This a snippet from a longer article by former vegan Chet Day.
http://chetday.com/vegandietdangers.htm
Strict Vegan Diets May Be Dangerous, Especially for Expectant Mothers and Children
By Chet Day
July 14, 2000
Addendum completed on February 27
Most recent overall update on October 22, 2002
Without further preliminaries, let me reveal why I now believe vegan diets may be dangerous in the long-term for those who actually follow them strictly and especially so for expectant mothers and children.
My thoughts on this topic came together for me in the summer of 2002 when I received a
Back to the Garden newsletter mass mailed by George Malkmus that featured two articles about mothers and babies following the
Hallelujah Diet. The articles lead readers to the conclusion, on the basis of perhaps a half dozen "testimonies," that a restrictive, low-calorie, low-fat vegan diet is ideal for expectant mothers as well as for nursing mothers and their babies and children.
Because I managed the
Hallelujah Acres web site and worked with George Malkmus for 18 months until January of 1999, some people still mistakenly associate my name with the
Hallelujah Diet.
In good conscience I must make it crystal clear that I consider strict adherence to the Hallelujah Diet as currently taught by George Malkmus,
as well as any other strict vegan diet, to be dangerous for expectant mothers, nursing moms, babies, and children.
I also now consider
strict vegan diets to be potentially deficient for teenagers who burn a lot of calories each day and whose growing bones and bodies still require a full spectrum of nutrients. This appears from my correspondence to be true for most adults, as well, if they follow a vegan diet strictly for a year or two or more.