AIBU to quit vegetarianism after 10 months?

[Crystal15]

Please don't flame me if you're a veggie! But I'm seriously considering this now. My health is in a bad way, I have low iron and low b12 despite supplements.

My doctor didn't push me into anything but my health made me realise we as humans can't survive in optimal health without animal products. I mean there is no decent substitute for omega 3 at all from fish. Our bodies without certain nutrients will fail us won't they?!

Although I now see this there is still a block in my mind, sadness for the animals suffering I guess. If I could afford organic free range meat I would feel at ease but that's not an option on my income hmm.

So, should I eat meat? Would you? I'm aware this is my decision but it's driving me insane trying to decide by myself.

[Idefix]

As others have said iron deficiency and b12 happen to meat eaters too. So adding meat/fish may not have the desired effect.
Can really recommend iron rich water as a non sick/black poo inducing method to increase iron. I don't know if it can be taken in pregnancy though.
Omega 3 (ala) can be found in foods like flaxseeds/oil.

I am not a vegetarian but limit my intake to certain types of red meat and only eat it a couple of times a month. Is this maybe an option for you?

[expatinscotland]

I'd try eating fish/going pescaterian first.

[Middleoftheroad]

Sorry I see you are pregnant.

When I was pregnant with twins I was given iron tablets but they made me constipated. I gave up on them and had 2 healthy boys at 39.5 weeks (i swear they woulda stayed in longer if not for the CS!)

[iggi999]

yabvu for reasoning that because something doesn't work for you it means it is unhealthy for everyone - "we as humans can't survive in optimal health without animal products". That aside you should eat what you want. Who is telling you not to?

[Famalam13]

Also people think they need a lot more protein than they do. I think the second episode of the latest series of 'Eat Well For Less' covered it.

However what you eat is entirely your choice, do what you want and ignore everyone else :)

[Middleoftheroad]

I have been a veggie for 28 yrs since I was 15 and am rarely ill and in good health so I disagree about your point that humans cannot sustain a meat free diet to be healthy.

However I would never flame anyone for their choice - and it is a choice. I find it is the meat eaters who usually demand to know why I am a veggie. Yawn. Each to their own.

[MarklahMarklah]

I add nutritional yeast to one meal per day (it's all the B vitamins) and I "top up" with a sachet of SpaTone if I'm feeling tired.
I understood that the Omega 3/Omega 6/Omega 9 that is available in fish is actually derived from the algae that the fish eat. I have, in the past, taken an omega supplement.

I've been veggie for many years and although I have had times when my iron was low, I haven't been anaemic.
I hated iron tablets - they're too strong for my stomach. Post-delivery I had a massive argument with a ward sister about this as she though I was refusing to take medication. Having just had an EMCS there was no way I could run to the toilet every 15 minutes, and I told her so, loudly. Eventually she got the message and I was prescribed liquid iron which is easier to digest.

[Lifegavemelemons]

Eat what you like!

I was strictly veggie for 25yrs, never took a supplement - had three trouble free pregnancies. The DC were all brought up veggie then allowed to choose when primary age. They all ate meat for a while, now as adults I have two vegans and a veggie while I am the one who will eat meat if it's put in front of me. Very rare though - I had a fish stew at a friend's house last month but am pretty sure the last meat / chicken I had was last Christmas.

Given how many healthy vegans and vegetarians there are in the world I would suggest this might not be a problem with vegetarianism as such, I.e. You might need to continue to be watchful even when you start eating meat again. Good luck in finding a diet that works for you.

[Famalam13]

You absolutely can get enough iron from a veggie diet. My mw was stunned by my iron levels, higher than the average meat eaters.

I agree that your GP should be looking for underlying reasons regarding your deficiencies.

Omega wise try algae oil, it's where fish originally get their omega from :)

[clairesmooncat]

I'm a veggie and I won't flame you for eating meat if thats what you need to do but like a previous poster said perhaps consider using only humane sources of meat and eat it once a week rather than daily, Better for you that way too.

I would also like to point out that a balanced vegetarian diet shouldn't leave you deficient. It is also possible that you have an issue with absorbing nutrients from your food and if this is the case it won't change if you eat meat now.

I see you use B12 flakes in your food this us unlikely to make any real difference, you need a sublingial high strength form Image result for best form of b12 Methylcobalamin is good and you also need to take it with a good quality B vitamin complex and also iron tablets.

Also things like drinking wine, tea or milk can have an effect on absorbing nutrients from your food as well as the health of your gut microflora so a good pro/prebiotic supplement and perhaps adding something like Kefir to your diet would help. Loads of B12 in that!

[refractalicious]

I would go back to eating meat until after your pregnancy. After that though why not consider fish plus organic meat occasionally as a way round the farming problem?

[Oliversmumsarmy]

I went vegetarian 31 years ago and I have never had an iron supplement or vitamin b12 supplement in my life. DD and ds have never eaten meat and are both 5ft 10"+. According to a friends husband we should be dead or very very ill.

I think you are over thinking things. I eat beans, Quorn and soya, dc eat eggs (from friends chickens) and cheese and lots of fruit veg and yoghurts. They also eat chocolate and chips and cola.
It seems to work for us. However I have known a few vegetarians who like you got wrapped up in vitamin content and ended up giving up.

You have to do what feels right for you.

[Atenco]

I'm not a vegetarian, but I've known three meat eaters who've had the same problem as you, OP. My dd is almost a lion, the way she prefers meat, and she got exactly the same problem during her pregnancy.

[exexpat]

Your diet is entirely up to you. Eat what makes you feel healthy, particularly when you are pregnant. You might find that when you are not pregnant or breastfeeding, which puts extra strain on your nutritional requirements, a vegetarian diet would be fine for you, if that is where you would like to be from an ethical point of view.

I have been vegetarian (standard vegetarian, i.e. eat eggs and dairy but no fish) for more than 30 years, including two full-term pregnancies with large, healthy babies, and have never had to take supplements apart from being prescribed iron towards the end of the second pregnancy. A varied vegetarian diet seems to work fine for me.

[SolomanDaisy]

I think you might need to push for more investigations of what is causing your low iron, particularly if you've been making an effort to get enough. Going vegetarian may just be coincidence. I'm pregnant, have been vegetarian for decades and have the iron levels of a healthy man! So do get it checked out in case there is another cause.

Apart from that, of course YANBU. It's your choice whether to be vegetarian.

[CheeseCakeSunflowers]

I disagree with your statement about how most meat is produced in this country. Although some is "factory farmed" much of it isn't. I live on a beef and sheep farm, we are part of the "red tractor" scheme but not considered organic or free range however every animal on the farm is currently out in the fields, with the exception of the Bull and one Cow (to stop him doing the deed with the "underage" heifers, cow is to keep him company) even they are in a barn were they can look out on green fields. I passionately believe in animal welfare as I believe do many farmers and I would like there to be more information available to consumers about how their meat is produced so that they can make informed choices. Maybe you could visit some farmers markets and ask them about their welfare standards. Also do not presume that the organic label means high welfare standards, this can sometimes mean that certain medicines are not used on sick animals and actually causes more not less suffering.

[Elbekind]

Also, you can get find high levels of Omega 3 in vegetable oils, nuts and leafy vegetables.

[Cherylene]

Crystal15 I've spent 10 months trying supplements, b12 flakes in My food, adding spinach to just about everything. I managed to sort my b12 but my iron just won't budge

Spinach contains iron, because of a chemical process that means it can hang on to it from the environment, as it grows. When you eat it, it still hangs on to it, and can hang on to some of the rest of the iron you are eating too. The usefulness of spinach for iron is very overstated.

If you are relying on non animal sources, you need lots of vitamin C. Eggs are probably better, but like to hang on to it too.

[Elbekind]

I would never flame anyone for eating anything- they can eat what they want. However, I do have to disagree with people saying you can't be healthy and be a vegetarian without huge effort.
I'm a vegetarian. I have NEVER eaten meat (the odd mistake every few years, maybe the odd fish finger grandparents gave me as a baby etc) but for the whole, I have never eaten meat. I also don't drink milk, eat eggs or like nuts.
What do I eat? All the other hundreds of foods in the world. I don't find it at all difficult, I am heathy as a horse and there is absolutely nothing wrong with me health wise other than conditions I was born with.

[TempehTantrum]

Only you can decide what kind of diet is best for you, you don't need permission from anyone to change it.

But it is perfectly possible to get enough B12 and iron on a vegetarian diet, if you are aware of what to eat. I wouldn't rely only on one food source (spinach) for iron but try and get a variety of iron rich foods every day (e.g. lentils, tempeh, sesame seeds/ tahini, olives, chickpeas, dried apricots, brown rice).

If you track your food intake on apps such as cronometer you can see how much iron and b12 you get via your diet. It might be a good idea to do this for a couple of weeks just to see whether your body gets enough iron from your diet.

[littlepeas]

Oh, and we still eat a vegetarian supper at least 2 nights a week, often more, and have the odd completely vegetarian week. It does not have to be all or nothing.

[Darkswan]

You absolutely can get everything you need from a vegetarian diet. I've been vegetarian for 20 years and workout 6 times a week so it gives me enough energy too.

If it's not working for you then do what you think will, just wanted to say it can work and does for many peopld.

[Thefishewife]

My sister only eats chicken

[littlepeas]

I obviously didn't read your post properly, as I've only just noticed that you are pregnant. I was a vegetarian for many years (went through a few phases of eating fish, other times was full veggie), but stopped when pregnant with my eldest - I know many people feel fine on a vegetarian diet during pregnancy, but I absolutely did not. I remember that first shepherds pie (first meat I ate in years) and how I felt better almost instantly after eating it. I am still eating meat 9 years on, but use my power as a consumer and do my best to make ethical choices.