THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 5, 1995 TAG: 9510040034
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 172 lines
WHEN BABS CARLSON dropped into a Wendy's for lunch about a year ago, she noticed some teenagers ordering unusual meals - three milkshakes and three orders of french fries.
So she asked the girls about their burger-less lunch.
They looked at her with as much pride as they could muster and answered: ``We're vegetarians.''
Carlson, a registered dietitian and assistant professor at Old Dominion University, says the girls' menu illustrates an important point: Kicking the meat habit does not a healthy diet make.
It also illustrates another. Even though they may not have all the details worked out, more and more teenagers are turning to the vegetarian lifestyle, some with more success than others.
There are no hard-and-fast statistics on teen vegetarians, but various surveys show that shunning meat has become popular among the younger set, so much so they're being dubbed ``Generation V.''
Teenage Research Unlimited, an Illinois firm, found that 35 percent of girls and 18 percent of boys think being vegetarian is ``in.'' And a poll by the Vegetarian Resource Group found that 11 percent of girls 13 to 17 said they don't eat meat, compared to 7 percent of adult females. Overall, 8 percent of teens surveyed said they don't eat meat, compared to 6 percent of adults.
The generation that once swore by Big Macs and sausage pizza is answering the call of tofu and rice cakes.
Their reasons? The leading one seems to be animal rights.
``I decided it's really not a good thing to do,'' said Adam Chandler, a Virginia Beach 17-year-old who quit eating meat five months ago. ``I don't need to kill those animals to sustain my life.''
But health and fitness also figure into the equation. Although the girls Carlson met at Wendy's may not have been going the low-fat route that day, many teen vegetarians are educating themselves on how to make their diets healthier than that of their meat-and-potatoes parents.
Education and moderation, nutritionists say, are key to making no-meat diets healthy. ``If you're going to be a vegetarian but you won't eat vegetables - and I have met a couple of those - you're going to find it hard to live off pasta,'' said Frances Casper, a nutritionist for Consultants in Nutritional Services in Norfolk.
Teens going vegetarian without adjusting their diet might end up lacking calcium, vitamin B-12, iron, zinc and protein, which could lead to poor growth, low bone density and anemia.
But if teens educate themselves on how to replace those nutrients using such foods as tofu, beans, leafy greens, legumes, all in a well-balanced diet, going veggie can be as healthy as it is hip. THE RIGHT WAY TO GO
Kiera McReynolds, a Virginia Beach 18-year-old, went about it the right way.
She went vegetarian three years ago out of concern for animals, but mulled the idea over for a couple of months. ``I kept thinking, `I don't know, I might miss it,' '' said McReynolds, now a student at Radford University.
She read about vegetarian diets and talked with a doctor friend for advice. She went vegetarian gradually, first cutting out red meat, and then chicken, then fish.
At the same time, she increased her intake of protein by eating tofu, beans and eggs. She already ate a lot of fruit and vegetables so she upped her share of those. And she made sure she was getting enough calcium by continuing to drink milk and to eat other dairy products.
``At first I did my own thing,'' she said. ``My parents would fix something, and I'd do my own meal. After a while my mom started working with me because she didn't want me going without.''
Her mother, Donna McReynolds, said she didn't know at first how serious Kiera was about avoiding meat. ``For a while I'd still try to slip her some meat in a stew or whatever, but she wouldn't eat it.''
So Mom started cooking one pot of food without meat for Kiera, and the same dish with meat for the rest of the family. The mother and daughter also experimented with tofu, beans and ``TVP,'' a textured vegetable protein that has the consistency of meat.
``I'd make something extra or try something different,'' Donna McReynolds said. ``Over time it's become no big deal. I'm feeling more comfortable about it now. After doing it two or three years, I don't see a problem nutrition-wise.''
Now Kiera's 16-year-old brother, Paul, also has cut red meat from his diet.
``I found out what they were doing to animals and thought it was really cruel,'' Paul McReynolds said.
While Kiera first quit eating meat because of animal rights, she now stays on the diet for health reasons and because she believes it's environmentally sound.
``I found holes in the animal-ethics standpoint. If you're not going to eat meat, then you're not going to buy anything leather either,'' said Kiera, who now eats fish occasionally. ``But being vegetarian still appeals to me for health reasons. It's more efficient, and a heck of a lot cheaper.'' HEALTH CONCERNS
Kiera did many of the things recommended by nutritionists, who fear that many teenagers cut out meat without taking the steps to cover their nutritional bases.
``It takes a motivated teenager to pull it off,'' said Phyllis Woodson, a registered dietitian at the Diabetes Institutes at Eastern Virginia Medical School. ``Teens don't tend to be complete eaters anyway. So if they cut out meat but still eat french fries and soft drinks, they could end up with a diet higher in fat than they started out with.''
The health risks depend on how far teens go in pursuing the vegetarian lifestyle. Strict vegetarians, or ``vegans,'' get all their nutrients from plant sources. Lacto-vegetarians eat milk and other dairy products, but no meat, fish, poultry or eggs. And ``ovo-lacto-vegetarians'' eat egg and dairy products but no meat, fish and poultry.
Protein is most often the nutrient that concerns parents of teen vegetarians, but it's also the easiest to replace. Most Americans eat more protein than they need. Teens who eat beans, tofu and other sources of protein can make up for the loss from animal products.
Of greater concern, especially to girls and women, is calcium. Teens who avoid dairy products as part of a strict vegetarian diet may come up short on calcium.
``Teenage years are a critical period of building bone mass,'' registered dietitian Carlson said. ``If they shun milk and cheese, that could lead to bone health problems, maybe not initially but down the road.''
Teens who don't eat dairy products can get calcium through soy milk fortified with calcium, tofu processed with calcium and orange juice that's calcium-fortified. Green leafy vegetables, like collard greens, also have calcium.
Another concern is iron, especially for girls who have started menstruation. Iron is absorbed better when it comes from an animal source rather than a plant source. Teens can increase the absorption of plant foods rich in iron - broccoli, spinach, raisins, strawberries, watermelon, chickpeas - by eating tomatoes or citrus fruits. BALANCING ACT
Many teens eat on the run, so snacks and fast food can lead to a high-fat downfall. Some teens will grab a handful of potato chips or a candy bar in between meals, and order french fries at the drive-through.
But if they want to go the healthful route, they could snack on a bagel or a whole-wheat muffin, and order a baked potato or salad at their favorite fast-food joint. Many school cafeterias offer vegetarian patties that are low in fat, pasta with meatless sauce and vegetarian lasagna.
``Balance and moderation are the watchwords,'' Casper said. ``It's when people go to extremes that they get in trouble.''
Casper said she's impressed with many teens who have the smarts to go vegetarian in a healthful manner: ``I have seen a number of young people who really are taking some ownership in what they're eating.''
Following are some easy, vegan recipes. ILLUSTRATION: JANET SHAUGHNESSY/Staff
Graphic
TIPS FOR BALANCED EATING
Variety is the key to a healthy vegetarian meal plan. Such a diet
includes fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, whole grains, nuts, seeds
and legumes. Some vegetarians also eat diary products and eggs.
Beans, breads, cereals, nuts, peanut butter, tofu, soy milk or
cow's milk and low-fat cheese are good sources of protein.
Especially during the teen years, calcium is needed to build
bones. Include three or more sources of calcium in your diet every
day. Milk, dairy products, tofu processed with calcium sulfate,
green leafy vegetables including collard greens, mustard greens and
kale, contain calcium.
To increase the iron absorbed from a meal, eat a food containing
vitamin C. Citrus fruits and juices, tomatoes and broccoli are all
good sources. Foods that are high in iron include broccoli, raisins,
watermelon, spinach, black-eyed peas, blackstrap molasses, chickpeas
and pinto beans.
Vegetarians who eat no dairy, eggs, meat, fish or poultry should
add vitamin B-12 to their diets. Some cereals contain vitamin B-12;
read labels.
Source: Vegetarian Nutrition Guide for Teenagers, by Reed
Mangels, registered dietitian.
by CNB