Teen vegan having protein in his urine

[Roberta]

Hi - My son and I are both vegans. I have been a vegan for almost 12 years; he has been a vegan 1 1/2 years. He will be 15 in November. He has his urine monitored over the last few months, and he has continued to have protein in it. He did a 24 hour collection which still turned up with protein in it. The doctor ordered an ultrasound. I have not been able to speak with the doctor to see exactly what he is trying to rule out.

My son has at this same time taken up running. He is on the cross country team at school. The day before the 24 hour collection he ran almost 10 miles. I have read that that can be a cause of protein in urine. I also know a woman who had the same thing occur to her after she ran her first marathon. I am also a marathon runner and have never had that happen to me. She is not a vegan.

My husband spoke with two accupuncturists who said that a strictly vegan diet is not good for anyone, let alone a child. They do not recommend the American diet by any stretch of the imagination, but recommend the addition of fish three times a week.

Again, I don't know what our doctor's thoughts are exactly on this. I don't know if he thinks its something related to his veganism. The accupuncturists believe strict vegans have shorter life spans. They feel that the protein is showing up in the urine because the body is basically eating itself because of lack of proper protein.

Any input would greatly be appreciated.

Roberta

[Erin Pavlina]

I've got input.

Strict vegans live an average of 17.9 years longer than people who eat meat. At least, according to the statistics I'm aware of. Now we can play "who's got better statistics" all day, it won't prove either case. I find that people who are unfamiliar with a vegan diet really aren't qualified to say that it is harmful.

If it were my son, I'd have a nice consult with Brenda Davis, a registered dietician who is also vegan. She can probably explain what's happening to your son.

If you can't reach Brenda, let me know and I'll give you another recommendation. Brenda can be reached at brendadavis@shaw.ca.

Also, protein in the urine... I was told by my obstetrician when I was pregnant that first morning urine should not have protein, but after you've been eating, protein is always found in the urine. Just something I remember them telling me; I don't know if it pertains to your son.

[inkiepoo]

Wow, I agree with Erin. My husbands parents are 78 and 75 years of age and been vegans for 40 of those years. They are not just healthy, but have clear thinking abilities and able to work hard yet. They are in excellent health when many are keeling over with strokes and heart attacks from their poor diet.

The idea that people don't live as long when vegan is silly. Also we raised our two children vegan from the very beginning and both are 17 and 18 now and in excellent health--so much that we don't even have a "family" doctor--we just haven't needed one.

Forget the fish. Did you know that the "farmed" salmon are fed not only hormones but huge amounts of antibiotics and other junk that help them grow faster? A normal "wild" salmon will live a couple years in a fresh water lake, then out in the ocean for another 2-3 years before coming back to spawn. The "farmed" salmon is grown within ONE year to the SAME SIZE!! This is not healthy at all!! The people who grow these salmon are interested only in one thing: MONEY. They have no care about health. I don't think fish is any more healthy than any other animal.