Usually, vitamin B12 deficiency anemia is easy to treat with diet and vitamin supplements. To increase the amount of vitamin B12 in your diet, eat more of foods that contain it, such as: Beef, liver, and chicken. Fish and shellfish such as trout, salmon, tuna fish, and clams.

I’ve never been so happy to eat a bowl of Raisin Bran!

I started intermittent fasting about seven months ago. A few folks in my circle were raving about it, so I read up on the benefits. The mental clarity and the cell regeneration aspects were most interesting.

With my activities limited by quarantine, I thought, what the heck. I’ll give it a try.

For the first month, it was tough being hungry in the mornings. With a few glasses of water and a cup of tea, it got easier.

I liked the energy and ease that came from my body not processing breakfast. And I lost 4 pounds — a nice bonus.

For a few months now, I’ve had bouts of dizziness. I thought, Oh, I just got up too fast, or maybe I need to drink more water?

Nonchalantly brushing it off. Not stopping to question further.

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The Incident

A few days ago, I thought I had a heart attack and nearly passed out during my yoga practice. I got dizzy, nauseous, and was yawning every 5 seconds.

I’ve felt fatigued but chalked it up to the busyness of building my business and change in my schedule from my husband’s recent surgery and recovery.

As I explained my symptoms to a clinician friend, which included especially challenging digestion, headaches, and brain fog, she suggested I may be low on B12 and to get a blood test.

You see, I’ve been vegetarian since I was five and vegan for ten years. For me, what I eat and don’t eat is an intentionally important part of my life.

Iron and B12 are highest in meat and dairy products. There are dozens of high iron plant-based foods such as lentils, spinach, tofu, kidney beans, dark chocolate, dried apricots, hemp seeds, etc.

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My challenge developed from adding on intermittent fasting and limiting my food intake to two meals a day with a snack in between. I simply wasn’t getting enough iron-rich foods.

Needless to say, not only is my B12 low, I’m anemic as well. No wonder I feel like a drunk space cadet.

Thankfully our local pharmacy had B12 shots and iron pills. And we bought a dozen foods that are high iron or fortified with B12 (like bran cereal and soy milk).

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The lessons? Listen to my body — and moderation is key.

I started intermittent fasting out of curiosity, and then it just stuck. I saw some benefits, but I didn’t stop to think, is this really good for me and the way I eat long term?

That question was answered for me a few days ago.

With my active, vegan lifestyle, I can’t just eat twice a day and expect to get all the nutrients my body needs. It’s simply not enough fuel.

I’m also gluten-free. This means I wasn’t eating any iron or B12 fortified foods as they are typically wheat-based.

Moreover, relying on a basic multi-vitamin for my B12 wasn’t enough.

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If your curious, the daily recommendation for iron intake is:

·         Females ages 19–50 18mg

·         Females 51+ 8mg

·         Males 19+ 8mg

The daily recommendation for B12 is 2.4 micrograms for all adults over 18.

The good news is B12 shots are easy and don’t hurt since the needle just barely goes under the skin.

I’ll continue these for a week until I see a functional medicine doctor for a better long-term supplement solution.

For my vegan or considering vegan friends, the only essential vitamin we can’t get from a plant-based diet is B12. If you aren’t taking a quality B12 supplement, you may want to look into this further.

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Losing The Line

In my life, I tend to go to extremes. I call it “losing the line.”

If something is good, how can I make it even better?

I removed all meat and dairy from my diet — then eliminated gluten, corn, peanuts, and alcohol. Oh yeah, and then removed eating altogether for 16 hours a day.

Now, where did that line go?

This lack of mindful moderation gets me in trouble sometimes.

I like things clear-cut as it limits decision fatigue. I eat this, and not that. I eat at these times, and not those.

However, no matter my preferences, life isn’t always that simple.

It’s better to be open and flexible — to pause every so often to check in and mentally ask me, How’s it really going? Not just be a sheep and follow the herd.

This obviously applies to more than my diet.

Most importantly, taking time to listen to my body is essential for my well-being. In this case, I had an epic failure in paying attention to what’s right in front of me.

One day at a time. I’m certainly still learning.

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Created On: 2021-05-01 10:40:31 Posted By: Dr. Priyul Shah