Is it unhealthy for a 12-year-old girl to become vegetarian for about a year or two?

I want to try it out, and see what it is like. Its not to loose weight, and I dont feel sorry for the animals. I just want to try it out.

Au contraire. It's very healthy. With all those vitamins, fibers, etc. and with 0 trans fat.

No, it's not unhealthy as long as you eat fruits and vegetables. Some vegatarians mainly eat breads and pasta and junk food. If you eat healthily, you'll be fine.

It's only healthy if you do it right. If you just skip meat, and instead fill up on cheese, carbs, and sweets (which many young vegetarians do), you'll feel horrible all the time.

The key to being a proper vegetarian is doing research. Go on the internet to get recipes or buy some cookbooks, learn how to shop for vegetables, and learn to cook a few things. Being vegetarian means having to cook more. If you're willing to do the work, it could be an excellent nutrional choice. Make sure you get enough protein from eggs, dairy products, soy, nuts, and beans. Get your vitamins from fruits and vegetables and your fiber from cereals. Read nutrition labels; this is an important one. And most of all, don't expect your parents to do the work for you; they probably won't.

just make sure you take some multi vitamins and eat tofu for protein etc and you will be fine and have a healthy body!!!! ro

NO! it is in fact a very healthy way to eat. i chose to go hard-core and become vegan when i was your age (i am now 15). However, i became vegan for enviornmental reasons, among other things like animal support. People dont need meat in their system to survive. in fact, it can take YEARS off your life! for protein, you can instead eat tofu, nuts, peanut butter (yUm!) and meat substitutes like soyburgers. Tofurkey is a really really yummy turkey burger but without the turkey! (gee, i sound like a total hippie lol). Oh, and Soy Joy is a really good healthy nut/fruit bar.
if you really love meat, this might not be for you. but if meat isnt a huge deal and your fine with eating substitute meats, then this is a great healthy diet for you!
just a warning: although your not doing this for losing weight, you shouldnt be too skinny. i dont know if you've started your period or not, but your body is probably starting puberty, and your body will NOT menstrate (period) if you are too thin. a woman needs a BMI of at least 17 for her to menstrate.
if you ever wanna talk about vegan recipes, girl stuff, etc just email me ok
-KatiE
=]]

No! Just make sure your eating a balanced diet.
Can I ask why you would do it for only a year or two?

no just make sure you are getting an appropiate amount of protein to keep your body healthy...like through nuts and such...

yes it is very unhealthy for the fauna as they take sometimes longer to grow then animals

Not at all. Just be sure you get all the nutrients you need, particularly complete proteins, which are hard to find outside of meat. Soy products are especially good and they're very popular and easy to find. Morningstar Farms is a favorite brand of mine, but it's a little pricey.

First, I see from some of the previous answers that the "protein hysteria" still exists. You do NOT have to worry about getting enough protein...in fact, North Americans eat FAR too much protein. Protein is the LAST nutrient you actually need to worry about.

You are 12. If you want to try out a vegetarian diet, go for it. But don't think that eating Cheezies, pizzas and french fries is "going veg", 'cause it isn't. You need to eat a variety of foods and some of them should be whole or raw (like a salad or an apple).

If your Mom cooks meals for you at home, simply eat around the meat portion and eat more of the veggies on offer. When your family barbecues, ask Mom to pick you up a veggie burger instead. I'm sure your Dad will be happy to cook it for you.

There is a world of taste sensations waiting for you. Enjoy.

That's when I stopped eating red meat. The only meat I still ate at 12 was chicken and sometimes turkey. I stopped eating all meat at 14. I was pretty healthy.

What you need to know...
vegetarians have their own food pyramid

Iron is the hardest vitamin to get enough of...be sure to get enough/vitamin C aids the digestion of iron..helps you process it so you get enough

Watch your dairy comsumption/people tend to want to eat much more than is needed when going veggie

It is not hard to get enough protein/ every vegetable contains some amount of protein some contain more than others but normally eating at least 6 veggies a day will give you all the protein you need

Watch your junkfood intake/ the more room you take up in your stomach the less room you have to fill it up with the things you really need

You don't need to eat those fake frozen meat patties/ they are not nessesarry for you to be healthy

Learn to cook/ things are much easier

noooooooooooooooope. it's not unhealthy at all! :) some kids are vegetarians their whole lives. i know an 8 year old who's been one since 5 years old. being vegetarian or vegan (if you do it healthy) is one of the best things you can do for you body.

if you're going to be a vegetarian though, do it right and get educated. go to a book store and buy a book about how to become a vegetarian. the one i bought when i was 13 is called A Complete Idiot's Guide To Being Vegetarian.

good luck! =)

check out these sites also::: http://www.vegetarianteen.com http://www.meat.org http://www.goveg.com

It's certainly not a sign of mental health.

no good for you..but..just make sure ur parents buy you vitamins