Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Patrycja on November 12, 2008 at 11:20am

RE to this:
the another question is: Is there any relation with diabetes or not?

Permalink Reply by sparrowrose on November 12, 2008 at 12:52pm

I'm a vegan, 75%+ raw, and out of curiosity, I pulled up yesterday's food log. It was a pretty typical day.

Iron: 95% daily allowance
calcium: 80% daily allowance
zinc: 80% daily allowance
B12: I supplement, so 200% (More meat-eaters have a B12 deficiency than vegetarians, by the way. B12 is everyone's issue, not just ours.)

For the hyper vitamins
A: 557% daily allowance
D: 0% daily allowance (I don't see how a vegetarian would get hyper D unless they were eating supplemented foods. I get my D from sunshine, so if I were to overdose, I'd also have sun poisoning.)

Others you didn't mention that are really high for me yesterday:

C: 902% daily allowance
Fiber: 258% daily allowance
Riboflavin: 207%
B6: 507%
Folate: 292%
Pantothenic Acid: 216%
Copper: 407%
manganese: 497%

Other lows:

Selenium: 33%

Everything else appears to be within normal parameters.
My protein is at 42g which I feel good about. My doctor told me to try to get 50g per day, but I'm building good muscle from exercise and don't have any symptoms of low protein, so I feel comfortable at this level.
I've never had anemia, so I can't really speak to that issue.

I don't know whether any of this is a myth or not, but I grew up vegetarian and went vegan when I was diagnosed with diabetes and then went high raw in October. since going vegan, I've lost about a third of my body weight and I feel awesome. But who knows what my health will be like after being vegan for ten years? I figure I'll just keep doing the things that make me healthier so long as they are making me healthier and if they stop making me healthier, I'll play health detective again until I figure out what I need to change.

Permalink Reply by Patrycja on November 12, 2008 at 3:38pm

hi sparrowrose,
Im glad your results are impressed
but I didnt mind every vegan people - I can say also that the level of vitamins is pretty good in my case, but from time to time I recognize the lack of magnesium an vit.A - it's just washed out of water I drink every day
and I havent had any anaemia
I think that the problem with hipervitaminosis D dont concern mature people, I mean grown up, becouse they dont need as much as children then
thanks a lot for diskussion

Permalink Reply by Kristen on July 21, 2012 at 10:02am

I think deficiencies on a vegetarian or vegan diet have more to do with poor eating than with eschewing meat, eggs, or dairy. (After all, omnivores who eat poorly develop deficiencies, too, especially of B12 as sparrowrose said.) I track my nutrient intake periodically and my macronutrient intake every day and often get 70+ grams of protein, much more fiber than called or (50 or so grams instead of 20), plenty of vitamin A from raw and cooked veggies and fruits, plenty of magnesium from whole grains, fruit, and vegetables, B12 from supplements, iron from nearly everything (it's better absorbed with the addition of something with vitamin C, like raw fruits and vegetables [cooking degrades vitamin C]), and calcium from fortified milks, nuts, vegetables, grains, etc.

With that said, it is important to be watchful over your diet to eat healthy, whole foods, but I don't think veganism or vegetarianism is so apt to cause deficiencies per se. :)