I did the most disgusting thing yesterday

As confessions go, I have to say that facing the radical diet changes I'm facing, I thought it was time to step out on that ledge and test the waters.  Now, I've been working on a vegetarian/vegan diet for a few months, which means strictly no meat (easy for me) and trying to avoid dairy at all costs.  The latter has been difficult because they put milk, whey, etc. in just about everything, even potato chips.  WTH?  Not that I need to eat potato chips, because I definitely don't, but it's shocking how much dairy is in processed foods.  Now, the flip side to this is... I've become exceedingly sensitive to dairy, and trust me when I say it's best I spare you the details.  But even without the details let's just say that a plant-based diet is the right diet for me.  Now... having said that, let me add a big, fat 'however' to the mix.  Yeah.  We all get ourselves into trouble with the 'however,' issues.. don't we?

I've cut out dairy and meat, and I like that.  A lot.  It works for me.  However...I may have to add fish back into my diet due to the anemia I'm trying to resolve in hopes that it won't take MONTHS for it to resolve.  And for the record, I know and have been assured that the anemia is NOT from having a plant-based diet.  I understand the difference between heme (meat, etc.) and non-heme (beans, peas, lentils, kale and other green leafy veggies, raisins,  etc. etc.) iron and what I have to do to ensure proper absorption of that non-heme iron (vitamin C helps with absorption).  And it takes 2-4 years of a totally STRICT vegan/vegetarian diet for iron stores to become depleted.  By 'strict' I mean.. absolutely no meat, dairy, and no processed foods whatsoever.  Processed foods are often supplemented with iron (wheat, bread, pasta, etc.).  Most anemia is due to a health issue or bleeding.  We've no idea what's causing mine yet.

So, about that totally disgusting thing I did yesterday....

I ate a couple of bites of meat.  Ham, which I was opposed to eating even before I went to a plant-based diet.  It.  Was.  SO.  Disgusting!  It actually tasted like someone had given me pieces of salt-infused leather to eat!  Never again!

I have to try fish this week sometime.  I should have done it already, but I've been putting it off because, honestly, the idea just grosses me out like you wouldn't believe.  And back when I did eat meat, salmon was probably my favorite fish.  Over time, however, I got to where I didn't like it anymore.  Honestly, it isn't hard AT ALL for me to not eat meat.  I don't ever crave it, and it just tastes and feels wrong in my mouth.

So the meat experiment was an epic failure.  I'm okay with that.  More than okay.  I now have to see what happens when I try to eat salmon or other fish.  So exactly what's that about??....

Well, salmon is a source of heme iron, and one I may be able to tolerate until my doctor gets to the bottom of this whole anemia thing.  It's not safe to self-supplement with iron as it can cause great harm to your health if you're not getting the correct dose.  It's not something you want to mess with.  Foods with iron are a great way to keep anemia at bay IF your health is normal.  But you can't replenish your iron stores with food when you're anemic, and when you do get supplements from your doctor, and even if your anemia is so bad you require transfusions, it STILL takes a very long time to correct iron deficiency anemia.  Many say it takes about a year.

I've no idea yet how bad my anemia is.  My doctor just looked at my labs and said I'm anemic then set about to find out WHY.  The first usual suspect is hidden bleeding, and we've found no source yet.   The small intestine isn't accessible during EGD and requires the little pill camera to see what's going on in there.  Not sure we'll go that route, but it's a possibility.  Another issue that can cause it is bone marrow disorder.  Not sure we're going there either.  But something is certainly causing me to have anemia, and in the meantime.. I can begin taking in a little heme iron and making sure I supplement any non heme sources with a form of vitamin C.

.... I can tell you this, however... I am NOT going to experience the meat thing again.  Seriously.  Yuck!  Not sure I can even do fish, but.. we're certainly going to find out.