HOW DO THE DIETS OF VEGANS MEET THEIR CHEMICAL NEEDS TO STAY HEALTHY?
	Patricia A. Lenning Downers Grove South High School Downers Grove, Illinois

Scenario Description:

Mark and Jenny were arguing at their lab table one day in Chemistry class. Since they were good friends, the other kids in class were surprised when they heard how angry they were with each other, and everyone started watching them. Jenny was the first to see all the others staring at them, and she broke into tears, leaving it up to Mark to say something. He explained to them that Jenny was what she called a "vegan" and Mark was worried that she wasn't so much a vegan, but into some eating disorder. Mark really cared about Jenny's health, and Jenny really cared about her principle of not eating animal flesh or products. Since these two outlooks seemed to be clashing, both were not only angry but also sad that the other one couldn't understand their viewpoint.

Mark and Jenny's classmates decided they could help the standoff by doing some work collecting data from the Internet and discovering if Jenny's vegan diet was healthy for her. Since they had just learned all about the different chemicals involved in energy and health for humans, they knew what was healthy about a "non-vegan" diet. Taking their new knowledge a step further to do this research kind of interested them all, and Ms. Lenning too!

Resources and Tasks:

Step 1:

Congratulations! You have already finished the first research assignment by reading the article "Nutrition Facts On Vegetarianism" (http://www.nutrition.org.uk/Facts/nutandhealth/vegetarian.html) as homework last night! You now know some basic facts and definitions about vegetarian diets that will help you understand the resources below.

Step 2:

Go to"Vegan Outreach" (http://www.veganoutreach.org/qa.html#costs)

Scroll down to Question #8:
1.	Why do vegans feel strongly about eating this way?
Scroll down to Question #9:
2.	What do vegans eat that are general foods, not specifically prepared for vegans? What biomolecules are in each of the foods you list (eg - fruits have vitamins and minerals)
Scroll down further until you get to a question about "combining proteins":
3.	Why do diets of grains and legumes have to be combined, and soybean diets don't have to be combined with grains/legumes for good nutrition?

Step 3:

Go to "Beyond Vegetarianism" (http://www.beyondveg.com/nicholson-w/hb/hb-interview3d.shtml#FTT)

Scroll down to "A Look at the Most Serious Potential Problems" section to answer the following questions:

4a-c	List 3 life-threatening health problems that COULD be caused by eating the vegan diet.
5a-g	List 7 "minor" health problems that COULD develop from eating the vegan diet .

Step 4:

Go to "Selected Myths of Raw Foods" (http://www.beyondveg.com/billings-t/selected-myths/selected-myths-1a.shtml)

This article is a very interesting discussion of several myths surrounding the vegan diet lifestyle and principles. Choose 3 myths that have a chemical (not, for instance, religious or historical) basis and write a short paragraph about each describing your understanding of the response.

Step 5:

Go to "Calcium-White Gold" (http://www.dsiegel.com/wiwd/diet/calcium.html)

Read the introduction of this article and answer the following questions:
6.	What is a lacto-ova vegan?
7.	When do humans need the most protein in their lifetime, and what is that source?
Scroll down to the "Calcium Connection" and answer the following questions:  (Besides its use in building bones and teeth, muscle contractions and nerve impulse travel, calcium is used biochemically to "break down" proteins into amino acids)
8.	Why would high-protein diets cause humans to lose essential calcium for good bones, muscle activity, etc.)?
9.	What would Dr. B. Lawrence Riggs think about the advertisement with famous people wearing milk mustaches and saying "Got Milk?" What about the old adage of "drink your milk for strong bones and teeth"?
10.	What other minerals does a high-protein diet cause to be released from the kidneys?
Read to the end of the article and answer the following questions:
11.	What are good sources other than dairy products for calcium?
12.	What is NOT in these calcium sources that IS in calcium-rich dairy products?

Product:

Imagine that you are going to have a talk with Jenny and Mark about how they should resolve their argument. Using the information that you have learned from this research to support your facts, choose a stand on whether you think Jenny's vegan diet is healthy or not for her, and list several (at least 5) reasons why you think this way.

Teachers: Download a copy of the student Answer Sheet that accompanies this VeggieQuest. You will need Adobe Acrobat to view this file.