Hello... I have a question for you about vegetarianism and menstrual cycle. Ok. I'm 15 and I've been a vegetarian for about 2 months now. My last period was about 5 days late and now I'm about 5 days late for my next period and no sign of it. I'm getting a little worried. Do you think that vegetarianism can lead to longer or more irregular cycles? By the way, I'm eating a pretty healthy, balanced diet- I think its healthier than before becoming vegetarian, and I haven't lost any weight since going veg. Thanks!

first, it's likely that your fertility cycle is still finding a rhythm. it can take anywhere from two to five years post menarche (first menstruation) for the fertility cycle to be regular and regularly ovulatory.

second, dietary factors can impact the cycle, but it is difficult to tell at this time during your sexual/fertility development whether or not the cause of the variances are from dietary deficiency or from normal growth function.

but, the most important dietary factors are good cholesterol and essential fatty acids, vitamin A and vitamin D. these really support the hormonal function and the fertility cycle as a whole. So, make certain that you're getting a diverse diet rich in these nutrients.

If you consume eggs, pasture fed, free range eggs have all of these nutrients in good quantity. you can eat two or more a day, which can support your cycle and your health in general. Also, raw (nonpasturized) organic dairy products (cheese, kefir, yogurt, milk, cream, and butter) are also rich in these nutrients.

Green veggies have many nutrients, including betacarotene, which can be converted by many/some into vitamin A, but 'pure' vitamin A is considered 'best' or easier for the body to use to support the fertility cycle. Hemp seed, flax seed, and walnut oil (or the seeds/nuts themselves) are rich in essential fatty acids (EFAs). Vitamin D can also be found in sunlight, but most of us do not live in an area where we can get enough sunlight to recieve enough vitamin D. Thus, i reccommend eggs or dairy products (see above) that are naturally rich in vitamin D (rather than fortified) for this nutrient.

I also recommend that you educate yourself abuot your cycle as much as you can. A great book regarding this is Garden of Fertility (http://www.gardenoffertility.com)by Katie Singer. You can learn how to chart your cycle and understand how it functions, as well as detect malfunctions early and find simple ways to heal any malfunctions before they become problems that may require more drastic measures. You can also use this as a form of birth control--but i recommend using a secondary barrier contraception as well when you decide to become sexually active (this is the practice that i chose for my own health and well being).

I hope this helps!

I would recommend you consult a doctor. They can recommend you to a free nutritionist to make sure you're not lacking in anything , hope it settles down soon xxxxx


'difficulty becoming vegetarian ( see history ) ; sustainability begins in the kitchen ; love nut butters , smoked tofu and seaweed ; there are not many poems about roast lamb ; the future's Japanese ! '

I was pretty irregular until I was about 16, but everyone is different. As long as you know you're not pregnant I wouldn't worry about it too much for now.

Thank you all for your help... I ended up telling my mom about the problem because I got this strange, brief light brown spotting that I had never gotten before. She said that she is going to take me to the doctor just to make sure everything is ok. She thinks I may have some kind of hormonal imbalance or something because my cycle is not regulating at all and it's been about 2 1/2 years since my first period. Well, I guess it's better to get things checked out than to be worried... *sighs*

As long as you've got a good body fat percentage and are getting enough nutrients I wouldn't worry too much about it. The only way my cycle stays regular is if I'm using a birth control pill or patch and I've had my period for 10 years now.

Also, beyond nutrition factors it could be irregular from stress. I don't know how hectic or stressful your life is, but it's something to consider.

when you get the brown, spotty material, this means that your luteal phase is breaking down.

what this means is actually quite simple. we have two phases to our fertility cycle--the estres phase and the luteal phase. During the estres phase, our bodies are cool, and this phase begins when we get our period. Our body is cool and it's preparing for ovulation by releasing the previous cycle's uterine lining, helping an egg develop in the ovary, and bringing in a new uterine lining.

When we are ready for ovulation, our body begins to develop cervical fluid. cervical fluid looks like egg whites or lotion. usually it's sticky or creamy (and sometimes it changes over hte course of the fertile phase of your cycle). THis indicates that ovulation is on it's way.

once you ovulate, your temperature spikes up. This is because the egg is matured in a special "shell" that then breaks open to release the egg into the fallopian tube. this 'shell', once the egg is released, is called the "corpus luteum" and it's existance signals the body to switch to a progesterone phase. Progesterone causes our body to increase in temperature, such that should the egg be fertilized and implant, we can maintain a nice, warm, sealed uterus in which the baby can grow.

this begins the 'luteal' phase of our cycle. When there is a problem with this phase--which could be from any number of sources--there is often brown spotting. THis brown spotting may start right after ovulation and continue until normal menstruation time or it may spot occassionally throughout this phase OR it may come at the end of your menstrual period. Each of these indicates a different sort of hormonal problem or condition--most of which are not solved through the common treatments that gynocologists prescribed, instead, the symptoms are treated without ever getting to the cause.

i highly, highly recommend that both you AND your mom read the book that i suggested. It will tell you what you need to know about the cycle and how to help it NATURALLY before you're put on medications that may actually harm you in the long run. while hormonal treatments like the birth control pill may be the first prescribed, this may be unnecessary and even dangerous--and could even cause or bring about infertility among other things.

The problem may be hormonal, but it might be solved through proper nutrition or simple practices like taking a cold rinse after a hot shower to stimulate thyroid function. I highly, highly, recommend that you EDUCATE yourself as soon as possible, and not just take the doctor's advice. Mnay woman have done so to their own detriment, their doctor's not understanding how a simple change can do so much more than medication. This is not to say that going to a doctor is never appropriate--but at this stage of what's going on, i think that there are other things that you can try first to see if it settles down.

Also, as i said, it could take up to 5 years for it to settle, and you're only at 2.5! So, you still have time yet.

My mom actually got me to the doctor today as they had an opening. I have been having some other issues too for a while that seem like they may be a thyroid problem so it's better that I went. The doctor agrees that it might be thyroid so he ran some blood tests to check for it and PCOS ( just to be safe because my mom has this disorder). Thank you for your help and I'll let you know what the results are when they come in...

I think it's possible to do both - consult the doctor and also listening to the body and studying the cycle. I sometimes consult naturopaths too . I don't like medications and stuff for myself. But I think that at your age , the gp should be a central figure to discuss all the options with , preferably one that will listen to your views , you can always get a different doctor if they don't listen and you can also get second opinions from different medical people if you're not sure about what they suggested xxxxxxxx

' difficulty becoming vegetarian ( see history ) ; sustainability begins in the kitchen ; love nut butters , smoked tofu and seaweed ; there are not many poems about roast lamb ; the future's Japanese ! '

:sunny: :juggle: :nana:

Hey everyone,
I wanted to fill y'all in on what happened with my tests ... I ended up getting the results back from the blood tests and sure enough my thyroid is off and my testosterone level is too high. *sigh* I sort of expected these results as I have most of the symptoms for low thyroid function. At least they know what is wrong now so that they can hopefully reverse it. I'm going to see an endocronologist and a nutritionist to hopefully balance these things out.

well yeah at least they're dealing with it. Some doctors will also discuss how stress relates to things or give you a chart to study the patterns over the months etc and that can help people too xxxxxx

' difficulty becoming vegetarian ( see history ) ; sustainability begins in the kitchen ; love nut butters , smoked tofu and seaweed ; there are not many poems about roast lamb ; the future's Japanese ! '

:bobo:

good luck!...

please remember to take good care of yourself and get all the info from your doctor you can. I know your mom is taking you to the doc, but take a notepad with you with all the questions you might have written down in it (so you don't forget to ask any), as well as to take notes in.. :)

hey there

glad to hear that you went to the doc--and the issues are being resolved.

peace and love

jenn