Vegetarian?

[Nikki]

I'm newly diagnosed with POTS and I've been a vegetarian for almost 2 years now..After my family telling me I should be eating meat (over and over again) I asked my family doctor if this could be making my symptoms worse and she said as long as I'm not a vegan, I'm still getting calcium and other nutrients that I need. I've had blood work done and no one ever mentioned me having any sort of deficiency so I'm guessing I'm okay? I'm not exactly sure what foods help symptoms or make them worse..but I was just wondering if there are any another vegetarians/vegans here, or what peoples opinions are on being one while dealing with POTS.

[jump]

I'm a vegetarian, and have been most of my life. I definitely don't think it negatively impacts my health. My mother, who also has POTS and NCS, is not a vegetarian but finds she feels much better when she doesn't eat meat.

Yes, you do have to make sure your B-vitamin levels and iron are normal, but if you still eat dairy products that shouldn't be much of a problem.

The only thing I noticed is that being vegetarian means I often choose "health food" alternatives, like when I'm at a restaurant or when I buy pre-prepared meals... and "health food" often has less salt. So I make sure to use my salt shaker. But other than that, I've found no adverse connection between being vegetarian and having dysautonomia.

If you're concerned, maybe meet with a nutritionist to make sure you're getting a good variety of foods in your diet?

[brownsea]

hi

ive been a vegetarian for nearly twenty years. have a wide range of foods in your diet and you should be ok. protein is important.

make sure what you eat is balanced, i cant see a problem.

xxx

[potsgirl]

Same here. I just make sure I eat as much variety as possible and take a muti, along with a few other vitamins.

[persephone]

I'm a strict vegetarian- no meat, fish or eggs. Protein is eaten to excess in the Weat- you can get your daily requirements from beans on toast! Iron and B vitamins are the ones to watch. Lots of leafy green veg- kale is wonderful! And you should be fine

[valliali]

Also a veg! I definitely support the call for a multi-vit and B vitamins. B12 is especially important for vegetarians.

[Sophia3]

Was a vegetarian years ago..can't do it now due to food intolerances..can't eat gluten protein patties, or too many legumes...no soy (NOT healthy to eat much of that anyway)

I had many nutrient deficiencys and Carnitine was in normal range (not something usually tested for) but I don't want to eat LESS red meat and often crave steak. (Carnitine supplements are expensive, come from animals & have gross side effects...so I still eat red meat) That's where Carnitine is, hardly in chicken..so I gave up chicken recently (long story). I am a flexitarian and try to go one day vegan or vegetarian but too many carbs are not good for me and I have hypoglycemia (worse as a kid it caused grand mal seizures which we NOW know was ANS related) I don't want to lose weight and many of us have bad reactions to carbs no matter "how good, natural" the carbs are. Being a vasodilator, carbs can cause low BP or even fainting in many.

I'm happy for those of you who do well as vegetarians..but it's not for all of us. I often DO FEEL better after a protein meal..hamburger patty/red meat and a green and small piece of starch in potato form or sometimes bread. If I don't watch the glycemic index, I often feel ILL after a carb based meal..and it worsens splanchnic shunting issues.

Some with periodic paralysis will get a seizure from carbs so it's whatever works for individuals.

I can eat a small portion of vegetarian red beans and rice from a great New Orleans style restaurant near us..Creole based foods. :-)

[scarfgirl]

I'm a veg, and didn't become one until after I had been diagnosed with POTS. I found being veg to actually improve my health a bit. Not a tremendous amount mind you, but when you have low energy, not having to use any of it up trying to digest meat is nice.

[MomtoGiuliana]

I'm a vegetarian. I take an iron supplement.

[nantynannie]

Vegan after POTS diagnosis, definitely helps. And avoiding all of the chemicals, preservatives and hormones in all foods, not just animal products, is a big plus.

[MelissaCrystal]

Vegetarians should take creatine supplements---look into it, wikipedia has some good info and resources about it---meat protein is SO important to vegetarians people with chronic health conditions that don't allow them to exercise or get proper muscle definition, and creatine is one of the reasons. Another thing that's cool about creatine is that it makes you retain more water, just like our precious Florinef. We don't need a lot of creatine---most are marketed towards athletic people to gain more muscle and have better workouts. We take smaller doses. Anyway, I think you should look into it. A healthy, responsible vegetarian/vegan is one who is able to supplement everything they're missing out on with their diet =)

[ramakentesh]

When my POTS is bad I crave and feel better when I eat a high protein diet. Used to be a veg before I got POTS.

[sue1234]

Most of my early adult life(now 49) I ate meat only a few days a week. I was not a vegetarian by choice, just a picky meat eater. Then at 40 was shown to have low ferritin, so made myself eat more beef. Got my ferretin up within 2 years. Then at 45 got my POTS. I still eat a mixed diet, but prefer veggies.

[EarthMother]

Nice to see so many other veg-heads!! ;-)

I have lots of free recipes on my website for my cookbook:

http://www.30dayvegetarian.com/forum/

including some new ones for holiday meals.

I've been vegetarian for 10 years and during that time I have done various periods of wheat-free, dairy-free, egg-free etc. as my Doctor and I were addressing food sensitivities. Like you, I asked my Doctors if my diet was adequate for my health issues and each of them over the years (looking at my blood work etc.) said I was doing an amazing job at meeting my nutritional needs and leading a healthy lifestyle.

But clearly I'm not a vegetarian for my health! LOL In my case my POTS is not better or worse with or without meat. i.e. it doesn't help ... it doesn't hurt. Though for my particular body, being mindfull of blood sugar issue is very important. I eat a minimal amount of even natural sugars and follow a hypoglycimic meal plan -- which works well for me at this phase of my life.

Good luck finding foods that work well for your unique body chemistry ...

~EM

[Maxine]

Pretty cool link EM, thanks! I sent it to my son who is a vegetarian.

I don't eat much meat at all, and I trying to decide if I want to cut it out alltogether. My husband eats meat.

The vegetarian diet looks expensive. My son keeps up somehow, and he's made quite a few recipes that are great!

They're young with two little girls----my son is the only one who is vegetarian. His wife and girls love meat.

He's a very strict vegetarian. His wife and girls do like all his recipes.

The only eggs he'll eat are free range eggs, and he does eat fish-----he's not vegan.

My B-12, and other vitamins seem to be in the normal range except vitamin D whihc is very low.

I think the only food products that mess with my POTs are foods with MSG.

Maxine :0)

[firewatcher]

I was a vegetarian in college...for financial reasons, not ethical reasons. I was just too poor to afford meat. I protein loaded (mostly with whey) when I was weight-lifting, but did not do any other supplements at that time. Since my creatinine keeps coming in high every time they check it, the nephrologist prefers that I baby my kidneys so they last as long as possible (even though there is supposedly nothing wrong with them!) so I follow the protein requirements outlined in the National Kidney foundation's Kidney disease diet. For me it actually works out to be a 30-30-40 diet, but I haven't noticed any difference in my POTS symptoms.

[dakota]

I've been a vegetarian for 37 years. My kids are vegetarian. The one who is the healthy eater has POTS, the other one does not. Go figure.

[Potsie007]

Count me in as a veg-head too! My dad calls me his "synthetic vegetarian" because I ate so much carby junk food pre-POTS. Post-POTS, I've begun taking multivitamins and eating less junk/carbs...and I've put on nearly 20 lbs...(scratching head) Obviously I used to be extremely active. Been a vegetarian (not vegan) for 12 yrs now and love it...especially since they make so many varieties of vegetarian food for us these days. I don't think being a vegetarian affects POTS much. POTS still ***** either way.