"Not eating meat makes you sick!" they say...

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” -  Hippocrates

A common misconception people have is that you need to consume animal products to be healthy.  Vegans and vegetarians always seem to be singled out as unhealthy. While no diet is perfect (ethical and environmental aspects aside), veganism included, meat consumption has some serious downfalls too.  Even in small amounts meat is still linked to cancer, heart disease, obesity, seafood can be contaminated in one way or another, yet most healthcare professionals still advocate for diets that include animal products. Vegans are at risk for deficiencies if they are eating a poorly planned diet but I believe that ignorance, laziness and close-mindedness with any diet can fuel disease. It's also very important to know your family history and eat the foods that will reduce your chances of becoming sick.

With that said: I was a sick vegetarian and this is my story.

I went vegetarian when I was 14 years old without doing much research at all. I essentially ate what my parents ate but I would sub out the meats for faux meats. We ate lots of steamed veggies and chili but our food revolved around instance rice, white potatoes, dairy and white pastas. These eating habits caused me to be overweight and subsequently bullied throughout junior high school. My depression and anxiety caused me to restrict calories throughout my teenage years. I thought that the fewer calories the smaller I’ll be! You know where this is going. My eating habits sucked and I felt like garbage.

During university, processed food, sugar and more processed food
were staples in my diet.

In my third year of university, fatigue started to dominate my life. If I didn't have a coffee when I got to school, I would fall asleep in class. Studying became difficult, my mind would wander and I would either get too restless to study or I would have to have a nap. My friends convinced me that being tired and distracted is completely normal. Even though I felt more tired than what they described, I started to believe that being tired is normal. I felt stupid and weak, like I shouldn't be in university. I was told that I had the potential to earn 90s but that procrastination was destroying it.

I remember sitting on the floor of my apartment, studying anatomy and physiology the day before my exam. All I wanted to do was sleep as my mind would wander whenever I looked at the notes. I told myself that if I wanted to go to vet school one day, I needed to memorize this list of muscles. I WANTED to memorize the list but my body wasn't letting me no matter how hard I tried. I would get angry at myself which lead to anxiety. These emotions didn't help me learn any better.

In my fourth year, I wrote an honours thesis. The stress of my thesis put my health in serious jeopardy. I was gone from 8am to 6pm most days and I started taking several naps an evening so that I would have the energy to work on my other studies. My depression and anxiety got worse. I feared that I would hurt myself so I started seeing a counselor. My left leg started to tingle and at one point, my entire leg fell asleep for a few days. I was very scared. I decided I needed to see a doctor.

The doctor ran some tests to determine if I had diabetes or hypothyroidism, I had my back x-rayed to look for a slipped disc, I saw a specialist to rule our rheumatoid arthritis, and a neurologist to rule out nerve problems. They couldn't find anything. I went to see my family doctor and his recommendation was anti-depressants. The thought of taking drugs to ease my pain was pretty tempting, but I was extremely hesitant because I had heard about how dangerous they can be. My weight was approaching it's highest at 152 pounds and the stress of being "fat" added to the depression.

In the fall of 2012, I got my first full time job and shortly after that I collapsed. I was barely functioning. One evening, we were driving home from work and it was dark out. I thought "If this is what the rest of my life is going to be like, I don't want to live." That thought was powerful and it sent me into a panic. I knew I needed help.

A few of my doctors recommended that I exercise to increase my energy levels. I got a gym membership and my boyfriend and I started seeing a personal trainer. I adopted a vegan diet for ethical reasons and as a result, I started eating more whole foods. After 2 months of going to the gym, my energy levels had not improved so I decided to see a naturopathic doctor (or naturopathic physician). I had nothing to lose, so why not?

Seeing a naturopathic doctor was one of the best decisions I have ever made. He went over my family history, symptoms, diet and mood. Although he was a meat-eater, he knew a lot about veganism. He recommended foods that I should eat or avoid to help with my fatigue. He wanted to see me eat leafy greens, fermented soy, lentils and pumpkin seeds. He took me off a multi-vitamin and put me on B-complex, D, B-12, tyrosine and omega supplement. He suspected B-12 deficiency so he gave me an injection and sent me on my way with more bloodwork and a genetic test. I asked him if I would ever have to eat meat again to be healthy and he said maybe, but we'll revisit that in a year if I'm not feeling better and, for now, not to stress over it. I saw an improvement in my energy levels shortly after my first B-12 injection. I wasn't getting better fast enough (compared to what he expected) so I started to get worried. I have read that organ meats are a good source of B-12 and an ex-vegan online explained to me how eating meat again solved all of her problems. The thought of eating meat again made me pretty upset... but the thought of eating chicken livers absolutely grossed me out.

I soon found out that B-12 deficiency runs in my family. My mom and her father, both avid meat eaters, have low B-12 and have to supplement. I also found out that my iron was low. My doctors never bothered to tell me about my iron because it was still in the "normal" range. I didn't grow up eating iron-rich foods like spinach and lentils, so that could be why it's low. The gene test revealed that I may have MTHFR, which could be causing my low B-12.

Left: I was 152 pounds and suffering from chronic fatigue.
Right: After 8 months of veganism, exercising and fighting for my health.

Over the next year, my energy levels started to improve. I hired a fitness coach who had me eating a lot of the same foods and taking most of the same supplements that my naturopathic doctor suggested. I started focusing on getting more iron from my food. Lentils and spinach are staples in my diet and I learned to pair iron-rich foods with foods rich in vitamin C to increase the absorption. My energy levels were slowly improving. I was scared that I would still be tired for my competition. About a month out from competition, I realized that I felt fine. I felt amazing actually. Instead of crashing whenever I got home from work, I find it hard to go to sleep some nights because I have so much energy. I've been off coffee for over a year now. Most importantly, I didn't have to eat animal products to return to good health.

Did the absence of meat from my diet cause me to get sick? I really don't think so. I feel it was a combination of poor diet, not knowing my family history and putting too much faith into what conventional doctors were telling me. I feel that if I ate a more balanced diet and had a doctor that was knowledgeable about vegetarianism, I wouldn't have been as sick.

Also, I wasn't alone in my struggles. While I was sick, Devin came across this blog post by a vegan woman facing a health crisis. It gave me the motivation to keep fighting for my health and my beliefs. You can read her story here.

What do I want you to get out of this?

If you neglect your diet, you will eventually suffer the consequences. Start educating yourself about food and make healthy eating a priority.

Never ever give up on your health. Never get to the point where you've accepted that you are going to be sick for the rest of your life. Fight for your health. See your doctor. If you are not happy with him or you are not seeing results, get a second opinion or explore your options. Specialists, psychologists, naturopathic doctors, homeopaths, massage therapists, nutritionists, acupuncturists, dietitians and personal trainers can help with the healing process.

Know your family medical history and do what you can to prevent those illnesses. I know that heart disease runs in my family so eating a plant-based diet and exercising is going to significantly reduce my risk. If I had known about B-12, I would have started supplementing sooner.

If you get bloodwork or other tests done, ask your doctor for a copy of the results. I grew up thinking that my doctor will call me if any of my bloodwork numbers are wonky, but it turns out he will only contact me if my results are critically high or critically low. Some people can experience symptoms when results are low-normal or high-normal. It's also a great thing to have on hand in case you decide to see someone like a naturopathic doctor. They don't have access to your records and cannot request tests and receive the results.