A 12-YEAR-OLD girl in Scotland brought up by her parents on a strict vegan diet has been admitted to hospital with a degenerative bone condition said to have left her with the spine of an 80-year-old woman. Doctors are under pressure to report the couple to police and social workers amid concerns that her health and welfare may have been neglected in pursuit of their dietary beliefs.
The girl, who has been fed on a strict meat and dairy-free diet from birth, is said to have a severe form of rickets and to have suffered a number of fractured bones. The condition is caused by a lack of vitamin D, which is needed to absorb calcium and is found in liver, oily fish and dairy produce. Decalcification leads to the bones becoming brittle and can cause curvature of the spine.
One leading nutritionist, who asked not to be named, 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.” Last year, an American vegan couple were given a life sentence for starving their six-week-old baby to death. In 2001 two vegans from west London were sentenced to three years’ community rehabilitation after they admitted starving their baby to death.
What in the world were they thinking?
Abby,
Just to clarify, dairy just mean that it comes from a animal with mammoth glands- so yes, human breast milk IS a dairy product.
Actually, vitamin d is produced in the skin through adequate sun exposure. It’s also found in dairy and fish. But the best and most reliable source of vitamin d from regular sun exposure. Most vitamin d supplements are derived from lanolin which is the sebum produced from sunlight exposure in sheep. It is sad that the child experienced health problems, but they were caused by an unhealthy diet not a vegan diet.