Long story short as possible.. a couple of years ago I was in a situation where I was forced to go on the proverbial 'Ramen Noodle diet." Needless (Noodless?) to say, it really didn't end well. All guesswork on the doctor's part is that I ended up with Macrocytic Anemia. Basically, this is not like iron deficiency anemia where your blood cells get very small and larger in numbers. This is where your blood cells become very LARGE and fewer in numbers. Most of the time it's due to a B12 deficiency, but not in all cases. Many times it can be brought on by malnutrition... which they believed was my case. I wasn't getting much in the way of anything other than, well, Ramen noodles.
Skipping all the symptoms etc. etc. etc. of the anemia part, since it's not the topic here... I will say that sublingual drops weren't doing that much good. BUT, once I began eating a normal diet again the anemia began to slowly resolve itself. Blood work I had several months ago showed signs of the blood cells enlarging, but the MCV (mean corpuscular volume) wasn't coinciding with that.. so the doctor wasn't worried. There are actually 3 things that show Macrocytic Anemia.
Also, and unbeknownst to me.. I was also vitamin D deficient as well and remained so up until a few months ago. I only barely came out of THAT one by taking 12,500 mcg of Vit D for 30 days (emulsified), then 5,000 mcg per day from thereafter. I stopped the ongoing because I didn't like the idea of taking that much for so long, or.. forever. Anyhoo.....
Now, going to an all plant-based diet does have it's complications, and you DO have to supplement. It's not a 'perfect' eating plan for humans as much as most vegans would have you believe. It's moral, it's ethical, but... when it comes to vitamin D, B12, and even calcium... you have to supplement. And if you have an issue, it may not be the best time to make the switch.
Weight loss. There are many ways to do that, and since I'm doing gluten-free either way... I'm leaning towards Atkins... and choosing fish as my main protein. My doctor will have a fit and tell me without red meat in my diet I'm going to get myself in trouble. There is a lot I'm facing, especially since I really could take or leave meat and am not that big of a meat eater. Even as a meat eater I would eat everything else first on my plate, saving the meat for last. Well, except for salmon.
Morally... when it comes to animals... that's another story, and not the basis of the topic here in this blog. I will only say I love animals, have my share of rescues, and am against unethical practices with regards to animals. But that is all I will say on the matter here in this blog. Again, this blog is about health, diet, weight loss, etc. There are a ton of wonderful blogs out there for all the other topics regarding animals.
Time to run. But I'll be back later on all the other stuff....
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