Heather in the Kootenays Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 My 16 yo dd has been a vegetarian for about 8 months. At least she says she's a vegetarian - she eats precious few vegetables. She eats lots of carbs and dairy - toast for breakfast, perogies for lunch, and picks at dinner. She's gained weight since starting this (probably mostly because she also started school and I'm guessing they buy junk food at lunch). She's not what you'd call heavy but she's clearly put on some weight. The rest of the family eats meat two or three times a week. We all eat fish at least once a week. Anyway, she's started crunchy ice incessantly which makes me crazy. I recall hearing that ice crunchy is possibly related to iron deficiency. So I guess I have two questions - 1. What supplements should she be taking? 2. Is ice crunching bad for her teeth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom to Aly Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 First, I was raised vegetarian, and I need to dispell a couple of myths--vegetarians are not all thin! I was just talking to a friend of mine about this same thing last night. There is the health nut veggie, often a vegan, who eats mostly veggies, who is often stick thin--then there is the veggie who often does it for moral reasons. The main diff is we don't get the huge amount of protein you do from meat, and most veggie food is not as filling as meat, so we do tend to eat more. And lots of veggies don't like vegetables as much as you'd think, just like "normal" people. I didn't eat many vegetables until recently, mainly because I didn't like that many when I was young and hadn't tried them when older. Now that I have, I'm stunned to find I like almost all! Second, while crunching ice is supposed to be a sign anemia, some people just like to do it, so do check with her doc before doing anything--too much iron can be a prob, too. There are other supplements veggies can need, and she should have a blood workup. Becoming vegetarian, while I think it is commendable, and wish the world would do it, is a responsibility, to her own health and welfare, and I would want her to look into a better balanced diet. But, the diet cannot be blamed solely on being veggie--how many teens do we know that eat like that? Do you give her protein choices, or does she make her own food? If she does, maybe you can require her to add veggies and protein, and she should really look into ethnic choices for veggies, Indian, Chinese, Morrocan, etc. There are wonderful choices from countries that eat more veggies than we usually do, and I bet she'd like some. Also, if you let her know, I've known a lot of people who have switched to veggie for moral reasons and gained weight--being a teen, if she wants to fight that, she needs good veggie and protein choices. Hopefully, that will help her wake up! Best of luck--I'm happy to help, if you'd like any suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5knights3maidens Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 I definitely would get her some blood tests for her blood counts, cholesterol, vitamins and calcium and especially vitamin D, etc.... We just found out dd (14) is extremely low with D and she is always outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fshinkevich Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 I would just get a good vegetarian multivitamin, and steer her towards better food choices (more fruits, veggies, legumes), if you have health insurance you might be able to get her a meeting with a nutritionist that could help her with some recipes and meal plans, or just get her a good book or two on the subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meljoy Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Juice Plus is an excellent supplement -at the very least I would have her take a quality multi-vitamin. What about a protein shake for breakfast? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in the Kootenays Posted September 3, 2008 Author Share Posted September 3, 2008 I've made an appointment for her and won't get any supplements until the blood work is done. I support her choice and you're quite right - lots of teens eat poorly. I think her change coincided with her going to ps. Probably ps has more to do with her diet getting worse than vegetarianism. It was easier to make sure she ate well when she was doing most of it here. I think I'm being overly cautious about adressing her eating habits directly because we've recently discovered that my good friend's daughter is seriously anorexic and food is feeling like a loaded topic around here. Anyway, thanks again. More thoughts gratefully accepted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Juice Plus is an excellent supplement -at the very least I would have her take a quality multi-vitamin. What about a protein shake for breakfast? :iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom to Aly Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 I am so glad to hear you are not jumping the gun and loading her with what might be unnecessary vitamins! People can do more harm overloading on vitamins than deficiencies can do. One thing to make sure you ask about is the B's. I am 42, and just found out, by accident, that I was low on the B's--mainly because I was getting these cuts on the side of my mouth. I had gotten to where I could eat nothing acidic, like strawberries, pineapple, tomatoes, etc. Three docs had told me it was a vit. def, but they didn't know what. A pharmacist recommended a B complex, I started taking it, it went away, after nearly 5 years of the food prob continually getting worse! When I told my doc, she was basically like, Oh, yeah (slap the forehead type of thing), most veggie's don't get enough B! Anyway, do talk to your doc about that, and, I think if you let the doc talk to her about her diet and how it can effect her weight, skin, how gaining weight can cause stretch marks, cellulite, etc., you will see a pretty quick change in her ;). Best of luck! PS Here are a couple of sites that include a ton of tofu recipes. The first one is a page for kid-friendly recipes, but they are easy and yummy, so I included. The last site is for portabello mushrooms, which are wonderful, and the texture, I'm told, is very meaty, so a lot of ex meat eaters really like it. Ultra healty, and something the whole fam might like (you all might like the tofu as well, and it is incredibly healthy as well. http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-recipes/tofu-recipes.php http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/tofu/ http://www.bigoven.com/7751-Portabella-Mushroom-Sandwich-recipe.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E_Edgerton Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 I was a teenage vegetarian. My dad being a pharmacist immediately put me on a good multi-vitamin and an iron supplement. I was not a big carb person...but I ate a great deal of asian food because it had a lot of veg. options. Maybe you both could research this. I would also stick with low fat dairy products. They will still give her to calcium but without all the extra calories. That is at least a start.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yslek Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 2. Is ice crunching bad for her teeth? Yes. I had an uncle who was a dentist, and he remarked on how many broken teeth he saw from ice crunching and popcorn kernel munching. (I used to munch popcorn kernels before I heard that. Now I don't, and I don't let my dc, either. I will eat the partially popped ones, though. ;)) Kelsy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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