Lately I’ve been super addicted to greens – green salads, green smoothies, etc. Green smoothies have become my new coffee (since I don’t drink it anymore). I can’t function well without it in the morning! Haha. I have also begun buying the pre-packaged organic salad mixes again because it’s so much easier to get a large selection of various lettuces that way. When I buy various heads of lettuce, something always goes bad before I’m able to eat it. Buying the pre-packaged salad mixes makes me a little nervous because I know they are irradiated, but… oh well.
So I’m in a bit of a quandary right now over my diet. For one thing, my hair is falling out in strands. Now, this happens every year in the summer – I recall it happening many times before and it’s always super-annoying because I have such long hair. However, I am suspecting that maybe more of it is coming out than usual this time. It’s not like I can pull on it and it comes out – nothing like that. But I am finding more of it around lately – much more. The strands loosen or something and hang at the end of my hair, annoying me to no end. Plus, my hair has gone from being shiny, silky and soft to dull, flat and lifeless. I am so disappointed, to be honest. My hair is one of my best features and now it sucks! Healthy hair and strong nails are huge indications of health, and lately, my hair has been bad and my nails just OK – not their best, but they aren’t as strong as they were a few months ago either.
What can I do? What should I do? I have spent some serious time thinking about this situation for the past few weeks and have come to the conclusion that maybe – just maybe – it’s my ‘mostly’ vegan diet causing this. I mean, it can’t be lack of protein because I’ve had plenty of protein over the past few months in the form of grains, beans, seeds, nuts and other veggie proteins. (I still occasionally eat cooked vegan meals – I haven’t quite transitioned back into fruitarian yet, although I’m easily eating 7+ servings of fruit per day these days). Back when I was eating eggs and a yogurt every morning, my hair was simply amazing. I got tons of compliments. So… it got me wondering if I should start eating a yogurt every day again to see if that helps. (I can’t stomach the thought of eating eggs anymore so that is simply out of the question.) I’ve been contemplating this for a couple of weeks now and even bought some yogurt a couple of weeks ago, but hadn’t touched it. Until yesterday…
The funniest thing about the sudden yogurt buying was that I spent several hours one day watching TV, and there were a million dairy commercials on that day. Suddenly the thought came into my mind – and I am NOT kidding, it literally popped into my mind – that I need to start eating dairy for health. How weird is that? It’s odd how the thought would come out of nowhere like that when I have been so adamantly against dairy for a few months now.
Anyway, as for eggs… truth be told, eating eggs regularly (nearly every day) has always been the #1 thing to make my hair its absolute best. I’m not going to lie. I think it’s the vitamin K and/or E in them. But I just cannot stomach eating eggs, especially now knowing what I know about them.
So I’ve made a tough decision. As of yesterday, I’ve given up on veganism and have decided to just settle on vegetarianism for the time being. Yesterday and today I’ve had a non-fat Fage Greek yogurt (which supposedly has the least amount of lactose in it) with my salad at lunch. I was surprised to find that I actually like it plain. Most people say they have to add stuff to it. It seemed to digest OK (well, somewhat, I had a little tummy upset that went away). I’m also now taking the Mega Mineral supplement, which has all of the stuff I sometimes come up lacking in my daily totals (calcium, zinc, iron, D, iodine). I am going to look into a Vitamin K supplement as well.
I figure one serving of dairy about 5 times a week should be OK. I don’t know… I feel guilty for eating the yogurt, but at the same time, I’ve never given up cheese or dairy completely for a long period of time anyway. (I’ve had cheese roughly twice a week since that long 2 1/2-week stretch without any). I still think the dairy industry is cruel.
So I guess I’m a hypocrite. 
But I’m concerned that my body isn’t getting proper nutrition and I’m not sure what else to do. There are only so many supplements I am willing to take.
I’m going to do this for a while and see how it goes. I hope my hair gets better, it really sucks to walk around with horrible hair when you’ve had great hair your entire life!
Please… no harsh criticism in the comments. I already feel guilty!
Here’s a picture of the salad I had yesterday for lunch:
It was delicious – mixed salad greens, English cucumbers, tomatoes and red peppers with an organic and all-natural roasted red pepper dressing.
I’ll be honest and admit that I’ve eaten very low calories in the past few days. Lower than I usually do. (And no, this isn’t the reason for the hair situation because that started over a month ago). I realized once I started REALLY writing EVERYTHING down that I eat and/or drink, that I had been eating MUCH higher calorie totals than I thought on most days – like over 2000! No wonder my weight loss has been so slow. So, in an effort to correct this, I’ve cut [way] back temporarily to see if the scale will get moving. I have yet to weigh myself though because I keep forgetting until it’s too late in the day!
Later Update:
I am so excited! Because I run fan blogs for certain CW shows, they put me on their mailing list and I now have in my possession the pilot episodes for ‘The Beautiful Life’, ‘Melrose Place’ and ‘The Vampire Diaires’. Yay!
{ 19 comments }
so to me it is no suprise as I believe that you suffer from serious deficiency symptoms when eating completly vegan.
I don’t think you are a hypocrite, your backround concerning the dairy industry and everything, I really see what you intentions were and where you are coming from, so it is quite understandable that you have tried, but apparently a vegan diet it not working for you, so don’t worry, I think you will find your way.
and if this way includes yoghurt and eggs…then so be it.
You have to listen to your body and what it is telling you. It has entered my mind that you might not be consuming enough protein… are you getting at least 50 or so grams a day? Is it possible you could find a local farmer that you could visit and see the animals and purchase eggs directly from the source? There are definitely those types of options out there for safe and humanely raised egg and dairy products. My naturapathic doc recommends taking prenatal vitamins because they are so full of everything a body needs. Maybe you aren’t getting enough fat too? It’s an essential nutrient as well. Fish oil is the best source of Omega 3’s and my friend who knows so much about nutrition was just telling me today how it helps you BURN fat and it really good at eliminating belly fat. I just learned I wasn’t eating enough w/my level of exercise activity, so i’m upping to 1800 cal a day. It’s so hard to figure out exactly how much you should eat to LOSE weight!
Good luck w/figuring out your diet!
Hi Rian, I found the same thing happened with my hair after a year or so of being vegetarian (I do eat eggs, and occasionally dairy products). I think for me it was that my diet was low in both fat and protein. I’ve since upped the cottage cheese, eggs, fortified soy and flax in my diet (and the dark chocolate!), and I’ve found that that’s helped. All the best with your diet!
We just brought home 4 chickens, three months ago, for eggs. You should look into an apartment chicken- http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/
There are smaller breeds for smaller spaces. They also eat all your leftovers and then turn that energy into eggs. When you have space for a garden you can compost their manure for you veggies.
If I had to make a call, I’d say it’s a zinc deficiency. It’s pretty common.
I got this off the internet:
“Good zinc food sources aside from meats are dairy products such as milk and cheese, yeast, peanuts, beans, and wholegrain cereals, brown rice, whole wheat bread, potato and yogurt. Of all these vegetarian zinc foods, pumpkin seeds offer one of the most concentrated non-meat food sources of zinc.”
Go the pumpkin seeds babe!!!
My hair is my glory so I can understand your point
I am sooo jealous that you have the pilots. way cool.
Try not to beat yourself up about your diet. I think it is totally amazing that you were able to eat as you did for as long as you did.
Maybe it’s time to just ease up on yourself a little — dieting is difficult enough without your hair falling out.
Have you considered consulting a nutritionist? A friend of mine had a great experience with hers and lost a lot of weight, not terribly quickly, but she has managed to keep most of it off.
You need to do what’s best for you and not worry about the “critics”. I always thought you didn’t give yourself enough credit for going vegetarian because you were disappointed that you weren’t vegan. Going vegetarian is a huge lifestyle change and you should be very proud of yourself!
Calories still count…regarless if they are from fruit or junk food. I’m sure you will start to see a big difference by counting calories.
Good luck!
Kitty, you are probably right. During my high fruitarian days and cooked vegan days, whenever I would pay attention to my nutritional intake, zinc would almost always fall short for the day. I’m not thankfully taking a supplement with it though. Thanks for that info, by the way.
kathryn, thanks for that link. My only problem is that eggs make me gag at this point. :-/ LOL
Sara, Yep I’m definitely getting enough protein. (See post). As for fat, hmm, not sure. Some days I don’t, some days I do.
You may be experiencing telogen effluvium, which is hair loss caused by any dramatic change to your body, including diet change. It is not unusual for the hair loss to start 6+ months after the change begins. I think you may be over-thinking it by trying to attribute the hair loss to a specific deficiency.
I started ’shedding’ about 8-9 months after I began dieting seriously (lost 110 pounds). For me, the hair loss ramped up for three months, and slowed down for three more. It was never too serious, but was disconcerting. Since then, I have stopped shedding (I am about a year out from my weight loss) and my hair seems mostly back to normal.
dear rian
i am a long time reader. i am so sorry to hear about your hair.
i am happy you are taking on the challenge to make adjustments to your food plan. see what develops
xo erika
Dear Rian,
first of all, i think the most important thing you should do is GIVE UP LABELS. you don’t have to be vegan or vegetarian to be a good person and caring about enviroment. i am a vegetarian myself, who eats vegan 95% of time, who eats plenty of raw salads, green smoothies and juices. the other 5% of time i enjoy yogurt or piece of cheese or egg white omelets.
i buy all my eggs organic free range.
i care. i really do. but we have to understand that life is hetic and sometimes its difficult to follow certain diets and restric yourself.
allow yourself to eat HEALTHY, so stop with the labels. you are doing what you can.
raw diet is fantastic, i have no doubts. but honestly, cooked grains will not kill you. or cooked spinach, for example. so again, dont limit yourself. do your best.
you gave up eating animals, thats a huge thing. i think we all eat with guilt in a certain level. either guilt because it has sugar or fat or its highter in calories or becuase its animal derived. to eat well and lead a healthy life, you have to lose the guilt. i know, i’ve read the same books you did, i agree with the veganism view but it doesnt work well for me so i do my best. you have to think like that too.
take at least 30 min of direct sun light, dont forget your b12 supplement, calcium. make some raw almond milk and make smoothies with it or oatmeal. this will all make a difference and eat the piece of cheese if thats something you think will benefit you.
piece of cheese in a ezekiel bread is marvellous. organic and if possibly raw, even (actually, MUCH better).
you are doing a lot, but we cant do it all, so feel free.
food is something to be enjoyed not to be a burden. enjoy the world of vegetarian, vegan, raw foods, try different things, you will find the balance you need for optimous health. just drop the labels.
Rian, my absolute favorite vitamins are New Chapter. They are food based and absorb the best. I have been taking one a day plus one folic acid pill and a Rainbow Light calcium pill and my hair and nails have been growing long and strong. Probably too long and strong in fact. I had laser surgery many years ago to remove all the hair from my legs and underarms, and the areas have been completely hairless for years. Since I started doing this combo about 6 months ago, I’ve had to start shaving again. So, I know that it’s actually working. My nails have always chipped. Not anymore. They’re crazy strong and long now.
http://www.newchapter.com/ (for multi vitamins)
http://www.rainbowlight.com/ (for the calcium)
and definitely get a folic acid pill and take one a day. Good Luck.
If you can’t stomach eating eggs, maybe you can put some egg based protein powder in your smoothie perhaps?
if you do use greek yogurt try putting pieces of cucumber in it its like my ghetto version of tzatziki sauce
Just do whatever feels right
It’s your body and only you can tell whether you feel (or are) healthy or not.
Lila: Thank you! I will check those vitamins out!
Kelly: Wow, what a super-nice and thoughful comment. Thank you very much. (You are right).
Rainbowlight is excellent line of vitamins, and their prenatals are part of the Vitamin Angel Network giving 10% of there profits for prenatal vitamins and care in impoverished countries.
Comments on this entry are closed.