i was vegan for about 6 weeks, mainly to prove to people that i could do it, about a year ago, and im vegetarian at the moment. id really like to go permanently vegan, but i was recently diagnosed with anaemia. as far as i know, as long as i keep taking my iron tablets i should be alright, but most people i know now think im crazy for even thinking about veganism. what do you think? love xxxx
you might just need to eat more iron rich foods. leafy greens and such. B vitamin rich foods will help too.
Veganism is not that difficult or crazy, especially if you are coming from vegetarianism (assuming you mean lacto-ovo). If you are already taking iron tablets and plan to continue to do so and everything is fine then there should be nothing to worry about.
yep i'm lacto-ovo at the moment, and i'm taking iron, and eating spinach and stuff, though i do think i've exhausted all the possibilites with spinach. my parents aren't keen on me going vegan, but i don't live with them anymore, so i guess it's not really their problem. thanks
I'm pretty sure you have the same sources for iron as a vegetarian or a vegan... beans, vegetables, right?
maybe ya just need to brush up on your nutrition knowledge. i'd hit up the library or book stores and read all i could. maybe even get some cookbooks and try new recipes and foods.
daisy_chain, I have acute iron deficiency anemia, severe to the point of near heart failure. I get down to 8hg/mL maybe 3 times a year(as opposed to normal 12-16hg/mL). I am also vegan. I'm sure you might have already looked it up, but there are lots of great vegetarian supplements out there, I take Hemaplex. It is non-constipating. http://www.nutrimed.com/HEMAPLEX.HTM You'll want to cut down on caffeine consumption, as it hinders iron absorption. To compound the absorption rate, take a good vitamin C, also. You, of course, also need to boost with whole foods. Spinach and some other leafy greens are really good for you, in order to get that blood count up quickly, try also higher iron content foods, like white beans, soybeans(edamame-yummy!), cream of wheat, blackstrap molasses(2TBS/day), etc.
do the hemaplex people deliver to the uk? also, should i just remove all dairy in one go, or do it gradually?
I don't know. I get mine from my local health food store. If you want to stop dairy, then just stop. I personally have yet to find a dairy sub that I like, so I eventually stopped trying them. Removing the idea of dairy, to me, is cool. It's another unneccesary thing.
i've thought it was unnecessary for a while, but this year i've been living in catered uni halls, possibly the biggest mistake ever, so cuoldn't be vegan cos they wouldn't cater for me. i'm moving out of here soon though. my one worry is i go for meals at other peoples houses a lot, generally families from church or other students or whatever, and i don't want them to stop inviting me round cos i have that freaky dietary requirement and they don't have a clue what to cook me. i do love to cook though, and i enjoy it so much more knowing that what i'm doing hasn't caused any creature discomfort, etc. maybe i can cook for them instead
