Gentics

Vegan Health and Fitness
1

I’m vegetarian at the moment, but I want to try and remove dairy products from my diets. I think its called ovo-vegetarian, almost vegan just I eat eggs (the eggs being from my own chickens). But I’m only 16, so I have to live under my parents rule.
My parents are of course against the idea.
I think they are worried because when I first went vegetarian I developed Coeliac disease, which is an intorlence to gluten, and its gentic. The doctors said it was due to too much stress rather than my diet, but my parents have always blamed the diet.
This means that certain foods I have to avoid, such as breads/pasta/cakes etc. This includes mostly processed foods as well.
So my parents point is that if I remove anymore food types from my diet then I won’t be healthy, but its not the point that I won’t be healthy they think that it won’t be healthy for any kids I have, or their kids.

Any ideas on what to do?
I have already thought about seeing my dietician about it, but I’m not sure what they would say.

2

Hi Jenjen,

I’m no nutritionalist, so I’ll let someone with a bit more knowledge answer that side of your post :wink:

However, I think your children have an equal chance of inheriting any genetic condition, regardless of what you eat :frowning: Of course, what you eat during pregnancy can have other effects, and what you eat in the interim could potentially affect your fertility. But I haven’t heard of veganism causing a problem in either case, so long as you stick to a healthy balanced diet (and don’t just live off chips! :slight_smile: ) There’s quite a lot of books around on the subject, looking at the vegan society [vegansociety.com]

I think seeing your dietician is a good idea, and it might be a good idea to take your parents with you. You could start with a quick, concise reason as to why you want to become vegan (try and write it down in a couple of sentences before you go?) Your dietician may not know a lot about veganism, so you could go armed with some facts: Why are eggs important in your diet (do you rely on them for protein, b-vitamins, fats, or other nutrients?) and how do you envisage gaining these nutrients if you become vegan? There are vegetal sources of these, but be aware that vegans are advised to take B12 supplements.

I have also heard rumours of people becoming wheat intolerant or allergic when becoming vegetarian (though I think it’s different to coeliac disease?). The only case I personally know of, was a girl who basically lived off pasta and toast, and was under a lot of stress too :unamused: So I guess it’s understandable that your parents are worried. I ended up putting together an information pack for my mum (she was worried too!) full of leaflets, printouts from medical and sports nutrition websites, some recipes and a list of vegan foods. She said it meant a lot to her that I had done this research :smiley:

A point worth remembering: if your family eat meals together, you are essentially asking your parents to do extra cooking, and buy extra foodstuffs (and probably supplements) which can be expensive or difficult to obtain in some areas. Now, I don’t know your personal circumstances, but offering to do some extra chores, cook some new dishes with your parents, or pay for supplements, may help smooth things over :wink:

I hope that helps a little… Good luck!

3

Thanks,
I’ll try the dietician, with my parents.
Another point you brought up, is making meals. When I first decided to go vegetarain my parents said that I had to cook all the meals in the first place. Its only the odd days that I get anything cooked for me, and these are the ones that contain the dairy, also trying to get parents to change a few of my food sources about is hard, when they are against you. I have managed to get them to buy soy milk rather than cows milk for me only.

4

Well, they’re just ideas… I can’t guarantee how your parents will react… :unamused:

[I’m really scared I’ll make things worse for you now! I’ll leave it to your discretion…]

I’m sorry to hear that - that must be hard :frowning: And probably not helping with the stress! Let us know how you get on :slight_smile: