The Vegan View

I want to be vegan but finding a lot of difficulties due to my blood type O (yes, some people say it doesn't matter what blood type you are). I find I am very weak when I don't eat dairy products or eggs. I have been ovo-lacto vegetarian for ten years and would really love to become vegan.

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VegFamily readers reply:

Carmen:
If you are replacing your eggs and cheese with a lot of starches and sugars, then it would reason that you would feel tired. Be sure that you are replacing those foods with lots of vegetables, beans, nuts, tofu, whole grains, etc. I have been vegan for about four months and as soon as I made the transition from omnivore to vegan I instantly felt better. My transition included removal of refined sugars and grains, also. So I believe that had a lot to do with they way I felt. If you really monitor what you eat and ensure that you include lots of healthy choices I feel certain you will feel great and not tired.

Alaina:
I'm blood type O, vegan, and very energetic! When my family and I decided to commit to going vegan I went to see a dietician at a local grocery store. She said I need to make sure to meet my minimum caloric intake for energy by eat a variety of vegan foods from all the food groups. She also suggested I take a multi-vitamin to cover my bases (especially b-12). It?s that easy and I've never felt better! If you're tired when you don't eat eggs and milk then you should probably look at what is left in your diet. You might just need to boost your calories; maybe your diet could be better balanced, or could benefit from a multi?

Susan:
I am type O as well, and have been thriving on a vegan diet for 7 years now. I was lacto/ovo for about 13 years prior to that. I think whenever you better your diet, you go through a detox period where your body tries to get rid of toxins, and also works to heal internal organs/issues. The weakness you may be feeling could be genuine weakness due to lack of iron, or other vitamin rich foods. You can eat an awful lot of vegan junk food—even Oreos are vegan. But if you are eating a healthy diet filled with lots of varied fruits and veggies, then you are probably experiencing some detox symptoms. Think of it kind of like whenever you give up coffee—if you have ever done that, or even soda. Initially your body craves the caffeine or sugar or in soda those chemicals, but it doesn't mean that is a healthy food for your body to have. You may even feel weak after a week of not having coffee, but then once you tough out those detox symptoms, you feel so much better. Try starting your day with a green smoothie which will give you lots of vitamins and minerals and also help accelerate some of the detox symptoms.

Paula
I too had this problem when i first cut out dairy and eggs. (not, however, due to my blood type) First I tried greatly increasing my protein intake (tofu, beans veg burgers etc). But what I found was that I had to totally change my outlook on food. Stop trying to eat "regular" food and start over. It seemed with me it was a general nutrition issue not protein. Try eating as many raw fresh vegetables and especially fruit the natural sugars will give you an energy boost without the sinking lows. And get your self an awesome vegan cook book. I highly recommend Vegan with A Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. This changed my whole outlook on vegan cooking. Even my picky 4 year old loves it all!

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Tandi:
This is a difficult question to answer simply because it is hard to know the quality of vegan diet you are consuming. You may not be eating enough food now that you are eating lighter foods, or if you are consuming a lot of empty calories from white bread etc... your problem might be a poor vegan diet.

If you are going into eating a lot of fruit and salads you may be having a cleansing reaction, which is very common. It is hard to know what the issue is without knowing what you are eating. But regardless there are several factors at play that don't have anything to do with blood type.

First, dairy products have a morphine like substance that is highly addictive called casomorphine. This is found in organic as well as conventional milk, it is naturally produced by the cow's liver. When coming off of dairy products, especially cheese it can cause a sort of 'withdrawal' which can cause symptoms similar to what you describe, fatigue, headache, weakness etc...

Many people believe they need more protein but physiologically a human can derive all the protein they require from plant foods regardless of blood type. No other species eats based on blood type, you don't see an herbivorous cow and a carnivorous cow because their blood type is different, they just eat what they are physiologically designed to eat based on their species.

I did an experiment for myself and thought of the most boring, minimal menu I could think of and plugged it into a program that determines the nutritional value of the foods and totals your daily intake.

Breakfast: spinach, mango, banana, flax and water blended into a smoothie with 1 slice toast.

Lunch: large salad with romaine, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, tomato, dressing and 1 piece of toast

Dinner: 1 potato (no toppings) 1/2 c. black eyed peas, 1 piece of toast, corn and a side salad.

The protein value for that day was 99% of my RDA of protein. I eat more than that, this was just to prove how easy it is. In reality, my diet provides more than 100% of my daily protein requirements easily. Protein isn't the issue as most people believe it is.

The next factor here is that the cleaner the diet you consume the more of a 'cleansing' effect it will have. Dairy products are extremely mucus forming as well as eggs. This does not happen to everyone who switches to a vegan diet but I have seen it with a very small minority. The body goes through a cleansing process once the heavy, mucus forming foods are removed from the diet. This leads to fatigue, foggy brain, weakness, headache, nausea and a host of other symptoms. I know of one other person who experienced this and it took several months and a lot of dietary help to get through it and after several months she was fine.

Individuals who experience this really have to evaluate what they are eating. If you are switching to a much lighter diet of fruits, vegetables and salads that may be too cleansing. If you are switching to processed vegan cheeses, faux meats, crackers, chips and other processed foods that may be the issue. You may want to seek the help of a vegan dietician to help you design a plan that can ease your symptoms as you transition.

Amber: I can identify with your concerns. I was a lacto-ovo veg for 16 years before reading the China Study, which galvanized my resolve to finally go vegan. I had tried many times before to take the final plunge to go vegan, but I found that for the first few days after going without dairy, my mouth felt very acidic and I also felt weak. However, It's my understanding that dairy and eggs are acidic foods and taking them out of your diet probably changes a person's PH balance initially. Also, I think the body cleanses itself initially, which leads to the feelings of weakness. But, I found that these symptoms went away shortly and then I felt good. I also tried to focus on whole foods, lots of greens, no refined sweetners, and basing one's diet around a starch at each meal to feel satiated. I'd recommend looking at Dr. McDougall's website for tips on how to shape what a vegan diet looks like. He's the man!

Angela: I too was a lacto ovo vegetarian for years before becoming vegan & I have always tended towards anemia. I find it is much harder to be a sloppy vegan after so many years of sloppy vegetarianism - I used cheese a lot! I take a b12 supplement as well as a multi vitamin & an iron supplement, I use molasses a lot for iron & pumpkin seeds in food & try to concentrate more on a variety of veggies & seeds, hemp protein. Oh I still have my junk food days - but since becoming vegan I have run 2 marathons (hoping for my 3rd in October) Becoming Vegan is a great resource - to help you with minerals, vitamins & protein sources. Good luck

Ivy: I am type O too, but have no problem as a vegan. There are so many delicious varieties of alternative dairy products to choose from--soy, almond, hemp, rice, and I'm sure there are others. There really is no excuse not to be vegan in this day and age.

Sylvia: this is possibly because your body is so used to these items that it has become addicted to them - like a body does with alcohol etc - and reacts when it does not get it. Your body is also trying to rid itself of the toxins contained in these items.

It may be better to cut these things out slowly, rather than all at once. There are other products that you can slowly replace them with - tofutti cream cheese, fast cheese from the deli, Turtle Mountain ice cream, tofu etc. It may be a good idea to also go on a detox. Spirilina tablets are a very good idea, and ground linseed - both very beneficial for the immune system and the brain.

Make sure that you do implement kelp, miso, legumes in your diet.

Manny: Is it the dairy products and eggs that help in providing you with strength throughout the day or is it the nutrients from the dairy products and eggs? Keep in mind you can get most, if not all, of the nutrients and dairy products from foods that available to vegans. I honestly recommend seeing a dietitian, who is better equipped to tell you what you're losing from not eating dairy and egg products and how you can get them back.

Mocha: Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's just ridiculous! I have O type blood as well and I don't feel weak because I'm vegan. I think you need to balance your diet and find what nutrients it is that your missing and that is making you feel weak. Try taking multivitamins or see a doctor. He,y you may even be anemic for all you know. There are so many reasons why a person may feel weak. It's not justified to blame the lack of animal products as an excuse to not be vegan. By the way, how are you even sure that it IS the milk and eggs? Did you do a laboratory test? This might be more psychological than physical.

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