DNP Student Writes Op-Ed on Vegan Diet for Young Athletes

Lauren Kearney, DNP student, released the commentary article "Plant-based lifestyles can be good for young athletes" in the "Orlando Sentinel." 

Introduction

“Will you please tell her that she can’t get all the nutrients she needs from only fruits and vegetables?”

A frustrated mother of a competitive adolescent soccer player looked at me with hope while her daughter looked at me with fear. I am a nurse practitioner. I am also a vegan.

Mom had just informed me that her daughter did not care for meat and, after some research, decided that she would like to avoid animal products altogether. Like many well-intentioned parents, Mom was concerned that vegan diets inherently lack protein and other vital nutrients and would therefore negatively affect her daughter’s athletic performance. After a pregnant pause, I responded, “I’m sorry, I can’t tell her that because it’s simply not true.”

As I type this, I can see the eye rolls and hear the sighs that likely occurred after many of you simply read the word “vegan.” A handful of folks probably stopped reading, and another handful probably fist-pumped and said “Bacon!” This is not my first rodeo.

However, as your eyes recover and refocus, please note that I am not here to convert you or any reader of this article to veganism; I am not going to vividly describe slaughterhouses or the negative environmental implications of factory farming. While those things are very important to me, the focus of this piece is to simply discuss and debunk common misconceptions about veganism, specifically regarding young athletes, and provide reassurance and resources for frustrated and/or curious parents.