Hi everyone. I'm a 20 year old female. I have been vegan for a year and a half and have excluded meat from my diet for the most part since I was 12. I grew up eating typical American food, and my diet as a teenager was horrid. Anyway, in 2010 I cut out all of the junk and greatly increased the percentage of raw foods, making lots of green smoothies and experimenting with different veggies, and as always eating lots of fruit.

My thing is that I'm confused about whats going on, and I know I probably need to get bloodwork done because I'm sure I'm iron and b12 deficient.

I am experiencing hair loss on my wrists and legs. The hair follicles on my legs are red and I can pick out the hairs, which is really bizzare. I'm also experiencing numbness in my legs again (b12) and my skin is very dry.

Because it's the winter and I bike to commute, I wear long johns everyday under my pants and almost never take them off, so that could be a factor in my legs not getting air (?) and my skin being dry. I probably don't drink enough water either, but the hair loss is really puzzling.

I guess I eat a pretty restricted diet, considering I eat a lot and have a budget. All I want to eat are avocados and dates. That's what looks good and is cheap, but its not really doing much for me to only eat those foods. I haven't this week, but I've been making lots of green smoothies lately which make me feel awesome. Otherwise, I don't eat cooked food except for the occasional tofu or hummus.

To be honest, I'm kind of paranoid. I recovered from bulimia last year and am working with my tendencies to overeat. Aside from feeling great from eating high raw (the only way to eat imo), I like it because I can overeat and not gain weight, as opposed to my old vegan crap binging days.

I feel like certain things just aren't good for me, and I'm probably being neurotic and should lose the only fruit and raw mentality. Daily, I eat bananas, avocados, dates, and that's pretty consistent. I'm not healthy. I need sprouts and salads and sprouted grains, but instead I seem to eat the same rotation of food, and its not working for me.

Does anyone have any advice for me? I plan on staying vegan, and I don't plan on incorporating junk vegan food for the sake of calories, but clearly I need to get excited about variety again, spend my money on bulk items and spend my money more wisely, and take care of myself.

Cooked grains don't really attract me, and if I had better access to the food market (finals have made me apartment bound), I'd have no problem, but I don't know. Sometimes I want to make mashed turnips or squash, but it doesn't feel right, and that's just because I'm letting someone's dumb dogma get to me.

I'm a scientist and I plan on becoming a nutritional biochemist. I think what I need to do is start making soups and stuff. I know it isn't the worst, and I know that plant enzymes don't magically jump into my cells to help digest food. I guess I just wish I wasn't scared of overeating. I know I have a strong enough mind to CHOOSE to not overeat, but sometimes I can't help that I'm an anxious person under a lot of academic stress (getting my BS in biochemistry), and I live away from my family, so eating is a very comforting thing. Sorry this was long. Thanks in advance for any support.

T

Hey, to start please try and be easy on yourself about overeating. If you eat a healthy diet and dont overindulge to much it isnt an issue. So try to stop stressing over it and by your post you know its not a healthy outlook.

Im high raw vegan myself i feel the best this way. Your hair loss may be down to lack of nutrients and it doesnt sound like your getting a good variation of food. Iodine is one that is hard to get on a vegan diet without seaweed.

Id say go to your doctor and get some blood work done. Start including more food will also help.

take care

Thank you. Yes, I've improved greately in the self love and forgiveness department, and my situation really isn't that bad/dire, and I always eat enough and maybe a little too much but nothing like I used to. I think I just need to get my nutrients in check and remember that doing the things I "wish" I could do makes me feel good, and doing things like overeating makes me very anxious.

I'm going home for two weeks, and I am blessed to have a very supportive mother who goes out of her way to make sure there's food for me in the house, but I always overeat when I'm home late at night. I'm notorious for wiping out their jars of PB and such. I think this time though I'm going to go home and eat normally, whether it's kale smoothies or healthy regular food, like sprouted bread and stuff. I can do it, my body deserves regular amounts of food at regular intervals, and my family deserves to have a guest who treats food as something they eat, not the biggest part of their life.

Thanks for your response :]

the hair loss is at the wrist and legs, not the scalp. Your legs are red and you can pick out hairs. Is there scaling (rash) near the follicle? Could it be eczema? [www.intelihealth.com].

Kref



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2010 08:52PM by Krefcenz.

I think it's a combination from not drinking enough water, wearing pants, not eating a variety and not coming from an ideal diet as of this year, and stress? Either way, that was an informative article. My sister had has eczema and what I have looks like dry skin that hasn't been washed. But the hair follicle thing is weird. I lost the hair on my wrists around when I first started eating high raw. It could have been from the poor diet/lifestyle I had or the change. It grew back. I'll figure it out.

You know what to do for yourself; you are pre-empting your decisions and this is worse than potentialy falling into bulimic habits again, IMO. It means you are still baragaining with yourself as though your are not in charge of your behavior. Realize that you are very bright, good at multi-tasking(check out how busy you sound), and past the point of pathology. Then, go forward using a varied stock of fruits and veggies as a means to regaining appetite. Look into things that are coming into season that you haven't ever tried before, and try them. Get lots of sleep and oxygenating exercise in fresh air--stress can cause all kinds of skin/hair follicle problems. I'd bet that your body is asking you to slow down, be thankful for everything you have accomplished, and to enjoy it a bit. Get to a doctor and have a full vitmain and mineral workup done, and also a metabolic panel to check your kidneys and liver. Maybe a hormone analysis, if possible. But, above all, find someplace in your mind that is like an aerie--high up above your anxieties where you can go to just exist and not fret. Good luck and have a nice vacation

[www.youtube.com]

cyclopsicle... I agree with Tamuhka.

You know what you need to do to be healthy, you have a good idea of why you are losing the hair, you know how you should be eating to be healthy, you know how to eat healthy... you are choosing not to do it. You are the key to changing your current situation.

Luck to you!

Tam took the words right out my mouth, and as usual, said it allot better than I probably could have!

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

this may sound silly but in addition to all the great advice above, my first thought was are your long johns tight around your wrist and bottom of your legs, adding to the tender skin/hair loss.

I hope you take this wonderful advice from this thread, in addition to the essential matter of visiting a dr and have bloodwork done, I also had a thought about you setting an intention for finding an awesome nutritionist to work with as well. Their expertise and individualized attention is a Godsend.

Be kind to yourself, sounds like you are doing so much better with your choices!
Blessings
D

Sorry to hear about your hair loss. Here's one article about vegan women and hair loss related to nutrition. Don't know. Maybe there is a treatment in there. [www.veganhealth.org]

Paul

Thank you everyone. You don't know how much it means to me to be able to post about eating disorders and my feelings and recieve nothing but loving, thoughtful responses. I've been eating some sprouted bread, eating more normal portions at regular intervals, and trusting my body and not allowing my fears to govern my actions.

You need some leafy greens. if not salad then at least some greens in a smoothie daily. Loss of body hair partnered with a "tan" ot dark skin patches. (I had a slight "tan" and dry skin good very well be an adrenal issue. Weak adrenals. If you have the resources, you might want to look at being tested by a good endocrinologist. That happened to me. I lost weight, my hair turned to straw, my body hair fell out, and I felt like crud. Not diet related. More stress related. Couldn't hurt to check it out.
((huggs))
WS


WendySmiling in Oklahoma
www.16weeks2health.blogspot.com
12/17/10.......240/155/125

Here's a case of hair loss caused by supplementation: Poisoned By Supplements! (The Dark Side of Natural Health) #724

Prana Wrote:
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> Here's a case of hair loss caused by
> supplementation: Poisoned By Supplements! (The
> Dark Side of Natural Health) #724

This is what annoys me about these "naturopaths, gurus, text-book herbalists" they read a book, do a little mickey mouse course that gets them to put silly acronyms such as ND, Dr and after there name and suddenly there now gurus and naturopaths. If your going to be prescribing supplements, diets etc to people then you better have researched the product alot before and checked out the company is reputable.

Its people like these that give the industry a bad name, but then again part of this here has to be consumer responsibility. I personally have never just willy nilly taken prescribed medicines etc without at least a little research into the ingredients.

I came across an MS group who use various different naturopaths and i was so shocked that most of them knew nothing more than the basics and some damn right silly and possibly dangerous information they were prescribing. Not to mention these guys charge a fortune.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/20/2010 01:41PM by powerlifer.

Wendy, you're absolutley right. I feel off when I slack on the green smoothies. I plan on drinking them at least semi-regularly for the rest of my life. I think stress was a big factor too. Exams always make me freak out, and I had a pretty tough semester regardless of examinations. I think I'm going to take a trip to the store and get some kale and a good multivitamin, because for now that should help me out, and I'm going to pay close attention to iron and iodine. Again, thank you everyone for exploring all possible causes and being very thoughtful. I'm grateful to have found this board. I have grown a lot more as a person due to my interactions here.