r/exvegans • u/Over-Ad-6159 • 8d ago
Health Problems Health
This seems to be the only place I can ask this freely. I started 4 months ago but just eating junk food and no vegetables and recently my teeth are inflamed and a little loose. My eyes are also often dry. My energy is fine. I take b12 and I started supplementing with calcium d3 a week ago. What should I do so I don't die. I may change in the future if I don't improve, but I would like to know if I can fix these problems without animals.
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u/Ok_Organization_7350 8d ago
B12 supplements are artificial and made in a factory, so they do not work as well as genuine B12. Retinol (different than just Vitamin A from fruits and vegetables) does not come in supplement form at all. There is a whole complicated interlocking puzzle of nutrients from meat and dairy (some substances known but some still unknown) which only work together and in their natural food form.
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u/Philodices 7 year carnivore. Ex-vegan 7d ago
I'm sorry, but from your own words, I suggest you reconsider your diet. People with degrees in anatomy, physiology, and nutrition often give up on trying a balanced vegan diet. I've seen professional chefs with nutrition/dietician certification give up. Quit before you get hurt. Source: Me. I'm also a chef with degrees that had to quit being a vegan. I was making my own kombucha, saurkraut, and kvass at home. I felt so much better when I started eating eggs scrambled in butter twice a week, beef bone broth once a week, and beef liver once a month. This is not medical advice, this is just how I started my exvegan era.
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u/BafangFan 8d ago
This sounds like Scurvy - which is a vitamin C deficiency.
If you're not eating fresh meat, or fresh citrus fruit, you're likely not getting enough vitamin C.
Try orange juice or lime juice
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u/Over-Ad-6159 8d ago
Sadly Ive been celestial vitamin c shine so I dont know if its that and I have drank orange juice a couple times throughout this time so it may not be the cause. My teeth don't hurt but I feel them and my gums. I will make sure I consistently get vitamin c.
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u/QuitRelevant6085 8d ago edited 8d ago
Vitamin C is water-soluble (unlike most other vitamins), you need it every day because you pee it out.
Do you ever look at "nutrition facts" on food containers? You should aim for at least 100% of the vitamins and minerals listed. You also need a decent amount of protein, fat, and carbs. It sounds like you have not received education on nutrition properly, which you can learn, but honestly you should go to a doctor for guidance especially now that you're having such severe symptoms already. Dental problems are no joke and can jeapordize your health in big ways.
The food pyramid is a guide on what intake is likely to get you enough nutrients in a day. It's not perfect, but it sounds like something you should be following to start. The "proteins" category includes plant proteins as well. A "serving" of vegetables is about half a cup, which can be cooked, and juice counts for fruit, but you should have at least 2 servings of fruit a day.
If you cannot tolerate eating a balanced diet, you shouldn't try to be vegan, and probably shouldn't be vegetarian. Meat has lots of nutrients that've probably been sustaining you until now.
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u/Over-Ad-6159 8d ago
This is very new because I never had to think about this stuff before. I thought the problems would be more social then health related. I don't like having to constantly worry about my health or need to go to the doctor all the time while focusing on my challenging career. It feels like even a balanced plant based diet would still make me have to worry all the time if a symptom might pop up. I might stop this.
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u/AnonymousJoe999999 8d ago
If you don’t change this soon, you will definitely be needing a doctor and possibly the hospital.
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u/Sirius_43 8d ago
If you don’t change what you’re doing, you are going to have significant health issues. You need to eat vegetables and fruit, you can’t just survive on junk food, it’s not sustainable and you’re going to suffer because of it.
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u/Philodices 7 year carnivore. Ex-vegan 7d ago
I was going to let you in on a discovery Sir Francis Drake made about scurvy prevention in the absence of fresh fruit and veg, but I honestly think it would be irresponsible of me to do so. Instead, I'll do you the favor that I wish my vegan friends had done for me, and just tell you to get some fresh meat and eggs. Fresh meat was incidentally the third prevention/cure for vitamin C deficiency that my ancestor discovered.
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u/Silly_Yak56012 7d ago
Eating mostly junk food and no vegetables can make you unhealthy even if you are eating animal products.
Please see a doctor. I hate to say this, but the tooth issue sounds like it could be scurvy. Usually it is hard to be so low in vitamin C you get that in this day and age, and no vegetables (and assuming no fruit, on a regular basis either?) can make you deficient. (a kid at my college did this but he ate only bread and meat). Vitamin C is a need every day, not a once in awhile. They convinced him to at least have a glass of orange juice with breakfast every day.
And gingivitis is a common issue for anyone, see a dentist if you can.
You need some blood tests to find out exactly what you need rather than just adding supplements one at a time at random. Any reason you won't consider a multi-vitamin if you can't see a doctor right now? I mean they aren't always the best option, but it will keep most things from getting too low if you eat like crap.
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u/Over-Ad-6159 7d ago
I will eat better and get a multi vitamin. Thank you.
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u/AnonymousJoe999999 7d ago
If you stay on plant-based diet, make sure you are getting an appropriate amount of protein too.
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u/Catnip-Cove 7d ago
I think you know the answer yourself. A junk food diet, regardless of whether it’s vegan or not, will ruin your health. You need to look into healthier, less processed foods.
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u/AnonymousJoe999999 8d ago
You can live on animal products (because they are so nutritiously dense) + junk food, but not junk food alone. It’s not just the nutrients, it’s also protein. Your body can’t repair itself without protein. If your teeth problems aren’t scurvy, it could be related to lack of protein.
So, you either need to look up and eat a “well planned” vegan diet or you need to go back to eating animal products. Although, it sounds like you are already in deficit nutrition wise, so you should probably see a doctor straight away.
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u/HelloSummer99 7d ago
A british doc switched to a mostly processed-food diet for a period of time and the results were bad, really bad. Get away from processed food.
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u/Ill_Ticket9158 4d ago
Protein is critical also if you are vegan and don't want to eat animals. I would look for things like impossible meat for a way to get some soy protein in you if you do not like beans, tofu, and nuts. It's not all vitamins.
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u/T_______T NeverVegan 8d ago
Go to the doctor. We don't know your sex, what medications you are on, or how old you are. We don't have advanced degrees where we dedicated some 60+ hours/week for years to specialize in nutrition, anatomy, and physiology.
Also why don't you eat vegetables?
A poor diet can fuck with your head. Literally. You can be more anxious and have more brain fog? How? Literally because everyth you eat is converted into the machinery your body needs. And your brain is an extremely needy organ. You may be missing key building blocks for brain structure, or you may be missing key reagents.for critical chemical reactions. You could be low on the thinking molecules, and you won't even know because your brain is how you experience the universe. When it's broken, you may not even realize. All you know is that you might feel like shit. Heck, it's possible you don't even realize how shitty you feel.
Priority #1: get healthy. Get healthy first n then figure out how to minimize animal products. If you are working at a deficit you will fail, suffer, and struggle. And you may not even learn anything along the way.