Props to Free the Animal:
Only in the "civilized" world would people be so stupid as to prescribe to a diet that would kill their child.
And only in the "civilized" world would people make excuses and say that it's not the diet that killed the baby since there are plenty of healthy vegan babies. That's a bunch of codwallop. The diet did kill the child, and the parents believed said codswallop. In both English and French press, there are people saying it's not the diet that killed the baby, but something else that was responsible, like the parents' ignorance, etc. I won't say it wasn't their ignorance that killed it, indeed it was. Ignorance that a diet that leaves you deficient could possibly be good for their infant daughter.
Let's explain this in terms that even a child should understand. Vitamin B12 deficiency can kill you. Vitamin B12 is found only in animal products. Therefore, many vegans are B12 deficient. As an adult, you have a store of B12 that might take years to deplete. If you metabolize B12 well, you might never become deficient. If you don't metabolize it well, you might become very sick.
A child has no choice. A child also does not have the vitamin stores that an adult has. I'm not going to beat around the bush and pander to your PC sensibilities. You are an absolute idiot to be vegan while pregnant or nursing.Ask any pediatrician. I blame a lack of saturated fat, which so happens to be essential for brain development. I think it makes them have a hard time thinking. If you're an adult and you want to be vegan, more power to you. Go for it. It's a free world. If you get sick and die, that was your choice. But don't damage your child's health by having them be as well. And the stupid thing is, you don't have to eat meat to get vitamin B12, you could be vegetarian. So long as you consume cream and eggs, you'd be fine.
Why must another child die for a lie? The lie is that veganism is healthy. It isn't.
There are actually bacterial sources of vitamin B12, as well as vitamin supplements and fortified foods that make use of these sources.
ReplyDeleteBut as far as the big picture is concerned, allow me to let ADA, the American Dietic Association, the largest existing earthly organization of food and nutrition experts, to do the talking:
"It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes."
http://www.eatright.org/about/content.aspx?id=8357
I wouldn't say that maintaining a nutritionally adequate vegan diet is as simple as buying a B12 supplement, but nutrition without consuming animal products certainly can be done.
And, sure, without proper planning or adequate knowledge about nutritional needs and how to satisfy them, a vegan pregnancy is a horribly risky affair, but to make a sweeping generalization like, "You are an absolute idiot to be vegan while pregnant or nursing," is, to my mind, more than a little unfair.
I'm may be unfair. Life itself isn't fair at all. But this is the truth. And a lot of people don't like the truth. It hurts them emotionally because it interferes with their narrow-minded belief systems.
ReplyDeleteThe American Dietetic Association also advocates a low fat diet for diabetics. So you can take their "advice" and shove it. I'm sick and tired of people spreading what is patently FALSE and DANGEROUS information under the guise of being experts. The American Dietetic Association couldn't find their asses with both hands and a flashlight and the information they advocate is not based on science, it's based on wishful thinking.
My mother's best friend DIED because of this bullshit. She was a diabetic and was told her whole life to eat low fat and "healthy" whole grains. First she lost her leg, then her vision, and then she lost her life. These "experts" can go jump off a bridge for all I care.