mommyof1:

I'm going to post this in two parts, first dealing with the gycemic issue, and then dealing with the iron issue.

i agree, basicly, with iamjen that it's not necessary to consume dairy to be healthy if you have glycemic issues (hypoglycemia or type 1 diabetes--type 2 is slightly different, but has similar glycemic issues).

but, what i feel is important is taking stock of the process of becoming vegetarian. A lot of people like to 'change overnight' and i can understand this desire. You have a strong emotional reaction and want to make changes. For the average person without any special health needs or specific health needs, a change like this isn't going to be that big of a deal. in fact, it will probably better their diet (particularly if they live predominently on omnivorous convenience and processed foods).

For people with 'special needs' so to speak, it's important for them to 1. understand what those needs are and how their current, omnivorous diet fulfills and doesn't fulfill those needs; 2. to understand how vegetarianism can fulfill those needs, and what their options are in regards to achieving those needs; and 3. transitioning (while experimenting) to make certain that their needs are being met in an effective manner.

I see that you have two primary needs: 1. an issue similar to hypoglycemia, and 2. an iron issue. These are pretty major issues that can be easily addressed through vegetarianism, but it will take education, time, and effort to work them out.

To the hypoglycemia issue, it's important to understand your body and what triggers 'episodes' for you. For example, when i have an 'episode' from hypoglycemia, i have very noticeable results. If i eat something too sugary (for example, pancakes with maple syrup), i get an instant, slamming head ache, followed by a great sugar crash that then leads to bloating, gasto-intestinal distress (gas), and i have to water and fiber load to bring my body back into balance. If i don't eat in regular intervals, and if at those intervals i don't eat something that contains protien and fat (though not necessarily from dairy), then i tend to get a mild sugar buzz (from eating, for example, just fruit alone, without eating nuts with it or whatever) and then a crash. If i know that i'm going to eat a meal soon, within 15 or 20 minutes of eating just a piece of fruit, then i'll have just fruit and be able to pick up my blood sugar before the 'crash' with my balanced meal. In this case, the fruit (or vegetable) is there to tide me over until my main meal.

Knowing this, a lot of the things that people recommended for you may not be appropriate. There may be too many carbs, not enough fat, and the sugars may be too simple. For instance, i have strong reactions to maple syrup, black strap molasses, honey, and agave nectar. I can only use these sparingly--and certainly not enough to increase my iron intake via black strap molasses. For the average person who can eat a 'twinkie'-type food without a strong bio-chemical reaction, a couple of tablespoons of black strap molasses is no big deal. My max amount that i can manage is about a teaspoon, and sometimes only half a teaspoon. So, it wouldn't help me out too much.

Similarly, you have to look at the protien and carbohydrate issues. Soy protien isolate is virtually undigestable, so it doens't function as 'useable protien' for the body. All other vegan protien sources come attached to carbohydrates. Understanding the carbohydrate spectrum and how it's going to affect you makes a difference.

Say, for example, you want to drink soy milk instead of cow's or goat's milk. this makes sense; soymilk tastes good (to me, much better than animal milk, which is why i make kefir, ice cream, and mix it with fruit and stuff!). But, certain brands of soy milk do a number to my sugars. Silk brand soymilk, for example, is higher in sugar (from the sweetners) and soy-carbohydrates (from the beans) and lower in protien than EdenSoy brand. Silk also contains less fat (as far as i remember from reading the label). Silk will send me into sugar-hell, whereas moderate amounts of Edensoy were manageable as long as i was consuming it *with* something else. Alone, it simply wasn't enough to keep me ok. I find that with animal milk, once the lactose has been broken down (from natural enzymes in milk that are usually destroyed during pasturaization, hence the reason for raw; from the active elements of yogurt; from the elements that make cheese, cheese--these break down lactose to make cheese), is far lower in sugar, higher in fat (and fat soluable nutrients) and in protien (useable). So, it's much easier for me to consume and not get sent into sugar problems. Similarly, eggs are a great source of protien, without carbohydrates--so they function great for me. Nuts are also good, but so high in fat, that the amount of protien in them is far less--and consuming more nuts and nutbutters would make a diet too high in fat to meet all of my protien needs from here and from carb-heavy sources such as beans and grains).

So, what you can see from this is that i first had to have an understanding of what affects me and how, and then whether or not or how i could manage with or without dairy and eggs. Admittedly, i was vegan for 5 years--so it is possible. But, i did have to pay very close attention to how i ate each meal, when, and so on. It was easy, once i got the hang of it, but it did take three months to transition and then probably another six months to refine everything to my needs. it took me a year or slightly more to transition back to dairy and eggs to meet my needs. It's appropriate to take your time!

(see next post! part two!)

here's part two, related to iron:

as for the iron issue, i don't know if your supplements are "ok?" because 'Ok' is a subjective idea. For most vegetarians, it depends upon what the supplement is made of as to whether or not it is 'ok' for them. Most supplements are 'elemental'--coming from salts. Some are more absorbable than others, and there recommended doses of these supplements id 50 mg/day--usually taken throughout the day in two or three doses. But, as with any supplement--you'll have to decide whether or not it is right for you and whether or not you can accept the origin. no one can decide that for you.

now, iron is an issue. there are two 'kinds' of iron--heme and non-heme iron (as far as dietary. there is also elemental which is probably what is in your supplement). Heme iron comes from animals and their byproducts and is more easily absorbed than non-heme iron. In order to increase non-heme iron, you need to decrease iron absorption inhibitors and increase those nutrients that will increase the absorption of non-heme iron.

Here's a quote taken from the NIH web site:

What affects iron absorption? Iron absorption refers to the amount of dietary iron that the body obtains and uses from food. Healthy adults absorb about 10% to 15% of dietary iron, but individual absorption is influenced by several factors (1,3,8,11-15).

Storage levels of iron have the greatest influence on iron absorption. Iron absorption increases when body stores are low. When iron stores are high, absorption decreases to help protect against toxic effects of iron overload (1,3). Iron absorption is also influenced by the type of dietary iron consumed. Absorption of heme iron from meat [as well as eggs and milk products--particularly eggs] proteins is efficient. Absorption of heme iron ranges from 15% to 35%, and is not significantly affected by diet [15]. In contrast, 2% to 20% of nonheme iron in plant foods such as rice, maize, black beans, soybeans and wheat is absorbed (16). Nonheme iron absorption is significantly influenced by various food components (1,3,11-15).

[Animal] proteins and vitamin C will improve the absorption of nonheme iron (1,17-18). Tannins (found in tea), calcium, polyphenols, and phytates (found in legumes and whole grains) can decrease absorption of nonheme iron (1,19-24). Some proteins found in soybeans also inhibit nonheme iron absorption (1,25). It is most important to include foods that enhance nonheme iron absorption when daily iron intake is less than recommended, when iron losses are high (which may occur with heavy menstrual losses), when iron requirements are high (as in pregnancy), and when only vegetarian nonheme sources of iron are consumed. (found here: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/iron.asp)

Now, with the iron problems that you already have, it may be helpful for you to learn about and consider (contemplate/reflect on) what the particular issue may be. with your omnivorous diet, were you having iron absorption problems? if so, it may be that you have a natural difficulty absorbing *any* iron, and so it may be important to include heme iron in your diet because it is easier to absorb than non-heme. And, for the non-heme that you do consume, it is important to focus on those nutrients that help it absorb. It may be that you cannot absorb non-heme iron (rare, but it does happen) or the amount that you can absorb is nearly negligible. If this is the case, then your sole source of iron will be heme iron--which can only be found in animal sources. Eggs and dairy products are vegetarian sources of heme iron.

Similarly, vitamin A plays a part in iron mobilization--so if you have a vitamin A problem, then this could lead to your anemia. you may be absorbing enough, but your body is unable to mobilize enough to use it. Therefore, it may be important to look at the origins of your vitamin A and whether or nto your body can use those forms of vitamin A or is getting enough vitamin A. Beta carotene, which is plentiful in plant foods, must be converted to vit A. Some people don't make this convertion well or at all, or the conversion taxes the body enough to cause vit A deficiencies. So, they need animal sources of vit A in order to have enough vit A to meet their needs. Eggs and raw dairy (full fat) are good sources of vitamin A. It is important to get beta carotene as well, but some people need more 'real' vitamin A than beta carotene (and can convert only a little or none at all) in order to meet their needs. (there's also interplay between vit A and B12, as well as a b12 component of certain kinds of anemia. b 12 is also a complex nutrient in regards to absorption, and it may be helpful to read the articles that i posted in the general health forum regarding b12 and meat analogues).

You may also discover that you do absorb both kinds of dietary iron, but in the past weren't getting enough of either heme or non-heme, or if you were, you were also consuming a lot of things that inhibited you non-heme iron absorption. If you decide that you want to increase you non-heme amounts, or rely solely on non-heme iron for your iron needs (such as a strict vegetarian/vegan would), then you need to plan your diet accordingly--particularly paying attention to your needs in regards to anemia (which you might have had before you went vegetarian anyway--right?). When you begin to understand what your iron needs are and how to meet them, you'll be able to find methods of meeting your iron needs. But recognize that meeting those non-heme iron needs may also impact your glycemic needs.

For example, people have recommended blackstrap molasses. As i mentioned, i have a strong reaction to this product. The general RDA for iron is 14 miligrams. The pregnancy and lactation (and therefore fertility) RDA is 27 miligrams. I was unable to find a specific theraputic dose, with the exception of the dosage for using an elemental iron (different from heme or non heme) which also absorbs differently. Lets assume that you're a fertile (menstruating) woman. This would put your RDA (without anemia) at 27 miligrams per day. according to the label of my back strap molasses, 1 tbsp=3.5 miligrams of iron. Granted, this would not be my *sole* source of iron for the day, but most people will use 1-2 tbsp/day when using this product (according to various recipes divided into single servings). From this single source, they would then recieve 7 miligrams of their RDA, which is 26% of the RDA. But remember that it's also non heme iron, so only 2 to 20% of this may be absorbed, which means they're only getting 2-20% of the 26% of the RDA.

Add to this the glycemic issue--as is my case--and you end up with another factor. I can only manage about 1/3 a tbsp of blackstrap molasses before i get sugar bonkers. 1/3 of a tbsp would only give me about 1 mg of non-heme iron per day, which would only give me .056 of my RDA for iron. considering that i'd only absorb 2 to 20% of that--it's a negligable amount, wouldn't you say?

So, the issue is a little more complex than "oh, i think i'll avoid something." or "get this, and you'll have enough." Your case is specific--you have sugar issues and you have anemia issues. This means that your research is going to have to be more extensive and you'll have to be more patient in your transition--experimenting as you go and finding what works for you.

Remember, there's no 'end goal' really here. It's really about finding what is right for you, healthy wise, while living our your values. Recognize that it is a process and take the pressure off. Make sure that you feel good each day, that your managing your health in an effective, progressive, healing method. THis way, you are able to be vegetarian for the long haul--you know how to handle problems, you nderstand your specific nutrient needs, and you can find vegetarian alternatives and amounts to meet your specific nutrient needs should other special needs arise.

Give yourself time. Don't rush. Research and understand. Do you best. Don't worry about what others may or may not think of you. Be yourself, be educated, and be healthy.

All you Canadians always eat wierd stuff... Just kidding... :) My Grandma eats Nutella. I'll have to try it. I got Almond Butter at the HFS last night. ALSO got vegan 'butter' and vegan 'sour cream.' mmmmm.... I also picked up lotsa tofu, and more veggies adn all these cool vegan proten-veggie-juice drinks. I'm excited. I'm gonna go eat now. :)

Wow, thanks Zoebird. That's a lot of info. And very informative. I know it's going to be hard, and I have so much to learn. Since I posted that first post, I do feel better... I think part of my being tired was also being sick. I'm starting to get over this, whatever it is, and starting to feel better. I've been eating a lot more green veggies, and more veggies in general, and I think that's helping. I also think that my body is trying to adjust itself from lack of caffine, in addition to all that other stuff. I'm going to the book store to get some books on all my issues as well as some new cookbooks. :) I know this will take a lot of effort on my part, but I'm not worried about it. I'm only 21, so I think I'll be able to adjust to things fairly quickly. Thank you so much for that info again. You're so helpful! Oh, and BTW, I was anemic before I became a vegetarian. :)

I recommend How it all Vegan and Garden of Vegan for cookbooks. Lots of good stuff in them and the recipes work!