Recently in Scotland, the parents of a 12-year-old girl may face jail time for child neglect. The 12-year-old girl was ill and was admitted to the hospital. She was brought up on a diet that was strictly vegan by her parents. While there is nothing wrong with a vegan diet, the parents have not given the girl the proper vegan diet.
When the doctors checked on the girl, it was revealed that she had a condition in which her bone mass and density degenerates. The doctors said that the girl was in the severe stages of rickets. Because of the condition, the girl’s bones have suffered many fractures. To top that off, the girl’s spine was that of an 80-year-old woman. If a 12-year-old has the spine of an 80-year-old woman, that is definitely saying something.
Ever since she was born, the girl’s diet has been void of meat and dairy. A vegan diet is the next step from being a vegetarian.
Vegan diets are effective as long as they are balanced and fortified with vitamins. For the vegan diet to work, one would have to adequately take in nutrients. Proteins and carbohydrates can come from fruits, vegetables, and grains. Necessary fats can come from nuts, seeds, vegan margarine, and avocados.
The consulting doctor has declined to give the details of the case. However, he said that it is dangerous to force strict vegan diets on children.
According to one leading nutritionist, the person said: “In most instances, the parents who are imposing this very restrictive and potentially hazardous diet are not themselves brought up as vegans. They are imposing on their children something … which we do not know enough about to know it is safe.”
However, this is not the first of such a case.
Back in 2007, a vegan couple in the US was given live for starving their newborn baby to death.
In a nutshell, the girl’s parents did not really know the meaning of a vegan diet. What the nutritionist has said does carry weight because the girl probably would not have developed rickets if she was given a proper vegan diet. There is the indication that the parents did not properly research vegan dieting.
There are guides online that provide tips and information on how to get the proper vitamins and nutrients from a vegan diet.
On a side note, I have a “significant” other in Chicago who goes on a strict vegan diet. When I visited her, she told me a lot about vegan dieting. A vegan diet can be pretty liberal and not as “strict” as the diet given to the 12-year-old girl.
In Chicago, there is a restaurant called the “Chicago Diner” which is a vegan-style restaurant. Everything on the menu from appetizers to desserts is vegan. Anybody that’s familiar with the vegan diet knows about the many viable substitutes to meat and dairy.
In the case of the girl’s parents, they possibly do not know anything about the vegan lifestyle.