VEGAN for 3.5 Months. Massive hair loss.

I am not vegan, but why do people judge when they have no clue? or no experience?
I have many Asian friends who are vegetarian and live a healthy and active life. Most of them never ate meat in their life.

All these comments that say meat is the solution are just ignorant and blind advices.

Go see few doctors ( even a specialist in 'eating lifestyles') for any medical conditions, you could also check how many times you eat a day the minerals obtained and needed if any. You dont need pills or any other medication to substitute meat content. If millions have no problem from living the lifestyle i dont see why you should.

reply to post by Tripple_Helix


A lot of people will tell you its because you are cutting out protien, but you can get protien as you say from a lot of other dairy free and meat free sources. Please look up vegan bodybuilding, they clearly have the protien required to sutain and increase muscle growth.

I think perhaps though it is you body going in to shock about the change of your diet, were you vegetarian proir to becoming vegan or did you go straight from meat eating to no dairy?

I am vegetarian but considering veganism as a clean diet to take. Not only is it good for you but promotes mindfulness of where you get your meat from.

For a website that is about denying ignorance, I would say that people who eat meat are ignorant of the suffering animals go through and the state of the meat industry. There is this arrogant attidude amongst some meat eaters that like to go on about how great meat tatses bla bla bla . Yet they wouldn't kill an animal and two minutes in an abotiore would make them sick.

If you have to supplement, you are doing it wrong. Listen to your body. Chances are you ancestors were pastoralism, eating a diet primarily of meat and dairy. You weren't meant to be a vegan. Only people whose ancestors were horticulturalists can tolerate a vegan diet.

reply to post by eyesdown


I am very aware of what goes on in factory farming and I am appalled. I get my meat from humane sources. My meat is free ranged, organic, grass fed and humanely killed. I have killed my own chickens before.
I am sorry but being a vegan should have nothing to do with the state of factory farms, because humanely raised and killed meat is widely available.

reply to post by calstorm


I understand what you are saying but in the country I live in food is widely avaiable to me that involves no killing of animals at all.I know there are many arguemnts surrounding this but this is a personal feeling. Also your views on meat are the minority, how about when you eat in restaurants do you still double check ?

reply to post by Tripple_Helix


I would give you advice, but you would balk at it. I tried to give someone the advice that has helped me feel phenomenal, and they were disgusted.

Basically, eat raw meat and raw fat from grassfed organic cows. Liver is especially full of vitamins. If you cook it, you destroy the food and produce toxins.

Grains are essentially birdseed. You would not eat grains in real life because it would be too difficult to collect them all by hand.

www.gnolls.org...

Aajonus Vonderplanitz also wrote the first paleo books. He healed himself from two types of cancer, and other diseases. Listen to him on YouTube if you like. Simple search is all that is needed to find his interview.

reply to post by Tripple_Helix


Look at alkaline and acid foods. Try eating alkaline foods, like oranges, lemons ...

ALKALIZING FRUITS Apple Apricot Avocado Banana (high glycemic) Berries Blackberries Cantaloupe Cherries, sour Coconut, fresh Currants Dates, dried Figs, dried Grapes Grapefruit Honeydew Melon Lemon Lime Muskmelons Nectarine Orange

SOURCE:www.rense.com...

Originally posted by Tripple_Helix
It started as a medical reason, although I have never been a real big meat eater. I cut out all dairy, eggs, fish, poultry & meat. It has now turned into a moral issue for me.

A little while back, my hair started to fall out. I thought it was just an after effect of the anesthesia, or so people told me. Now I'm not so sure. If I can give you an indication of how much hair is falling out- If I roll it into a tight ball, it's a little bit smaller than a tennis ball... slightly larger than a golf ball. Now, it doesn't stop in the shower. All day long if I put my hands through my hair, about 10 strands come out each time.

It has also taken over 3 weeks for my nails to grow 2mm and some are splitting apart horizontally, yet, they are very hard and strong.

I will never go back to eating meat. But dairy and eggs? I don't know... I know the dairy industry is just as bad as the meat industry and I don't want to support it. And from everything I've heard and read about dairy, animal protein and cancer, I'm not too sure I want to go down that path.

I really do eat a balanced vegan diet. Lots of fruits, veggies at night, whole grains like rice and quinoa. Olive oil, coconut oil. I get protein from beans like soy, chickpeas etc.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong.
I also do occasionally take a B12 supplement, which comes from plant extracts.

I can't even imagine eating a little chicken egg... but I crave it. After 3 months though?! Should cravings not be gone by now?

So, I'm in a catch 22 here. There are people just waiting for me to fail at this and I would hate to prove them right. I want to eat in an ethical and kind way. But I also don't want to feel like I have failed, and make myself even more sick at the same time.

I have major stomach issues as well, so I am also gluten free since a week ago... Talk about cutting out major food groups.

Anyone with advice?

PS:

My nails used to grow at such a rapid rate that I could not have my nails done because they just grew too fast. Those nails normally last a woman about 2-3 weeks, mine lasted a week. So I'd say they grew about a cm per week and a half.

edit on 14-6-2012 by Tripple_Helix because: (no reason given)

Yes, when you wake up, have a breakfast steak, eggs over easy and wash it down with a big glass of milk and you'll feel better.

reply to post by Tripple_Helix


You do have to make sure that you get all of your proteins. There are certain proteins yielded directly from meat and fish that can only be obtained by certain combinations of other foods, e.g. rice and beans, or peanut butter and milk. No doubt there are other such combinations.

You mention anesthesia, so I am guessing that you had some operation (and I'm not reading through this entire thread to find all the details, so if this has already been mentioned, well then never mind). Could whatever caused your need for the surgery have caused the hair loss, or do you have new major stresses in your life?

Also heard recently that balding in men is due to some anomalous protein, so I could well imagine that a significant dietary change could possibly cause this, but that's just conjecture.

As for your nail growth, something is definitely not right if they were growing 1 cm per week. Nails typically grow about 1 inch (2.54 cm) per year. You seem to be claiming that your nails used to grow 20 inches per year.

reply to post by FIFIGI


Um, limes, oranges and, in particular, lemons are acidic, not alkaline. I doubt any of the other fruits mentioned are very alkaline either. Makes me very dubious of the source you cite.

That said, fruits are good for you, so even a broken clock is correct twice a day...

reply to post by Tripple_Helix
Hi Tripple Helix,

I just created an account because I really wanted to reply to your post.

I was brought up vegetarian and have been vegan for about 12 years and love it! It is commonly accepted now that a purely plant-based diet provides everything we need with the exception of Vitamin B12. In other words, people who say "where do you get you protein/iron from?" have done zero research into what plants actually contain. There is alot of programming that has been passed down through the generations and (surprisingly) never questioned!

If you have just recently gone vegan, then I'd be surprised if low B12 was an issue - it takes about 7 years to deplete the bodies supply of B12. The best thing to do would be to go to the doctor and get a blood test to find out if you are deficient in anything - then you can look at your diet and adjust it if needed.

With the whole craving eggs and dairy thing, that can go on for a while. Most people say that the hardest thing about going vegan is giving up cheese (I found that too). This is because cow's milk contains Casomorphine which is a natural part of the milk but highly addictive. Milk naturally contains this so that the baby calves keep coming back to their Mum for more milk when they crave it. Obviously we are not baby calves - but we are the only species on the planet that consumes and is addicted to the milk of another species.

Anyway, here's a great article i read the other day about a Vegan Endurance Athlete (there are lots of them around):
www.huffingtonpost.com...

All the best with your journey

This is why I've always had hunches that a little white lean meat is necessary. wiki vegetarian and you'll notice a part where it says that low meat eating increases lifespan. Also, I believe the article about the centenarians in Japan did not say no meat altogether, only that they ate a very high amount of complex carbohydrates.

Yes, the body can combine and get all of the essential amino acids from vegetable sources. The problem is that it has to work extra hard for that(and with all the other food that it has to digest, sometimes the body might not even have time to do that), and since it's your hair and nail, it doesn't really care. Whatever protein it can create, they go into your vital organs first.

As far as listening to our body, well, if we were to do that, then we would eat sugar all the time. And technically, if you exercise all the time(immediately after you eat it), then you can pretty much eat sugar all the time.

The important thing here is to understand EXACTLY how everything works, if you want to try something new.

Originally posted by biggmoneyme

Originally posted by getreadyalready
reply to post by biggmoneyme

 

i mean a dead animal lying in front of you. bit a big chunk out of it without breaking your teeth. if you can do this then i'll agree that man was intended by nature to eat meat
and if you really think you can do that then, uh lol idk i'd bet a grand you couldn't

For a grand? I'm in! It is easier to eat a dead animal than a live one. A dead animal has already started to soften and rot, and the meat is a lot more tender. That is why they age steaks. I guarantee I won't break a tooth taking a nice big bite out of a Lamb Chop or Deer Leg, or Chicken Breast.

For a grand? No problem, I've eaten worse stuff than a dead animal. Penetrating the hide and ripping through the fascia and connective tissues is the hard part, but it isn't going to break my teeth. It will either rip or it won't rip, but it won't break any teeth.

film yourself doing it lol. shoot a deer go up to it and take a bite out. I will send you a grand. swear to god i will. you can even use your hands bc nature provided those, but no knives

and you have to enjoy it. because if its so natural why wouldnt you?

Humans are tool users and fire users. We use knives, sticks, stones in the place of sharp teeth. And cooking softens many animal and plant foods that would otherwise be too much for our teeth to handle. That is natural. We are omnivores. We naturally eat anything we can catch or cook or both. Been doing it for millions of years, since before we were human...

Originally posted by AnimalsAreNotOurs
reply to post by Tripple_Helix

 

Hi Tripple Helix,

I just created an account because I really wanted to reply to your post.

I was brought up vegetarian and have been vegan for about 12 years and love it! It is commonly accepted now that a purely plant-based diet provides everything we need with the exception of Vitamin B12. In other words, people who say "where do you get you protein/iron from?" have done zero research into what plants actually contain. There is alot of programming that has been passed down through the generations and (surprisingly) never questioned!

If you have just recently gone vegan, then I'd be surprised if low B12 was an issue - it takes about 7 years to deplete the bodies supply of B12. The best thing to do would be to go to the doctor and get a blood test to find out if you are deficient in anything - then you can look at your diet and adjust it if needed.

With the whole craving eggs and dairy thing, that can go on for a while. Most people say that the hardest thing about going vegan is giving up cheese (I found that too). This is because cow's milk contains Casomorphine which is a natural part of the milk but highly addictive. Milk naturally contains this so that the baby calves keep coming back to their Mum for more milk when they crave it. Obviously we are not baby calves - but we are the only species on the planet that consumes and is addicted to the milk of another species.

Anyway, here's a great article i read the other day about a Vegan Endurance Athlete (there are lots of them around):
www.huffingtonpost.com...

All the best with your journey

"With the eception of B12"
Body needs that...

OP, when you start a thread like this, you really have to give more information.
I read one of your past threads www.abovetopsecret.com...

In it you explained that you suffer from a rare disease called Beinign Multicystic Mesothelioma.
As treatment, they recommend chemotherapy and we all know the side effects of chemo, right?
Even if you haven't had treatment yet for this disease, it is vital piece information. Since it effects the reproductive system, it's most probably the direct cause of your hair loss (since it will severely affect the body's hormonal system - hair growth/loss is more often than not hormonal related)

I'm a little bit ticked off that you seem to blame your hair loss on your vegan diet - since that was the only piece of info you included in your explanation as to why you would be suffering from hair loss.

I'm a vegan myself (also South African) and have been so for 10 years. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
You will do your body a huge disfavour if you cease to be vegan.
I won't go into much detail, but I used to suffer from numerous childhood diseases, which continued until early adulthood. After 5 years of being vegan after that, I outgrew all of them.
Haven't been to the doctor now in 4 years - not even for a common cold.

reply to post by Tripple_Helix


It sounds to me like you're either missing some critical nutrients, or the shift has caused a drastic horomone shift. You may think your diet is well-balanced enough, but as a vegan, without very careful dietary planning, that's highly doubtful. Vitamin E and Biotin are both directly related to hair and nails. Try adding food with plenty of those (and supplement as well.)

Really you should be calculating all of the nutritional content of everything you eat and weighing it against a reliable source of dietary needs measurements. Do that at least until you've developed a good understanding of your needs as a vegan. Nutritional deficiencies are one of the easiest ways to get some of the worst diseases - don't let it happen to you.

One other thing - go easy on the soy. In most forms, even non-GMO organic, its a huge estrogen booster. Only fermented soy is truly fit for human consumption except in small quantities.

reply to post by Tripple_Helix

Your body needs 90 essential nutrients...
...60 minerals, 3 fatty acids, 12 vitamins and 15 amino acids...
...you don't have to get any of them from animal sources (except maybe B12)

There are good non-animal sources of these essential nutrients...
...avail yourself of some or your body will continue to break down.

If you have gut problems you can not just treat this issue as lightly as other people.

First off, you need to be taking B12 supplements every day if you aren't eating meat and you should make sure the one you are taking isn't just junk because there is a definite range in the quality of supplements available. Get your B levels and hemoglobin checked on a blood test.

You can take liquid B vitamin which is supposed to absorb much more easily but I myself need to have injections of vitamin B. Relatively painless, I get them once a week. The prescription means it's covered but the cost of it not on a plan is cheaper than the pills. It's like $5 for several months supply.


As others have mentioned it might make sense to add eggs back in to your diet to get enough protein. I have done this recently myself. Free Run eggs are widely available where I live and the extra cost gets you very decent eggs. The farmers market near me sells the eggs before they have gone for grading so they are cheaper and the same farm also sends its eggs to be graded whereby they're sold under a Free Run brand here.


Eggs may not taste good any more once youve stopped eating them but they're so easy to add to anything and put in extra protein for cheaper than high quality vegan proteins.

If you have been losing significant amounts of weight on your diet that would be unhealthy and could be kept in check by also consuming some amounts of dairy. Goat and Sheep are very low in lactose and as well as that, at least in Canada, there are tons of Goats on farms that are free to roam the land. I know some farmers who keep their goats happy and while we can't be sure about all of them, do you really want to keep yourself up at night worrying about your health? Is it really going to keep you up at night worrying about whether you POSSIBLY harmed a goat?


Unless you're making choices that directly harm animals, such as sharks fin, I think the moral argument behind Veganism is wrong. Meat is wastefully handled in our society and wasted and not given enough respect but hello, it's your body! That's the most important thing. It's great that you're using your diet to maintain your health: I have Crohn's and have been flare free since going vegetarian and that is amazing for sure! Some times I've gotten caught up in the dogma and tried to make sure everything I consume is animal free but it's exhausting, a waste of money and in the end it is impossible to lead a life that doesn't harm animals through testing. It's just a reality of our existence that we need to come to terms with.

your body is craving the essential proteins it needs, First your body will go after the easy protein that is stored, but eventually your body will start on the organs. this is bad, you really need to listen to your body, its the best doctor around, sorry your having these problems.

I was a vegan for 2 years ...

Not so much for any ethical reasons but mainly for health ...

Over all it was a very good experience. I lost 50 pounds. I felt great. Got rid of asthma. Bathroom trips were short and to the point

Never did I experience any problems like hair falling out. There are plenty of healthy vegans. Protein comes from many different sources.

Maybe you need some high quality supplements or maybe regular juicing of fruits and vegetables.

I eventually quit the vegan diet - that was 10 years ago. I just missed too many things after a while. Though I can say that was probably the healthiest I have ever been.

Becoming a vegan was effortless at the time. Since then I have made several attempts to return to the vegan lifestyle but I just don't have the enthusiasm for it that I did the first time. Social events were always the hardest.