, crazy lifestyles. "

Brittany Stevenson, a Louisville native in her freshman year at New York

University, said she's found that it's easier to eat at school than it was at

home because there's greater variety there.

At home, " I get on everyone's nerves because I'm like, `Grandma, Nanny, did you

put ham hock in your greens? I can't eat that,' " said Stevenson, who grew up in

Atlanta and has been vegetarian since seventh grade.

She said her family has occasionally made adjustments for her, such as having

tofu — a cheese-like food made from soybean extracts — for her on one

Thanksgiving. That was " really cool, " Stevenson said.

Such vegetarian products are plentiful in the Louisville area, from major

supermarkets to healthfood stores, which sometimes have more vegan sweet items

like tofu ice cream, Thurman said. Some places will even add new products if

asked, Clark said.

If you're not sure about how to get the right mix of foods, buy a book about

nutrition, go to the library or check such Web sites as www.vrg.org or

www.andrews.edu/NUFS/vndpg.html.

Get a vegetarian food pyramid, which lists food groups and recommended servings.

The pyramids, also called food guides, vary, depending on their source and what

type of vegetarian they're designed for. (Vegans don't eat meat, fish, poultry,

dairy or eggs. Lacto-ovo vegetarians will eat milk, cheese, yogurt and eggs.

Lactovegetarians will eat dairy but no eggs. Ovo vegetarians eat eggs but no

dairy.)

Johnston, a longtime vegetarian who also teaches vegetarian nutrition, recently

helped create a new food pyramid, with lactovegetarians and vegans in mind. " It

promotes the foods that we know are good for growth as well as overall general

health " and addresses deficiencies in their diet, she said.

Although there are many health benefits to being vegetarian, including lower

body weight and less heart disease and cancer, " they also tend to have more

micronutrient deficiencies, and they have B-12 problems and tend to have bone

problems because they're not getting enough calcium, and they tend to be

anemic, " Johnston said.

Her pyramid leans heavily on fruits and vegetables, along with legumes, soy

products and whole grains to provide a diet chock-full of antioxidants,

phytochemicals and fiber to ward off chronic diseases.

It also promotes eating green, leafy vegetables — loaded with calcium — and

suggests eating dried fruits for their abundant iron. Other recommended foods

include dairy or substitutes, fortified breakfast cereals, beans, nuts and seeds

as well as monounsaturated fats and essential fatty acids.

" A lot of vegetarians try to keep all of the fat out of their diet, and actually

that's not good, " Johnston said. " You can get an essential-fatty-acid deficiency

from that. . . . It also tends to make your good cholesterol fall really low,

and that's not good. "

For support, look to other vegetarians, who can serve as a resource and may make

you feel more secure in a nation dominated by meat-eaters.

Katrina Potter, a 21-year-old vegan who lives in Louisville, said former

classmates would rib her by saying things like " You killed that broccoli! "

& elipse; " I just told them to shut up. "

Relatives can be tough too, especially if they're insulted that you won't eat

their meatloaf or Thanksgiving turkey.

Try to get parents onboard by showing that you're concerned about your diet and

that you're willing to see a doctor to get advice, and make sure you don't have

a health condition that would make it unwise for you to give up meat.

" Some medical conditions are actually helped, " Schuppe said. " Diabetics usually

do better on a vegetarian diet. Any child that's obese usually does better on a

vegetarian diet. "

When Stevenson decided to give up meat, her parents worried that she might

become malnourished because she was already short and skinny, but her doctor

approved her decision on the condition that she get plenty of protein from other

sources.

Don't be surprised if your parents keep a watchful eye on you — as they should.

Some young people will say they're " becoming vegetarian " when they're actually

on the verge of an eating disorder, nutrition experts say. If you or your

parents are concerned about that, see a doctor.

For more information about Johnston's food pyramid and for sample menus, go to

www.east.asu.edu/ecollege/nutrition/research/vegetarianism.htm.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

On Fri, 7 Feb 2003 10:16:26 -0800 (PST), Maynard S. Clark

<MaynardClark wrote:

 

> around or to frolic endlessly over spring break. " I know some people who

> have tried to be vegetarian, and they don't include enough protein or

> they don't get their milk in, " said Michelle Schuppe, a registered

> dietitian and clinical nutrition manager at Jewish Hospital. " They feel

 

Oh dear. Still the protein and milk thing eh?

 

How about saying that they should eat more pulses (i.e. beans, even baked

beans!) and some fresh food, instead of recommending they ingest the milk

of another creature?!

 

Marc

(Who is dead against veggies/vegans who want to live off chips and other

junk food - common sense should tell them that it's not good for them! TIP:

It's why they call it " junk " )

[Guest guest]

I agree with Marc on the milk issue. My 4 yo gets asked a lot if she drinks all

her milk or has milk with her cookies, etc. She thinks this is funny and

laughingly replies " I don't drink cow's because I'm a girl, not a calf " . She

was never told to say this. I guess it's the way a child raised in a veggie

household thinks.

Stephanie

-

Marc Palmer

Monday, February 10, 2003 9:20 AM

Re: 'Green teens' need variety to be healthy

 

 

On Fri, 7 Feb 2003 10:16:26 -0800 (PST), Maynard S. Clark

<MaynardClark wrote:

 

> around or to frolic endlessly over spring break. " I know some people who

> have tried to be vegetarian, and they don't include enough protein or

> they don't get their milk in, " said Michelle Schuppe, a registered

> dietitian and clinical nutrition manager at Jewish Hospital. " They feel

 

Oh dear. Still the protein and milk thing eh?

 

How about saying that they should eat more pulses (i.e. beans, even baked

beans!) and some fresh food, instead of recommending they ingest the milk

of another creature?!

 

Marc

(Who is dead against veggies/vegans who want to live off chips and other

junk food - common sense should tell them that it's not good for them! TIP:

It's why they call it " junk " )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at

http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to

http://www.vrg.org/family.