I have a few health problems, and my dad is blaming it on me being vegetarian. is this true?!

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You need to have more tests done. The doctor would have picked it up if you were overtly malnourished so from you story, I don't think it's that. But the period thing can be caused by nutrient deficiency even if there are no physical symptoms. The best example are female gymnasts who do not grow have smaller than normal breasts and no periods during their competitive years but regain them after they live and eat normally.
As for eczema, yes that is genetic and can be triggered by environmental factors. But as you know it can also be triggered by certain foods (or lack thereof). So your vegetarianism itself may not be the trigger but some specific foods that you do eat may be the culprit. Since your father is a bit concerned, tell him that you probably need more tests and let the doc/nutritionist convince him that your being a vegetarian is not the trigger if indeed it isn't.

Eczema is definitely an enviromental thing. I moved to a town in North-East Mississippi and developed eczema. Luckily, it was an easy fix. As far as your period, I wouldnt blame it on your diet. Maybe you've had different kinds of stress since moving, but I doubt that it's your diet.


Good Luck and tell your dad to calm down.

i am also a veg. And no that isnt a usual side affect. It could be a thyroid problem or just a hormone problem. I would get that checked out first. If all else fails then try to eat just a little bit a meat/fish everyday and see if everything goes back to normal. Good luck and best wishes.

Your diet can affect whether your eczema breaks out or not.

For example, I tried drinking sunny d one time and about 3 days later I started breaking out worse than usual. So I had to think what was different and I stopped drinking sunny d and my eczema instantly died down.

http://stopmyeczema.com

As far as the eczema is concerned, it is an allergic reaction and people can be genetically pre-disposed to it. It can be triggered by a food allergy, and if you are a vegetarian I'm going to guess that you consume a lot of dairy and a lot of soy. You could be allergic to soy and that could make the condition worse. For the eczema, you could try staying away from soy or dairy for awhile. Some remedies that work for me are topical moisturizers and salt water baths.
So in short, your diet may be contributing to it, but not for the reasons your father thinks it is.
As to the amenorrhea, it can be caused by an unhealthily low amount of body fat. If your BMI is in the low range, remember to stock up on healthy fats. Nutrition can be a factor whether you eat meat or not. It's possible to get all the nutrients you need from a vegetarian diet, as long as you make an effort to eat a variety of foods. Green leafy vegetables are a good source of nutrients and vitamins.
As a young person, it is probably difficult to live as a vegetarian when your parents are not. I've seen a lot of girls who relegate themselves to starchy side dishes, just because they're not eating the main meat dish that the rest of the family is enjoying. This is a good way to ensure malnourishment and set yourself up for failure as a long term vegetarian. Just make sure that you vary your diet and take advantage of whole grains, a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats like avocados, nuts, and nut butters. It's not easy committing to vegetarianism at such a young age, and I would like to congratulate you on your progress so far.

Vegan food blogger and nutritional afficianado

I have to agree with most of the people who've help answer. Although what I would like to say is that being a vegetarian, in my view takes discipline which really is just plain learning, knowing who you are and being aware of your body, because I'm just assuming you didn't just wake up and say I'm going vegetarian three years ago just because its a fashion trend, its a lifestyle. Being a vegetarian wouldn't cause these problems its the lack of specific nutrients in your diet that can cause these problems and I also wouldn't take your dads advice with a grain of salt and also mine, because your in charge of your body and what you eat. I would do research on what on all the problems you have and then connect those dots with what your diet or the way you live which may be causing the problems.
I hope I don't sound like I'm harping on you, I just see a lot of people choosing vegan and veggie diets with no idea what their doing because their doing it because of the animal cruelty or someone suggested it to them.
For me I did everything incrementally when I started being healthy, then took red meat out of my diet because how the digestion is just so horrible and not to mention all the sick crap they give cows to get them fat very unethical and didn't want that in my body, after that my digestion improve so much. Noticing all the small differences in my diet made me become aware of myself and has taught me a lot and I would assume you as well.

I would suggest seeing a Naturopathic type of doctor, that will listen to you because most regular big pharma doc's don't listen to there patients anymore.

Not sure if this helps but I do hope you do get this cured.
SinCir Kyle

heres some a book you might want check out The Omnivore’s Dilemma" and a doc "Foodmatters" don't know if you've heard of them.

If your vegi diet is contributing to health problems, it would not be necessary to go back to eating meat, only to adjust your vegetarian diet. You are at a common age for eczema onset and not out-of-bounds for missed periods. Are you eating enough fat? Calcium? Cheese? Fiber? Grain? Protein? Vitamins and minerals? I know lots of vegetarian that seem to subsist on bread and cheese. None of them are healthy. Eat lots of grain and lots of healthy fats and proteins, fruit sugars, vegetables. You may just be nutritionally (or calorically) restricting yourself. Keep a food diary for a few weeks and then go see a nutritionist. If the problems persist, you really need to go back to your doc. You don't want a lifestyle choice or undiagnosed medical condition to affect your fertility and health FOREVER!

You didn't mention where you moved from, but the harsh winter climate of Pittsburgh could aggravate a skin condition that may be dormant where ever you used to live and is now flaring in the new environment.
My skin goes nuts when the weather changes zits/dry/patchy.
As far as the missed periods. That again may be stress related - moving to a new place, maybe missing old friends, having to make new ones etc
You may not be missing periods but rather they are just irregular right now. You are also young enough to where your periods are still not fully regular. Especially if you started late.
In order to miss periods from diet alone you have to be severely malnourished as in anorexic or participating in stressful sports or a combination of both.
Maybe seek out a more understanding Dr. maybe one who is a vegetarian themselves.
I don't think resuming a meat diet will help but you might try it for a month or so just to alleviate that being the issue.

You might have other health problems associated but being a vegetarian probably doesn't help you out, your eczema is probably being caused because its hereditary, your body needs all the vitamins and minerals and you need to maintain a balanced diet to obtain those, being a vegetarian often leads lack of protein, good carbohydrates or good cholesterol, one my close friends suffers this same sort of thing, she got sick all the time but ate alot, it was because her body wasn't getting enough protein or other nutrients that are difficult to obtain without eating meat, and that probably contributes greatly to your missed periods, since you say your at a healthy weight you should start eating meat again, just in moderation, or healthy/lean meats, and i guarantee you will start feeling better! :)

Probably false.
I'm no expert on eczema, but I've been dealing with acne and rosacea since i turned 10 (way before I went veg), and I know my conditions change in severity along with stress, the weather (humidity, temperature), hydration, and sleep. Your skin doesn't change solely acoording to your diet- it could be any of those.

Reasons for missing periods could be: too low body fat %, not eating enough, not consuming enough iron, medical conditions, or stress.
Check your BMI- if you are underweight, then that could be it.
How many calories do you eat a day?
Do you exercise a lot? I always continually skip my period during XC season and half-marathon training.
Medical conditions- in rare cases, it could be something like hormone imbalances or PCOS (polycistic ovarian syndrome).
And finally, iron. Anemia (iron deficiency) is the most common nutritional deficiency in Amerca- there is no difference in rates of anemia between vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Foods that contain iron are things like spinach, peas, lentils, beans, oatmeal, tofu, tempeh, edamame, quinoa, blackstrap molasses, whole wheat pasta., bagels, potatoes... if you're a picky eater, you might not be getting enough.

Hope I helped, but looks like you've got better answers already :)

All necessary nutrients are available from plant-based sources. However, that doesn't mean that you will automatically get everything you need. I would suggest talking to a nutritionist to find out what you are lacking, or if you prefer to do it more independently, look up a list of recommended daily amounts of nutrients and compare that to what you are eating to see what you lack. When you find out what you are lacking, do a web search for plant-based sources. For example, if you are lacking iron do a web search for 'plant based iron source' or 'Vegan iron source'.

You sound intelligent and I believe that you are indeed eating pretty healthy for a vegetarian. As a vegan, I always advise people to cut back on dairy and eggs, though.

I looked up what eczema is and it said that 1 in 9 either Europeans or English people get it at one point in their lives. 1 in 9 is much higher than the % of people that are veg.

I think you are right that it is hereditary, though, perhaps something in particular you are eating is catalyzing it. I am not sure.

As far as the missed periods, that one is more difficult to explain. I know that sometimes girls are not as regular in that regards as they think they should be. There are many reasons for this, and they aren't all scary.

I would use google to try and find out why this is occuring. I doubt it has to do with you veg diet. Again, I can't be 100% sure because I just don't really know you.


Maybe you will get some better answers than mine.

Vegan Guy 3 years.