How much protein does a 14 year old male need?!
How much protein does a 14 year old male need?
I've decided to go vegetarian and my dad's giving me all this bull **** about protein. So i went on here to see what foods do have protein in them and stuff, so i showed him the list and he basically is being an *** and pretty much ignored it, and so my mother looked at it and she said i need to know how much protein i need at my age, and then figure out how much i will have to eat and what, etc.
Answers:
ok - the vegetarian diet is one of the healthiest diets. parents seem to think meat is the only source of protein but its not. many young people eat well on a vegetarian diet but the key is a well balanced and well researched meal plan.
For most healthy children, a vegetarian diet can provide a nutritious alternative to a diet that includes meat. However, special care needs to be taken with children on all vegetarian diets; especially vegan diets. Strict vegan diets are generally not recommended for very young children.
Types of vegetarians
There are different types of vegetarians, determined by the types of foods a person does not eat.
Vegetarians can be classified into the following groups:
Lacto-ovo vegetarians - exclude red meat, offal, fish and poultry. Obtain protein from dairy products, eggs, beans, legumes, pulses and nuts.
Lacto-vegetarians - exclude red meat, offal, fish, poultry and eggs. Obtain protein from dairy products, beans, legumes, pulses and nuts.
Vegans - exclude red meat, offal, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products. Obtain protein from beans, legumes, pulses, nuts and soy products like tofu.
The type of vegetarian diet most commonly associated with significant nutritional problems in children is the vegan diet.
Children need good nutrition
To avoid the risks of an inadequate diet in children who are on vegetarian diets, you should make sure your child’s diet includes:
Protein alternatives such as nuts, eggs and tofu
Energy for growth and development
Iron to prevent anaemia
Vitamin B12
Vitamin D and calcium to prevent bone disease
Suitable fats from non-meat sources
Food in the correct form and combination to make sure nutrients can be digested and absorbed.
Recommended sources of protein
When meat, poultry and fish are restricted in the diet another source of protein needs to be included.
Peas, beans, lentils and pulses form an important part of the diet for vegetarian children. Pulses should be thoroughly cooked to destroy toxins and to help digestion. Undercooked pulses can cause vomiting and diarrhoea.
Small serves of protein should be included at each main meal. Suggestions for beans and legumes include:
Baked beans
Lentils
Chick peas and hummus
Red kidney beans
Lima beans
Navy and great northern beans
Three bean mix
Haricot beans
Smooth nut butters.
Young children have high-energy needs and a small stomach. You should include a mixture of refined and unrefined (wholegrain) cereals and a variety of energy-giving foods in your child's diet. These can be found in the following foods:
Cereals - all types of cereal are suitable for vegetarian diets. This includes baby cereals such as infant rice cereal, and wholegrain cereals and refined cereals like pasta, flour, white rice and white bread.
Dairy products - full fat dairy products. An alternative is soy milk with added calcium. Some soy milks also have added vitamin B12.
Fruit and Vegetables - include a wide variety of fruit and vegetables every day. As a guide aim for 2 small serves of fruit and 3 small serves of vegetables.
Oils - include soy and canola oils because they contain linolenic acid, which is important for brain and nervous tissue function. Oils also provide energy.
Be careful with fibre
Watch the amount of fibre in your child’s diet. Too much fibre can lead to poor absorption of important nutrients including:
Iron
Zinc
Calcium.
Too much fibre can also be extremely filling, which may prevent a child consuming all their energy needs. Try to introduce a variety of high-energy foods, such as avocados and vegetable oils, to meet energy needs.
diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease and some cancers.
Vegetarians in non-vegetarian households may not eat as well because they may be less likely to get help about what they need to eat if the family is not used to planning vegetarian meals.
A vegan diet has a greater chance of causing health problems than other kinds of vegetarian diet.
Young people especially, have high needs for the right kinds of food because they are growing quickly. Many adolescent girls do not get enough protein, calcium, iron and zinc even when they do eat meat.
It is very important that young people on a vegetarian diet plan their meals and snacks to make sure that their health needs are met.
take comfort in the fact that this forum gets lots of young people wanting to become vegan or vegetarian but their parents are very intolerant of their changes. Its a matter of researching and explaining that this is a health decision as well because................
Being vegetarian is healthier, than any other diet possible and that isn't even touch the hormones and antibiotics, used in raising animals, and the possibilities and realities of meat borne illness, Mad Cow Disease etc. .
Better for your heart. Proven to reduce heart disease, and even reverse coronary heart disease.
Automatically lower s your cholesterol levels. The only foods that contain cholesterol are animal products, like meat and dairy. And since a three-decade-long study found that not a single subject with a cholesterol level below 150 has ever developed heart disease, that's hard to ignore!
Vegetarians have lower rates of obesity, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, large bowel disorders, cancers and gallstones.
Reduces stroke risks and coronary artery disease.
Reduces symptoms of fibromyalgia.
Reduces food poisoning. 95% of food poisoning is linked to animal products.
Your bowels will work much better, therefore, keeping your whole system healthier.
Live longer healthier lives. One 21-year-long study that compared meat-eaters and vegetarians showed that the greater the meat consumption, the greater the death rate from all causes combined.
Increased vegetable and fruit intake reduces your need for taking a multi vitamin plus increases your antioxidant intake.
There is no proof, what so ever, that a person must eat animal flesh or any by products of animals to be healthy, yet there is overwhelming proof that it truely is best not to!
Below are some great web sites good luck - and feal free to check my answers as there are similar questions there as well that might help.