<p>I went stone cold vegetarian at 14. I did start eating fish and poultry again at 25, but minimally. I did not pay particular attention to nutrition during those years and I was fine. I’m in my 50’s now. Still eat (free range) poultry occasionally and (wild) fish, but not a lot of it. I pay a little more attention to nutrition now, but am not particularly attentive. I have never had a significant health problem in my life, in fact, I don’t recall even having an insignificant one. I had two children (one a meat-eater, one will eat poultry and fish only, but rarely) and they are tall, strong, healthy high-acheivers. My husband has been strictly vegetarian (not even poutry or fish) for decades and he is athletic and healthy. He zips up a protein shake each day after coming back from the gym, but otherwise pays little attention to nutrition.</p>
<p>My two brothers, also vegetarians, are both very tall, strong and healthy. My mother was a vegetarian for the last 30 years of her life, or so. She died last year at 92.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m not advocating. Like I said I have one voracious carnivore that I love dearly. (I do buy free-range organic meat when he’s home, which isn’t that often anymore.) But I am saying, while it’s good to pay attention to non-meat protein sources and include them in your diet, you don’t need to get all crazy with food-combining strategies and all that. You can add a vitamin supplement, but if your kid blows off taking one more often than you’d like, it’s probably not a huge problem either. Most in my family don’t take them at all. I take them off and on… when I think of it.</p>