> because she's a vegetarian.

There's a difference between a vegan and a vegetarian: a vegetarian doesn't consume meat, but does consume diary products and eggs (egg-but-not-meat eaters like me are sometimes also known as eggetarians).

A vegan, on the other hand, doesn't consume any animal products at all.

I have been vegetarian (or rather eggetarian) all my life, and I have had no such problems. Also, I know many vegetarians (lots of them here in India), who face none of these problems. I believe being a vegetarian is a fairly healthy lifestyle. Being a vegan, maybe not.