Teen vegan having protein in his urine

[Roberta]

Hi - My son and I are both vegans. I have been a vegan for almost 12 years; he has been a vegan 1 1/2 years. He will be 15 in November. He has his urine monitored over the last few months, and he has continued to have protein in it. He did a 24 hour collection which still turned up with protein in it. The doctor ordered an ultrasound. I have not been able to speak with the doctor to see exactly what he is trying to rule out.

My son has at this same time taken up running. He is on the cross country team at school. The day before the 24 hour collection he ran almost 10 miles. I have read that that can be a cause of protein in urine. I also know a woman who had the same thing occur to her after she ran her first marathon. I am also a marathon runner and have never had that happen to me. She is not a vegan.

My husband spoke with two accupuncturists who said that a strictly vegan diet is not good for anyone, let alone a child. They do not recommend the American diet by any stretch of the imagination, but recommend the addition of fish three times a week.

Again, I don't know what our doctor's thoughts are exactly on this. I don't know if he thinks its something related to his veganism. The accupuncturists believe strict vegans have shorter life spans. They feel that the protein is showing up in the urine because the body is basically eating itself because of lack of proper protein.

Any input would greatly be appreciated.

Roberta