Sick from becoming a vegetarian?

Question

I've been vegetarian for seven days, and I recently, as of yesterday started to get sick.. fever, dry cough. This has nothing to do with becoming a vegetarian does it?

The reason why I'm asking this, is because my mom scared me by saying ''you're probably sick because you stopped eating meat over night."

Answer 1

I was vegan for 6 months I stopped being vegan after ending up in the hospital. I would say that you should probably stop. if you don't want to, then get some B 12 and some good vitamins. I was 13 when that happened.

Answer 2

Your symptoms sound like your body reacting to a changed diet...Meat is a mucus forming food, and the absence of it might trigger your body to expel built up toxins. Don't worry, this is a natural occurrence, and actually,you should view this as a positive. Getting protein in a vegetarian diet isn't difficult, it's the fact that a lot of vegetarians combine foods poorly. For instance, you should never eat fruits along with protein foods, because the fruit will putrefy in the system and cause intestinal discomfort. Always eat fruits first, and give them 30 minutes to an hour for the body to assimilate. Eat a wide variety of grains (whole), beans fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes and you should have no problem getting enough protein. If, however, you are not eating foods that are local, organically grown foods, you may be cheating yourself out of nutrients. Take a vegetarian multivitamin if this is a concern. Solgar makes a great line of these types of supplements. Good luck! P.S. Drink plenty of spring water to flush out the toxins

Answer 3

Actually it can I am a vegetarian now but the first time I tried it I did get sick and so did my cousin. I got weak and a head ache so did she. It wasn't from something else because this was like at least a year apart. You are probably not getting enough nutrients. Go to www.peta.com. This website will help you a lot it will give you the information you need and motivate you from the videos. E-mail me and I will help you. Make sure you eat enough fruits and vegetables you might want to buy some vitamins just like Flintstones complete and vitamin B12.

Answer 4

Maybe.

Your mom's right, shouldn't become vegetarian over night. You need to plan your diet out so that you are getting enough of the protein and vitamin B12 (found in meat) that you need. Otherwise you will get sick.

Protein: peanut butter, nuts, beans, tofu, soymilk, lentils
Vitamin B12: eggs, milk, soybeans, fortified cereals

Because B12 is obtained usually through animal products, it is more difficult to get the proper daily amount on vegan diets, so you may have to take a multivitamin that has B12 in it.

It is VERY important to watch your diet and make sure you get the nutrients you need. There is a case of a man who went almost completely blind because he was vegan for 13 years and did not receive the proper amount of vitamins in his diet. Do some research and make sure you get the right vitamins and you won't be sick.

http://www.drdaveanddee.com/vegetarian1.html
http://www.medicinalfoodnews.com/vol04/issue4/vitaminb

Answer 5

I am not a doctor. I am not a nutritionist. See one or both of them for a more definitive answer.

That said . . .
Being a vegetarian does not automatically equal being healthy. In order to be healthy, you have to eat nutritious foods and avoid "foods" (is it really food if its bad for you?) that are more like poisons (fast food, processed foods, excessive meat and dairy). If you are serious about becoming a vegetarian you should also take some time to become serious/knowledgeable about nutrition, because, seriously, what's the point?

Eat lots of whole fruits and veggies, whole grains. Make sure to get a diversity in what you eat and be sure to drink water. Avoid crap food as much as possible. By crap I mean anything that is overly processed/packaged/manufactured. This means soda, tv dinners, fake sweeteners (high fructose corn syrup, saccharine, splenda), pop tarts, etc.

Don't worry about people telling you you aren't getting enough protein, vitamins, magic-super-healthy-molecules you can only get from animal flesh, whatever. . . especially if you're only a vegetarian and still eating/drinking dairy products. Its largely a bunch of a bull/misinformation spread by those who need you to keep eating animals (the meat industry). Eating a diet rich in fresh/whole fruits and vegetables/grains is all you need to be healthy, really.

Really though, being sick is something that often just happens. A bad diet will make you more prone to illness, but I seriously doubt any nutritionist would tell you a diet rich in vegetables and fruits with minimal or no meat is a bad diet. I mean, especially if you're eating dairy/eggs (both of which are high in cholesterol and other bad things) I can't see how not eating flesh would cause a deficiency in your diet.

Answer 6

Well, colds and the flu and such can come at the worst times. If you really, REALLY think it's because you just became a vegetarian, try un-becoming a vegetarian until you feel better and then re-becoming vegetarian and see if you get sick again. If vegetarianism does turn out to be the cause, you're doing something seriously wrong.

Answer 7

It is cold and flu season... as long as you still get protein and take vitamins (even though personally I hate pills and never take them)... you will be okay. I stopped eating meat one day a few years ago... I never got sick. But with anything you have to give your body time to adjust. Just like when you start working out a lot after not working out for a few months - you are sore and can barely walk. Your body is just sore - give it time to adjust. And if you are nervous about it being because of not eating meat. Have chicken, turkey, or fish every few days until you feel confortable to cut it out completely.

Answer 8

Becoming vegetarian does not directly make you sick. However if you are limiting your diet and not eating a balance of fruit, veggies and non-meat sources of protiens you may be missing much needed vitamins and minerals in you diet that help benefit your immune system.

I would consider looking into ways to get needed nutrients as a vegetarian. Another thing is that your body might be in a slight shock due to a sudden and disrupt change in eating habits. You may have to gradually ease yourself into it. I would consult a doctor if you have any further problems.

Oh, and don't listen to your mother. They almost never help, in my opinion.

Answer 9

she is probably right. Even though my sisters are vegans and are very healthy It took them time and knowledge to get there.Before just turning vegetarian, research what essential nutrients you need to be getting and some good recipes. A lot of vegetarians bodies have troubles adjust to the lower protien and iron content. Also, is you don't eat diary you should be taking a B12 vitamen.goodluck.

Answer 10

If you aren't being careful and making sure you're getting all the nutrients you need it can weaken your system. Vegetarians (vegans, particularly) often don't get enough dietary fat, protein, B12, calcium, iron and other nutrients because they don't realize they have to actually make an effort to replace these nutrients that occur naturally in meat and dairy products. Multivitamins or some other kind of nutrient replacement is sometimes necessary.