I feel tired, what am I lacking?!
Answers:
Definitely iron. The symptoms sound very much like what my non-vegetarian ex-wife had, which was an iron-deficiency (anaemia). So, it's not a vegetarian/vegan diet which causes iron-deficiency. Anyone can get it, and females are especially at risk, particularly if they have heavy periods. I've been a vegetarian (now vegan for over a year) for the better part of 35 years and have been a regular blood-donor for around 20 of those years. Blood iron is checked before each donation and mine has always been fine.
Include more iron-rich foods in your diet - (blackstrap) molasses, broccoli, spinach, other leafy vegetables, yeast (or yeast extract), etc. and also more vitamin C to help your body make use of that iron. Avoid caffeine and excessive amounts of calcium, as they are counterproductive to your iron absorption. Cook with iron pots instead of those aluminium ones.
A vitamin B12 deficiency would take about 5 years or so to manifest itself, as it gets stored in the body. If you've been a vegan for about that long or longer and haven't been eating any foods at all containing B12, then it could possibly be that. It's doubtful though. Anyway, try nutritional yeast (brewers' yeast), yeast extract spreads (such as Marmite, Vegemite, Cenovis, etc.), chia seeds, fungi (mushrooms) and algae (seaweed) if you're worried about that. B12 is also added to a lot of processed vegan foods these days.
Vegan!
Could be iron as a prior poster suggested, but my bet would be Vitamin B12. It is one of those B vitamins that vegetarians (especially vegans) are lacking in because it is found mostly in animal products. I understand it is very prevalent in seaweed, so perhaps you can find a vegan source there. Try Vitacost.com (I think that is the link).
You may be lacking in iron. Check out this link which discusses the lack of iron causing energy drain.
http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetaria…
I would also visit your local health food store for a good multivitamin.
Carbohydrates transform to energy. You should eat more bread, pasta... and ask a nutritionist.
Experience
drink a monster, its vegan :D
