Loading ...How To Reassure My Dad That I’m Going To Stay Healthy While Being A Vegetarian?
ByI’ve been Vegetarian for a little over a month now. My dad was okay with it at first, and is now having second thoughts about letting me do it. I’m not going to go back to eating meat, but he just wants to know that I’m going to stay healthy while being vegetarian. I told him that meat doesn’t have any nutrients that I couldn’t get somewhere else, he didn’t have much of a comeback to that, but he wants some text that says a 15 year old can still be healthy without eating meat. The reason he brought this up is because of a lady at the grocery store today who said her son was vegetarian and then went vegan and got really sick and now eats meat again. Obviously he just wasn’t being healthy while not eating meat, because otherwise that wouldn’t have happened, correct? She also said something like chicken, eggs, and milk are necessary to stay healthy which is completely false I already know that, and that if you were raised a carnivore, then your body can’t make the necessary adjustments to not eating meat, which is also false right? So because of this lady my dad wants some text proof about teenage vegetarian nutrition, so websites would be really helpful along with some advice. Thanks =]
To put your dad at ease, my first suggestion would be to just have him to talk to someone that he knows will have an understanding about a healthy diet such as a dietitian/nutritionist and have them explain to him about a healthy approach to diet for a vegetarian. That way he gets a face to face with someone that he knows has knowledge on the topic and can explain to him what HE can do to make sure that you have all that you need to make sure that you DO stay healthy.
If you want to do if from just online, go to the Mayo Clinic site online and show him where they say that someone can have a very healthy life by eating vegetarian. While there are many places online that I am sure that he would not be comfortable with, the Mayo Clinic site I don’t believe would be one of them.
you’ll be fine if you take care of yourself and eat the right foods. i know one of the main things you need from meat is protein but you can find that in nuts.
i don’t have any websites off the top of my head but you can google it and get a bunch of different things. you can also check out a book store, they should carry things on that subject as well.
I am Vegan and am experiencing wonderful health
visit goveg.com
also, google “non-dairy sources of calcium and protein”
dairy and meat are not essential for anyone, you will be fine. study up on your nutrition and invest in some vegan cook/health books.
I would find some good vegetearian cookbooks maybe one that shows the nutrition facts.
Our bodies can and will adjust to eating meat-free. The important things to remember are
1) Protien. You won’t be healthy if you don’t get enough, so you need to eat lots of beans, mushrooms, soybeans, tofu, or other meat substitutes.
2) Vitamins, Minerals. Meat is high in iron, so you’ll need to supplement your diet either by eating foods high in iron or taking vitamin pills.
I’ve been a vegetarian for four years, and I have NEVER gotten sick because of it– in fact, I rarely catch colds and I have a lot more energy. So, good luck, and be safe!