To think that a vegan diet may be the cause?

[new2veganism]

As per my username I am pretty new to eating a vegan diet and so as still learning how to get all the things I need!

Just to clarify, I am not fully vegan and so don't call myself one but I eat a vegan diet 80+% of the time. Partly because I'm trying to lose weight and save money, partly due to ethical/environmental concerns.

I've been noticing in the last few months I'm getting a lot of mouth ulcers and cracks in my lips. Normally I only get these when I'm really stressed or run down and that isn't the case now so aibu to think that maybe my diet is missing something and that is causing the mouth ulcers? Has anyone else experienced a similar issue when switching to a vegan diet?

I don't eat a lot of junk food (of any type) as I genuinely don't like a lot of it and I'm a professional chef so I cook almost everything from scratch 😁

No milk = no calcium

How ridiculous. Where do you think cows get the calcium from?

Sorry, just to answer pp's question -

Toothpaste is the same one I've been using for a while although I do switch them up a lot as I normally just buy what's on offer 😁

@Greenrubber yes I did read that. I tend not to snack on whole nuts as they are quite calorific and I'm trying to lose weight, I find it easy to overdo it and have several handfuls as they are so tasty! I don't eat much citrus, maybe just the occasional glass of OJ but I do have quite a lot of tomato based dishes 😬

I had a spate of getting mouth ulcers in my 20's and GP told told to take b vitamin and zinc supplements.

Vitamin c helps absorb iron

Also I know you don't want to take supplements but I would recommend taking some algae oil for your omega 3

And I think like a PP said everyone should take a multivitamin

Ohh I also get ulcers alot in the 1st trimester of pregnancy

Vegan ten years and never get mouth ulcers or dry lips. I find plenty of healthy fats like olive and flax oil plus hydration keeps lips plump so I don‘t need lip balm. Are you deficient in anything?

I think the simplest solution is to make sure you're taking supplements in conjunction with your diet.

My diet has been whole food, plant based a while now and I haven't had any issues with ulcers. As you're a chef and not relying on processed foods, you're clearly getting a great variety of foods that sustain you.

I'm actually finding I'm a lot more excited and inspired by food again since switching, I'm interested to try out new recipes and having fun recreating old favourites without meat. I'm really enjoying it

I completely agree with this - I was a proficient chef before but rotated the same recipes to feed the family. Now, I spend a lot of time going through pinterest to find new things to prepare and have far more really great meals in my rotation eating this way, than I ever did when I ate meat.

Are you/could you be stressed about something? I get mouth ulcers when there is something going on in my life eg house move etc. You may not necessarily 'feel' particularly stressed (I didn't) but it could be coming out in other ways?

@Greenrubber

Your not even vegan 🤦‍♀️

*you’re 🤦‍♀️

@Helpstopthepain

I have a friend who was lifelong vegetarian, latterly vegan and she had the same. Introduced meat and dairy into her diet in her forties and not had a problem since.

Possibly, if you aren't making sure you get enough nutritional variations in your diet. I work with a vegan man and he always has coldsores, cracked lips, etc. He is thin to the point of being bony and no strength at all. I have a painful spinal problem and even I can lift more than him. He struggles to lift the bar to lock the fire exits.

I think its because he is a picky eater. He has mostly fruit and veg, like a punnet of plums for lunch and vegan pizza for dinner with veg on it but hardly any protein.

It's very easy to not pay attention to the actual nutritional content of what you are eating, even when not limiting your diet. We are omnivorous for a reason and if you are not eating part of your natural diet then you have to make sure that you get those nutrients from somewhere.

[quote new2veganism]@Greenrubber I'm not 'blaming' a vegan diet and I've not claimed to be vegan, just that I eat a mostly vegan diet. I have noticed several changes in my health since switching to mostly plant based foods and I was wondering if there could be a link and if anyone else has experienced similar issues, that's all! The mouth ulcers are just the most obvious (to me) symptom that something has changed, I'm almost getting them back to back now and they are large and painful. Makes eating anything at all quite difficult 😞

I don't intend to stop eating plant based either way, I just want to make sure I'm as healthy as I can be and getting everything my body needs. I'd rather not take supplements unless I have to 😊 [/quote]
If you want to eat as healthy as possible, drop the Oatly Barista milk, it’s anything but healthy. Google it.

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut

Possibly, if you aren't making sure you get enough nutritional variations in your diet. I work with a vegan man and he always has coldsores, cracked lips, etc. He is thin to the point of being bony and no strength at all. I have a painful spinal problem and even I can lift more than him. He struggles to lift the bar to lock the fire exits.

I think its because he is a picky eater. He has mostly fruit and veg, like a punnet of plums for lunch and vegan pizza for dinner with veg on it but hardly any protein.

It's very easy to not pay attention to the actual nutritional content of what you are eating, even when not limiting your diet. We are omnivorous for a reason and if you are not eating part of your natural diet then you have to make sure that you get those nutrients from somewhere.

I eat a mainly plant based diet. I’m the healthiest most robust person I know. All the meat eaters I know look like shit! A plant based diet has been proven time and time again to be way way superior health wise over a meat diet.

Just to balance these anecdotes of friends who are unhealthy vegans with chapped lips in my own experience all the many long term vegans I know are all extremely healthy with no chapped lips or other such worries. It is quite normal to be vegan and you dont need meat 2 days a week, it is quite simple to get all you need. As OP knows as she is a chef and is clearly eating a good diet. It is easy to check your nutritional status without seeing a GP, the internet literally tells you what you need and how much, and how much of each things are in each food. You can go off a chart to check, I did this to start with with my kids, its not rocket science.

OP could be other reasons to think about like stress causing ulcers, maybe COP26 thats pretty stress inducing? your doing well in your move to plant based diet anyway!

I completely agree about being more inspired by food since going vegan, (I have ALWAYS loved food!!) But it has felt like a whole new world opened up.

Hi,
I'm sure you know OP but for the benefit of someone else reading the thread vegans must supplement B12 whether through a multi vitamin or fortified foods. You can't get B12 through a natural vegan diet.

For pregnant and breastfeeding vegan mothers B12 supplementation (through muti vitamin or fortified foods) is essential. Lack of B12 has serious consequences for baby.

Even if someone is getting B12 in their diet absorbtion issues can cause deficiency. Diagnosis of low B12 can be difficult as some forms are not usable by the body and symptoms can be masked by other vitamins/mineral levels.

www.vegansociety.com/resources/nutrition-and-health/nutrients/vitamin-b12/what-every-vegan-should-know-about-vitamin-b12

I appreciate the OP is not totally vegan but may have had a low amount of meat/dairy for a long time.

@AnotherMansCause

No milk = no calcium

How ridiculous. Where do you think cows get the calcium from?

Sorry, slightly off the point, but this is such a silly thing to say. Cows are herbivores, they have more than one stomach and a completely different digestive system in order to be able to derive what they need, including enough calcium from plants to sustain their enormous bodies.

Lions are carnivores, they get everything they need just from eating raw meat, including enough calcium to sustain their enormous bodies. Again, totally incomparable to humans who would struggle to do this.

You can get some calcium in other foods including plants so I do see your point generally, but it irritates me when people compare humans to animals in this way.

I went vegan for a few months and found that my periods stopped amongst other issues such as headaches dizziness etc. I had my bloods checked and there never seemed to be any reason for it. I went back to eating meat once a week and small amounts of dairy and never had any issues since. I don’t know if some peoples bodies just don’t tolerate it as well. I had a very good diet with lots of protein, fats, no processed foods. Still not sure why it happened.

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut sorry, do you think veganism infects you with herpes simplex?

@TuftyMarmoset No, of course not. It's just that you tend to get flare ups when you are generally a bit run down. I always get them pop up when I eat crap and don't sleep enough for a few weeks.

I eat a mainly plant based diet. I’m the healthiest most robust person I know. All the meat eaters I know look like shit! A plant based diet has been proven time and time again to be way way superior health wise over a meat diet.

Didn't say it wasn't. Just pointing out that if you tend to be a picky eater and only ever eat the same sort of meals or eat a lot of processed food, you might be lacking in something. I said she might need a more varied diet. I didn't suggest she should go back to meat or animal products.

If you're only eating an 80% plant-based diet, it seems pretty unfair to blame any healthy issues on veganism.

Vegan for 20+ years here, no issues whatsoever.