Vegan problems!!

tierra85
tierra85 Posts: 300 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have been vegetarian for some time now. At first i felt awesome, but the past month has been terrible. I feel disorientated, i confuse easily and i just feel disorganized in general. In the past few weeks i have been starting to feel really sick. I watched the movie earthlings today and now i want to go straight vegan. The fact that i am experiencing problems as it is kind of scares me for this transition.

My multi vitamin doesn't seem to be doing much for me so i picked up an iron supplement today that has 22mg in it. I know i was lacking iron as a meat eater, i just always forget to take the liquid supplement, which is why im going for it in a pill. It also has 500 mcg of B12 (which i know i should've been taking the whole time) and 300 mcg of folate. I'm hoping this will help me feel better but if any vegans out there have any tips i would greatly appreciate it. Or other vitamins and nutrients i may be lacking and where i can find them (preferable in foods).

I am supposed to be going gluten free, which i haven't been because the soy "meats" are so convenient, but have gluten in them. I'm not celiac but it makes my skin and stomach feel better. So any gluten free vegan recipes would be awesome! Even non gluten free vegan recipes would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys :)

Replies

  • yesthistime
    yesthistime Posts: 2,051 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/46-team-vegan
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/45-happy-herbivores
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/2434-veg-ns-raw-foodists

    Hope these help!
  • happy_vegan
    happy_vegan Posts: 200 Member
    b12 is amazing and will get your energy and brain functioning up really fast. I prefer the patches because I feel it absorbs better, but the under-the-tongue pills are good too.
  • slowturtle1
    slowturtle1 Posts: 284 Member
    For years my husband had the same problem with disorientation, dizziness, general "out of it-ness" that he described as brain fog. He was at the time experimenting with various diets, some of which made it worse. He had his neurotransmitters checked and his blood checked by our Chiropractor and made 2 significant changes: 1) eliminated MSG, including anything with the ingredient "natural flavors," and 2) eliminated gluten. He also added a bunch of supplements, although I can't begin to tell you what they are. I do know Vitamin B12 is in there and he has to eat a lot of protein (which cannot be from soy). It took a few weeks, but he is now doing better than he has in years. I'm not sure which part did the trick, or if it was the combination, but I know WHAT he ate had a lot to do with it. Might be something you could look into. I know how much it messed with my husband and how hard it became for him to even function. I hope you find a resolution soon! Good luck!
  • tierra85
    tierra85 Posts: 300 Member
    Thank you so much everyone!! You're all so helpful!! <3
  • EmilyTwist1
    EmilyTwist1 Posts: 206 Member
    That sounds like a B12 deficiency. Over time a B12 deficiency can cause irreversible damage to your nervous system. If you do go vegan (or even just remain vegetarian) B12 supplements are a must!

    Also, make sure you're getting enough protein. Most plants only have a few amino acids, so you need to get a variety in order to get all the amino acids you need (ie, don't rely on just soy for your protein).
  • veggieburger1
    veggieburger1 Posts: 12 Member
    nutritional yeast is a great way to get b12 into your diet! it's not like regular yeast, it doesnt leaven anything but it is very tasty and you can just put some of it into any type of savory foods you may be cooking!
    also, maybe try out chia seeds (google the benefits)
    and some great (though maybe not so great for dieting) websites with tons of vegan recipes are:
    vegweb.com
    ohsheglows.com
    veganyumyum.com
    http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/

    a lot these have really healthy but maybe not so low-calorie recipes, so a lot of times i just substitute and mix things up to make them fir better into my diet.
  • Charlottejogs
    Charlottejogs Posts: 351 Member
    helpful info
  • dianacarr83
    dianacarr83 Posts: 5 Member
    Why are you vegetarian? I'm not picking on vegetarians but I'm just trying to understand it. You initially felt good doing a vegetarian lifestyle because you were detoxing. But now you aren't getting the nutrients you need to survive. Look into Paleo and also Denise MInger from rawfoodsos.
  • laurieagain09
    laurieagain09 Posts: 183 Member
    Have you had your iron and b12 levels checked? It's an easy blood test.
  • sl1ngsh0t
    sl1ngsh0t Posts: 326 Member
    Hmm. Removing more food choices when you're having problems now isn't what I'd recommend. It may just make whatever's wrong even worse. When's the last time you had a physical and blood workup?

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