Friend very sick, advice needed urgently?

Question

I have a friend who went on a vegan diet and is having fainting spells. She is ghostly pale and I told her she needed iron in her diet. She has refused to go to the doctor and I am really concerned about her. What advice can you give me?

Thanks Tracey, that was what I was thinking. This vegan diet has caused her to become anemic.

I got her to eat a little meat and drink some dairy milk and she said she feels better. It appears it was the vegan diet that made her sick and weak.

Answer 1

Foxie, you're back!!! We've missed the daily Veganville Enquirer since you've been away in the anti-vegetarian witness protection program. Wife and kiddies doing well, I hope?

Wow, another friend on a vegan diet! How many does that make this year alone. . .23 or 24? I lost track somewhere around the 6th of January or so.

Tell your vegan friend that she didn't have to give up her principles or her diet. Here's an exerpt from an article on natural sources of iron:

"Diets consisting of vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, and nuts provide adequate iron.35-40 Consuming foods rich in vitamin C, such as orange juice, with iron-rich foods enhances the absorption of iron. Some foods are naturally rich in both iron and vitamin C, such as broccoli, Swiss chard, and other dark green leafy vegetables. Other good iron sources include iron-fortified cereals, enriched bread, pasta, rice, soybeans, chickpeas, and blackstrap molasses. "

I *do* have to question how good of a friend you really are, if you didn't bother to investigate vegan-friendly sources of iron. I mean, you're always regaling us with these vegetarian and vegan horror stories that you've found online. . .surely you could've taken a few minutes and located this information for her. That way, she could have had her vegan principles and the iron she needed.

Bad Foxie, no pork chop!

Answer 2

Your friend is very aneamic from the sounds of it as her diet does not have any iron it it.
She needs to go to a health food shop and find out what type of food that she can eat with her vegan diet contain all the nutrients she needs to be healthy. You can be vegan and eat healthy but not sure what type of pulses ect there are. They will also tell her what type of vitamins she needs to put back what is obviously missing.
Pop in for her and see if they have any good leaflets she can read as it sounds to me as if she has not looked into the vegan diet properly my friend is vegan and eats lots of healthy food and looks well but she researched it first. Go to library or book store and get her a good book on it she should not be fainting if she is doing it properly.
If she still faints there could be an underline medical reason and doctor trip will have to be made but get her to look at vegan eating properly first to see where she is going wrong.

Answer 3

I'd give the vet a call, they all have emergency numbers. Perhaps you could get some milk or at least water into a dropper, hold the Kitten and ever so gently put your index finger and thumb either side of the kitten's mouth and genty prise it open and put a couple of drops on its tongue. cats dehydrate really quickly and this can kill them. I really would call a vet first, but if you really cannot reach one, try this method, it may be enough to get the kitten suckling, but it may be too much intervention for the mother to handle and she may kill the kitten. Bear in mind that mummy cats know what is best for their babies. If she is interested in her kitten, try and let her deal with it, but be there to help out, if not, your only option is to try the above, without help, it will die quickly. It may be that mummy cat knows the kitten isn't going to make it and is therefore ignoring it, promoting a more rapid death. Call the vet, its the kitten's best chance.

Answer 4

What a friend - not! She is on a vegan diet and you get her to eat meat? Iron tablets - if indeed she really is anaemic - are much better and quicker. It is a myth that vegan diet is unhealthy if it is properly balanced. If it is not - like any diet - it will harm. Would anyone want to live on burgers?

Answer 5

Yes, iron too but even perhaps protein.Also Vit and minerals. I think you did well.
You should give her FRESH Orange juice. Or make her eat oranges. Helps build iron in body.

I found these---
Link with eating disorders:
The American Dietetic Association found that vegetarian diets may be more common among adolescents with eating disorders than in the general adolescent population, and that professionals should be aware of adolescents who limit the food choices and exhibit symptoms of eating disorders. The ADA indicates that the evidence suggests that the adoption of a vegetarian diet does not lead to eating disorders, but "vegetarian diets may be selected to camouflage an existing eating disorder."[22] Other studies and statements by counselors and dietitians support this conclusion.

Vitamin B12 deficiency
Severe and permanent neurological damage to infants can be caused when mothers do not obtain adequate vitamin B12 in their diet while breastfeeding.[46] However, vitamin B12 is a common ingredient in prenatal vitamins, even vegetarian ones.

One study noted the importance of early recognition of significant maternal vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy and lactation in vegetarians is emphasized so that appropriate supplementation can be given and irreversible neurologic damage in the infant prevented

Mineral deficiencies
The US Food and Drug Administration in its report states that vegetarian women of childbearing age have an increased chance of menstrual irregularities, and that vegetarians run the risk of not consuming enough micronutrients like copper, iron and zinc in their diet.[48] Vegetarians and vegans can compensate for this by cooking with copper and iron cookware.

Specific vitamins
Vegans should be particularly concerned with adequate intake of vitamins like Vitamin D and Vitamin B12. However, adequate amounts of vitamin D may be obtained by spending 15 to 30 minutes every few days in the sunlight, which may be difficult or impossible for vegans in areas with low levels of sunlight during winter.[32] Vegans are at a higher risk of vitamin A deficiency because in its true form (also called retinol) it is found only in animal foods such as fish oils and liver. This form is readily absorbed by the body. Plants do not contain vitamin A, but rather provitamin A and despite consumption of such provitamin A rich foods there might be vitamin deficiencies because of the consumption of insufficient amount of fat together with carotene-rich vegetables, and dietary deficiencies in iron and zinc

there is more. So do read link.

Answer 6

Again with the stories. A bite of meat and milk would have NO impact on a person fainting because he/she is anemic. The human body does not work that way.

Answer 7

It's not only the iron deficiency she needs to be aware of but also calcium; women are more prone to brittle bone etc and deficiencies really don't help. Tell her straight that she is doing a great job of being the archetypal pasty faced vegan..You should be looking great on a vegan diet and taking even more of a responsibility about your own health; if you are putting animal welfare ahead of your own then it's slightly missing the point..

Answer 8

Why, if she's having fainting spells, would she refuse to see a doctor? That's sheer idiocy. Never mind her diet, she could have low blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, dehydration, Parkinsons or be at risk from a stroke.

When you faint it is because there is not enough oxygen getting to the brain. It is a serious ailment and she needs to stop being such a ninny and get to the doctors. Pronto.

Answer 9

Encourage her to drink a glass of orange juice (or juice rich in vitamin c) with food - that helps to bind any iron from food into the blood. Avoid drinking milk/caffeinated drinks with food as this has the opposite affect

Answer 10

Foxie go away!! I'm glad they deleted you but now the beast of Ballykissangel is back to ask his silly, pointless questions!!! I have been a vegan for 6 weeks and I'm as fit as a fiddle. I have also lost weight effortlessly and my skin looks even better than it did when I was a vegetarian !! How come you know so many vegans in your little town in Eire? You'd be hard pushed to find many vegetarians there let alone vegans ( don't start son , my Dad is Irish and I'm proud of my heritage!!!)