Vegan Dizziness

[Indigo_A]

Hi, I have been vegan for a year now, and I have been getting really dizzy lately.  It happens multiple times a day, usually when I am hungry, but sometimes doesn't help if I eat.  I was thinking it was low iron, could this be?  It has been getting progressively worse with each passing day.  I bought a good iron supplement today, and took one, but I am still dizzy.  Any ideas?

[Renee Radenberg]

As a vegetarian you should be getting all your vitamins and minerals from the foods you ate except Vitamin B12 and maybe Calcium (if you have a history of bone disease in your family). Vitamin B12 supplementation you need to take because it comes from meat sources and it not available through vegetarian diet. Calcium supplementation may be needed if your intake is on the lower side depending on what you eat and your bone density. It is important to eat the right combination of foods so you have the proper proteins and nutrients for your body too. Eat non-meat sources (soy products, nuts), low fat vegetarian combinations (rice & beans, pasta & beans, soy cheese & pasta, salads with nuts & seeds), substitute dairy products (low fat soy milk/soy yogurt), use plant oils, non trans-fat margarines, and eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. Eat daily high fiber breads and cereals (oatmeal). Suggest for your anemia that you take iron supplements to get it under control and then eat foods high in the iron to maintain it in normal limits. I recommend you read up on vegetarian and combinations of starches / vegetables and beans / nuts for protein, calcium, and other nutrients. Good sources of information are the American Dietetic Association website, www.eatright.org and Vegetarian Resource Group website, www.vrg.org. As for your dizziness, suggest getting checked by your MD to see what is causing it. Blood work will determine if you have a deficiency of any minerals or vitamins. Hoped this helped you.

[allmymarbles]

Maybe you get dizzy because you are underweight. In my teens I was briefly underweight and got dizzy all the time.