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Q: What can I do to identify whether my body will be able to co
asked by: DoctorQuestion on March 19th, 2006
I have been a healthy, happy vegetarian for over three and a half years. I've never had any trouble maintaining my healthy diet or with cravings. In fact, over time, I became repulsed by meat. Yet recently, I've very suddenly become plagued by strong, persistent cravings for meat, especially poultry. I've also noticed that my circulation has been poorer over the past two or three years, though i'm not sure whether that's related at all to being a vegetarian. Also, I sometimes have dizzy spells and my energy level isn't usually very high. Occasionally, my heart acts funny, which is diffucult to explain - it beats very very hard but not fast, and without any particular activity or stressor. Again, I have no clue if this is related to my diet.
I believe very strongly in the vegetarian lifestyle, but i'm afraid that as I become an adult, maybe my body is trying to tell me something. I also travel extensively and will be studying abroad in South America this summer, which obviously makes it exponentially more difficult to eat vegetarian.
What should I do to find out whether my body will be able to continue a vegetarian diet?


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Dr. Nikola Gjuzelov , MD
replied on April 6th, 2006
Nutrition Answer A670
There is nothing wrong with being a vegetarian if your vegetarian diet contains all the necessary nutrients (fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals) in proper quantities and proportions. These symptoms seem more like a somatoform disorder than lack of nutrients. You can go to your doctor for standard blood/urine analyses, to measure your blood pressure, and you can also request an ECG. These procedures can help diagnose organic disorders and help identify if the symptoms originate in the body or in the mind.


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