Are these typical physical reactions to going Vegan? I have flaky scalp, skin breakout and missed my period.?

Question

I was a fish and dairy eating vegetarian before June 1st this year with great clear skin, great hair and regular cycle. This month of June i have had a very healthy vegan diet, plenty of all the right stuff!!! But my hair is brittle and dry and menstrual cycle is 2 weeks late..(am certainly not pregnant).

Answer 1

Well if you have had the bar put in recently it will mess up your menstrual cycle. As a women you should be careful with your iron levels. See the doctor and get a blood test. I'm sure the doctor would be able to tell you what's wrong and how to fix it. Good luck.

Answer 2

chances are you arent getting enough  nutrients in your diet. try taking multi vitamins to help

Answer 3

Sounds like mineral deficiency-the iron,vit d,essential fatty acids etc. you used to get from dairy and fish have obviously not been replaced in your new diet-supplementation might be the only way if your levels have gone that low.Trip to the doc for blood tests sounds like a good idea if it's feasible.

Answer 4

Have your thyroid levels checked. Too much soy can effect thyroid in sensitive individuals and there is no test to predict who can be sensitive.  Couple this with stress and you may be low normal to abnormal in your thyroid panel.

Answer 5

Nope. The physical reactions to going vegan are clearer skin, less/no pimples, toner body. You should go to the doctor it is unrelated to veganism. Not getting correct necessary nutrients however can cause health problems, but you can easily get them on a vegan diet. Make sure you are eating correctly, not stressed out and you are getting enough sleep, exercise, and water. Millions of people worldwide are vegan so this clearly is not typical.

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com/2008/02/v...

Answer 6

as a woman you really need to make sure you are getting enough calcium and iron.  Be very careful will your diet.  Menstration increases the demand for iron.  Don't forget your protein too.

Answer 7

iron!  is it by chance this stuff has absolutely nothing to do with being vego - or vegan?  im sure this happens to others too.

Answer 8

When you're challenging nature you have to be on your guard all the time. An easy experiment is simply to go back to your previous diet and see if your problems clear up. If they do (which is likely) you have solved your problem.

Answer 9

vegan is a difficult diet, you have to litterally count how much iron and protien you are gettign per day. and if you hevent then you have probably lost alot of weight? (thats what it seems liek to me), so you should go back to eatign some meat, until you figure out how to get iron and protein with out meat, because it is possible.

Answer 10

That is normal.  It is untrue that people who are vegan are healthier than the general population.  By the way our teeth are arranged it is our nature, thus our bodies are at their best, when they consume a varied diet including meat.

Answer 11

not at all

Answer 12

You'd have to be trying pretty hard to get malnourished in three weeks.  If you're eating, as you put it, a "very healthy vegan diet" it might be coincidence (acne is not caused by a nutritional deficit.)  Or maybe your diet is not as healthy as you believe.  I have none of those reactions.

To ensure that your diet is as healthy as possible, I highly recommend "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina.  Both are registered dietitians and the book is a great resource for vegan nutrition.

Answer 13

You may be cleansing being off dairy, but you also may need a good source of healthy raw fats and oils, protein and nutrients.

and also eating too much starchy foods and not enough raw fruits and vegetables at least 50%.

Try cold pressed flax oil and adding it to salad dressings. It has omega 3,6,9 fatty acids for replacing fish and eggs.

Also raw cacao (raw chocolate) is a great source of iron and magnesium. you can get it at a health food store or online.

For calcium, good sources are seseme seeds, dark leafy greens(kale, spinach,romaine lettuce).

Make sure you get your B12 which is normally in animal source foods.

A good vegan source is Red Star nutritional yeast.

I have read up on soy and don't suggest it as a good source of protein. Some good sources I think would be beans and rice combined, whole grain bread, dark green leafy vegetables (also a good source of calcium and iron).

I personally eat an all raw vegan diet now, but was vegan for 2 years prior, mostly leaning how to prepare raw food as it can be a tricky and time consuming at times.

A great book to read as a simple guidline is: Eating For Beauty by David Wolfe

http://www.sunfood.com/b2c/ecom/ecomEndu...

Answer 14

it might be from the lack of protein and vitamins in your diet but it could also be if you havent been eating enough period. I had all the same problems when i was anorexic; brittle hair and missed periods.

Answer 15

You can't get malnourished in three weeks. If your for real you need to see a doctor. What you describe sounds more like end stage anorexia.

Answer 16

I tried being vegan for one year, and during that year I had the same symptoms as you. Perhaps, people's bodies don't all respond to a vegan diet the same way. Some people put on weight on a vegan diet. Other's loose it and grow terribly malnourished. Some get energy while others can't crawl out of bed. You have to try thing to get into the flow. I agree with what someone else said about soy. It really is not the best thing for you. Soy milk has tons of added cane sugar, and digesting soy products is very extremely hard on your belly. A portion of tofu, shouldn't be more than a quarter of that small brick that the stores sell while people use the whole thing in one dish while cooking. As for your menstruation, it is most likely something else, not the diet because it is just too soon for that sort of effect.