Children 'harmed' by vegan diets

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4282257.stm

Putting children on strict vegan diets is "unethical" and could harm
their development, a US scientist has argued.

Lindsay Allen, of the US Agricultural Research Service, attacked
parents who insisted their children lived by the maxim "meat is
murder".

Animal source foods have some nutrients not found anywhere else, she
told a Washington science conference.

The Vegan Society dismissed the claims, saying its research showed
vegans were often healthier than meat eaters.

'Development affected'

Professor Allen said: "There have been sufficient studies clearly
showing that when women avoid all animal foods, their babies are born
small, they grow very slowly and they are developmentally retarded,
possibly permanently."


There's absolutely no question that it's unethical for parents to bring
up their children as strict vegans
Professor Lindsay Allen, US Agricultural Research Service

"If you're talking about feeding young children, pregnant women and
lactating women, I would go as far as to say it is unethical to
withhold these foods [animal source foods] during that period of life."

She was especially critical of parents who imposed a vegan lifestyle on
their children, denying them milk, cheese, butter and meat.

"There's absolutely no question that it's unethical for parents to
bring up their children as strict vegans," she told the annual meeting
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Missing nutrients

She said the damage to a child began while it was growing in the womb
and continued once it had been born.

Research she carried out among African schoolchildren suggests as
little as two spoonfuls of meat each day is enough to provide nutrients
such as vitamin B12, zinc and iron.

The 544 children studied had been raised on diets chiefly consisting of
starchy, low-nutrition corn and bean staples lacking these
micronutrients.

Over two years, some of the children were given 2oz supplements of meat
each day, equivalent to about two spoonfuls of mince.

Two other groups received either a cup of milk a day or an oil
supplement containing the same amount of energy. The diet of a fourth
group was left unaltered.


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The changes seen in the children given the meat, and to a lesser extent
the milk or oil, were dramatic.

These children grew more and performed better on problem-solving and
intelligence tests than any of the other children at the end of the two
years.

They also became more active, talkative and playful at school.

Adding either meat or milk to the diets also almost completely
eliminated the very high rates of vitamin B12 deficiency previously
seen in the children.

No quick fixes

Professor Allen stressed that although the study was conducted in a
poor African community, its message was highly relevant to people in
developed countries.

She accepted that adults could avoid animal foods if they took the
right supplements, but she said adding animal source food into the diet
was a better way to tackle malnutrition worldwide than quick fixes with
supplements in the form of pills.

"Where feasible, it would be much better to do it through the diet than
by giving pills," she said.

"With pills it's very hard to be certain that the quantity of nutrition
is right for everybody and it's hard to sustain."

In Africa, good results had been obtained from giving people a dried
meat on a stick snack which proved both nutritious and appealing.

Professor Montague Demment, from the University of California at Davis,
said more emphasis should be placed on animal source food to combat
global malnutrition.

Vegan defence

However, the claims have been dismissed by the Vegan Society in the UK.

In a statement, it said increasing numbers of people were opting for a
plant-based diet.

Kostana Azmi, the chief executive officer, said: "The vegan diet can
provide you with more energy, nutrition, and is bursting with
goodness."

She said plant sources were sometimes a safer, and cheaper source of
nutrients.

For instance, animal sources of omega-3 oils, needed for the
development of the brain and nervous system, were often contaminated
with pollutants, such as mercury in fish.

In addition, the vegan diet was often a healthier alternative. She said
dairy and meat products were rich in saturated fat, while plant based
diets were low in it.

The society does recommend that vegans supplement their diet with
vitamin B-12 pills.

The US Agricultural Research Service is part of the US Department of
Agriculture.

Ignoramus15794 wrote:
Would be more interesting to know if children are harmed by low carb
diets. My child is not low carbing, so this question is of theoretical
nature.

I think it depends on how you define low. 20g of carbs a day would likely
stunt development. OTOH, 500 g of carbs a day will likely produce a fat
child. 250g a day might be just right, depending on the kid.

Ignoramus15794 wrote:
On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 18:18:31 -0500, Roger Zoul
wrote:
Ignoramus15794 wrote:
Would be more interesting to know if children are harmed by low carb
diets. My child is not low carbing, so this question is of
theoretical nature.

I think it depends on how you define low. 20g of carbs a day would
likely stunt development. OTOH, 500 g of carbs a day will likely
produce a fat child. 250g a day might be just right, depending on
the kid.

I do not think that it is proper to refer to grams regardless of the
weight of the child, but I agree that there is some best amount,
depending on the child.

Not many kids will need 500 g of carbs per day. It's not rocket science.

"none90810" wrote in message
oups.com...

Kostana Azmi, the chief executive officer, said: "The vegan diet can
provide you with more energy, nutrition, and is bursting with
goodness."

The society does recommend that vegans supplement their diet with
vitamin B-12 pills.

It made me laugh to read the two above sentences. Apparently there isn't
enough "goodness" to avoid supplementing during pregnancy. Although, to say
that developed countries can benefit, it doesn't seem that it'd be such an
issue since anyone that visits a doctor will likely be given prenatal pills.

Interesting research though,
Mark

On 21 Feb 2005 22:54:43 GMT, Ignoramus15794
wrote:


Would be more interesting to know if children are harmed by low carb
diets. My child is not low carbing, so this question is of theoretical
nature.

I began LCing when my daughters were 2 and 3 years old. While I did
not and have not pushed them towards a Low-Carb diet they decided on
their own that they preferred meats, fruits and vegetables to make up
the bulk of their diets (diet in the sense of 'what they eat' not
'deliberately restrictive eating plan') and self-limit grains and
sugars. Recently they came home from a birthday party complaining
that there hadn't been enough Good Things To Eat and they hadn't want
to fill up on honey-popcorn and candy so could they have a nice plate
of broccoli please? You can bet I quickly steamed them up some!

On a typical day they would probably take in under 100g of carb - they
are 10 and (almost) 9 years old now. The elder girl is at the 80th
percentile for both height and weight (with very little extraneous fat
- she's just a very active girl with plenty of muscle) while the
younger is at the 75th percentile for height and the 50th for weight.
They are involved with swimming and karate on a regular basis, and
love to spend their own time in training for these sports as well as
their regular training sessions. They are both extremely bright with
reading and mathematics ages (as tested by the school) a good 4 years
ahead of their chronological ages.

For my kids, keeping them on a lower-carb plan seems not to have given
them any problems so far.

Aramanth

On 21 Feb 2005 22:54:43 GMT, Ignoramus15794
wrote:


Would be more interesting to know if children are harmed by low carb
diets. My child is not low carbing, so this question is of theoretical
nature.

I began LCing when my daughters were 2 and 3 years old. While I did
not and have not pushed them towards a Low-Carb diet they decided on
their own that they preferred meats, fruits and vegetables to make up
the bulk of their diets (diet in the sense of 'what they eat' not
'deliberately restrictive eating plan') and self-limit grains and
sugars. Recently they came home from a birthday party complaining
that there hadn't been enough Good Things To Eat and they hadn't want
to fill up on honey-popcorn and candy so could they have a nice plate
of broccoli please? You can bet I quickly steamed them up some!

On a typical day they would probably take in under 100g of carb - they
are 10 and (almost) 9 years old now. The elder girl is at the 80th
percentile for both height and weight (with very little extraneous fat
- she's just a very active girl with plenty of muscle) while the
younger is at the 75th percentile for height and the 50th for weight.
They are involved with swimming and karate on a regular basis, and
love to spend their own time in training for these sports as well as
their regular training sessions. They are both extremely bright with
reading and mathematics ages (as tested by the school) a good 4 years
ahead of their chronological ages.

For my kids, keeping them on a lower-carb plan seems not to have given
them any problems so far.

Aramanth

Roger Zoul wrote:
Ignoramus15794 wrote:
Would be more interesting to know if children are harmed by low carb
diets. My child is not low carbing, so this question is of
theoretical nature.

I think it depends on how you define low. 20g of carbs a day would
likely stunt development. OTOH, 500 g of carbs a day will likely
produce a fat child. 250g a day might be just right, depending on the
kid.

LittleBigMan (aka the grandkid) gets a maintenence type lowcarb diet, most
days, somewhere between 100 and 150g, (but when he's with either set of
grandparents it tends to go up another 50 grams or so-mostly junk food of
course, I am a grandparent after all).

He adores jerky, and cheese smothered anything, peanut butter, and bananas
(his one really high carb fruit). He's not all that fond of wheat products
(including sugar drenched cereals), and although corn chips are ok once in a
while he likes plain popcorn much better. He actually likes spinach and
broccoli and prefers them to peas and corn.

His "bad food" passions are Diet Rite Tangerine soda and duck sauce
drenched rice.

Of course he loves chocolate, but he prefers the dark. His momma lowcarbed
during pregnancy and lactation.

He is in the 75th percentile for his age group (height, weight and
mental/social development), according to WIC, and 'textbook perfect'
according to his pediatrician, who seems moderately impressed with how
healthy and bright he is, which makes me wonder what she normally deals
with.

--�
revek
This sentence no verb. This sentence short. This signature done.

No problem Ig.

I feel (in the interests of honesty) that the odds are my kids would
have been tall and smart even if they didn't LC. My 6'8" husband
meant they got a lot of genes for 'tall' and we are both fairly
intelligent. In fact, he's got a PhD in Tachyon Physics and currently
works as a research scientist. So, they get a lot of encouragement at
home to make the most of their brains which goes a long way towards
their precocious reading and mathematical ability.

Aramanth


On 22 Feb 2005 01:16:13 GMT, Ignoramus15794
wrote:

Thanks, Aramanth and revek.

i

On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 11:28:45 +1030, Aramanth Dawe wrote:
On 21 Feb 2005 22:54:43 GMT, Ignoramus15794
wrote:


Would be more interesting to know if children are harmed by low carb
diets. My child is not low carbing, so this question is of theoretical
nature.

I began LCing when my daughters were 2 and 3 years old. While I did
not and have not pushed them towards a Low-Carb diet they decided on
their own that they preferred meats, fruits and vegetables to make up
the bulk of their diets (diet in the sense of 'what they eat' not
'deliberately restrictive eating plan') and self-limit grains and
sugars. Recently they came home from a birthday party complaining
that there hadn't been enough Good Things To Eat and they hadn't want
to fill up on honey-popcorn and candy so could they have a nice plate
of broccoli please? You can bet I quickly steamed them up some!

On a typical day they would probably take in under 100g of carb - they
are 10 and (almost) 9 years old now. The elder girl is at the 80th
percentile for both height and weight (with very little extraneous fat
- she's just a very active girl with plenty of muscle) while the
younger is at the 75th percentile for height and the 50th for weight.
They are involved with swimming and karate on a regular basis, and
love to spend their own time in training for these sports as well as
their regular training sessions. They are both extremely bright with
reading and mathematics ages (as tested by the school) a good 4 years
ahead of their chronological ages.

For my kids, keeping them on a lower-carb plan seems not to have given
them any problems so far.

Aramanth

Aramanth Dawe wrote:
No problem Ig.

I feel (in the interests of honesty) that the odds are my kids would
have been tall and smart even if they didn't LC. My 6'8" husband
meant they got a lot of genes for 'tall' and we are both fairly
intelligent. In fact, he's got a PhD in Tachyon Physics and currently
works as a research scientist. So, they get a lot of encouragement at
home to make the most of their brains which goes a long way towards
their precocious reading and mathematical ability.

Aramanth

As another data point, my kidling comes from just the opposite background.
2 families of short folks, who have a wide IQ spread. I'm not naming names
(to protect the guilty) but some of the stupids pulled could have damaged
genetic matierial (or be evidence of same).

--�
revek
You are in a maze of twisty little messages, all alike.

"revek" wrote in message
...

He is in the 75th percentile for his age group (height, weight and
mental/social development), according to WIC, and 'textbook perfect'
according to his pediatrician, who seems moderately impressed with how
healthy and bright he is, which makes me wonder what she normally deals
with.


Probably kids who drink a lot of soft drinks and juice and eat chips and
sugary cereals.

--
No Husband Has Ever Been Shot While Doing The Dishes