I am a new vegan. I have been eating meat my whole life. However, I changed to a vegan lifestyle recently and noticed that I have been having mild headaches for the past few weeks. I have been vegan for a month in total. Is this normal? Any advice on how to avoid this if it is normal.
Headaches
- Thread starter Nazmus Saqueeb Ashrafi
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Brian W
Conscientious Christian
I'm no authority on health matters but if you have only changed diet recently, it seems unlikely that any health issues you have are related. People get headaches for many reasons and the timing is most likely just coincidence. You ought to see a doctor as the headaches have been going on for weeks.
Brian W
Conscientious Christian
It appears I may have been wrong. Have a look at this:
Vegan Headache: Possible Causes And Cures – I Am Going Vegan
Vegan Headache: Possible Causes And Cures – I Am Going Vegan
Eating vegan only implies no animal products. Removing meat dairy and egg aren't going to cause problems, but the transition can.
A common complain of headaches and fatigue is not getting as many calories, often when you're trying to stick to whole plant foods. Plant foods are nutrient dense per calories, so you get a lot of volume and feel full faster.
Not enough water. Eating higher fiber foods makes hydration even more important. Some people experience digestive issues from switching to more fiber and cutting back and adding more slowly helps. Your gut does undergo a change in flora, from one that is build around meats to one with plant friendly bacterias. Plants have tremendous pre-biotic and probiotic bacteria which are important for health.
Many things are just coincidence and having a change makes them more noticable.
Spring time seems a common time for people to go plant based for weight loss. I've had people say to me they feel awful-congested, headachy, tired. I have to remind them they have allergies every year this time
.Here's one of my favorite websites for researched nutrition:
The Diet We Were Designed to Eat | NutritionFacts.org
There are three broad theories about evolution and food. One is that humans have become adapted to grains and other products of the agricultural
nutritionfacts.org
When you get a headache; eat something.
I watched video where a doctor explained that people would get tired and have a headache mid morning and mid afternoon. It is the body's signal that you need to eat something. She said that people would take a pain killer, when all they needed was a packet of trail mix or pretzels.
I sometimes wake up tired and have a headache. I have some breakfast and the headache goes away.
The biggest mistake that new vegans make is not consuming the same amount of calories and protein. They just remove the animal products, and don't replace it with the same amount of plant proteins.
Being a new vegan; your body may be getting rid of stored toxins. Drink lots of water.
Also, since you are transitioning; you might want to try some of the vegan protein shake powders. New vegans are usually short on protein until they learn all of the information about cooking with beans and other protein sources.
I watched video where a doctor explained that people would get tired and have a headache mid morning and mid afternoon. It is the body's signal that you need to eat something. She said that people would take a pain killer, when all they needed was a packet of trail mix or pretzels.
I sometimes wake up tired and have a headache. I have some breakfast and the headache goes away.
The biggest mistake that new vegans make is not consuming the same amount of calories and protein. They just remove the animal products, and don't replace it with the same amount of plant proteins.
Being a new vegan; your body may be getting rid of stored toxins. Drink lots of water.
Also, since you are transitioning; you might want to try some of the vegan protein shake powders. New vegans are usually short on protein until they learn all of the information about cooking with beans and other protein sources.
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Lou
Forum Legend
You already got some great advice. But I can't help myself. I have to chime in.
The calories, protein, and water advice are great. Also they are the easiest things to test or rectify. So do that.
I always recommend CronOmeter to new vegans. Its a great way to monitor the intake of your food.
That article Brian linked is Great. The vitamins and minerals it sugests are really good recommendations. Do try CronOmeter - it will help pinpoint the most likely culprits. But keep in mind that Cronometer only monitors intake. your absorption could be less. Next check up ask for some blood tests. And you might even schedule that check up sooner if the headaches don't get better.
I always thought I didn't have to worry about Vitamin D. Not only do I live in California and am outside at least an hour a day, I drink lots of fortified soy milk. However a blood test revealed a vitamin D shortage. I now take a supplement.
The other thing you might consider (but not until you've checked off all the more likely suspects) is a food allergy. People can develop a food allergy at any time in their life. or perhaps you've added a new food to your diet and you might have a sensitivity to that. you can try eliminating foods one by one and charting it. or some doctors have a test that they can give you that is pretty simple.
The calories, protein, and water advice are great. Also they are the easiest things to test or rectify. So do that.
I always recommend CronOmeter to new vegans. Its a great way to monitor the intake of your food.
That article Brian linked is Great. The vitamins and minerals it sugests are really good recommendations. Do try CronOmeter - it will help pinpoint the most likely culprits. But keep in mind that Cronometer only monitors intake. your absorption could be less. Next check up ask for some blood tests. And you might even schedule that check up sooner if the headaches don't get better.
I always thought I didn't have to worry about Vitamin D. Not only do I live in California and am outside at least an hour a day, I drink lots of fortified soy milk. However a blood test revealed a vitamin D shortage. I now take a supplement.
The other thing you might consider (but not until you've checked off all the more likely suspects) is a food allergy. People can develop a food allergy at any time in their life. or perhaps you've added a new food to your diet and you might have a sensitivity to that. you can try eliminating foods one by one and charting it. or some doctors have a test that they can give you that is pretty simple.
Many new vegans replace meat protein sources with plant protein sources in the same proportion. A quarter pound burger is replaced with a quarter pound tofu.
I'm a fairly sedentary 70 year old, who can eat about a pound of crispy, spicy tofu at one meal. One medium salad has a cup of beans. I make a creamy bean soup (where the beans are blended into the soup) and 3 cups of beans make 2 portions of soup.
I posted this young man in another thread. He has a great YouTube channel. He has a lot of recipes. He will make a meal and eat it out of a medium mixing bowl. He eats a large amount of food.
He went from being a large meat eater to vegan, and had similar problems:
I'm a fairly sedentary 70 year old, who can eat about a pound of crispy, spicy tofu at one meal. One medium salad has a cup of beans. I make a creamy bean soup (where the beans are blended into the soup) and 3 cups of beans make 2 portions of soup.
I posted this young man in another thread. He has a great YouTube channel. He has a lot of recipes. He will make a meal and eat it out of a medium mixing bowl. He eats a large amount of food.
He went from being a large meat eater to vegan, and had similar problems:
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It is possible that your headaches are due to changing your diet to a vegan lifestyle. It is common to experience headaches when switching to veganism due to the drastic change in the food you are consuming. To avoid these headaches, it is important to make sure you are getting enough nutrients, especially proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Eating a variety of vegan foods, such as legumes, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables, can help ensure that you are getting all the nutrition you need. Additionally, make sure you are drinking enough water, as dehydration can also lead to headaches. Finally, be sure to talk to your doctor to make sure there is no underlying medical reason for your headaches.
Lou
Forum Legend
What a great article.It appears I may have been wrong. Have a look at this:
Vegan Headache: Possible Causes And Cures – I Am Going Vegan
Before reading the article I was preparing in my head an answer. All the points I was going to make (and more!) are in this article.
Lack of calories. Not enough water. Trying to read tiny print without magnifier 
Brian W
Conscientious Christian
Ingredients lists?Trying to read tiny print without magnifier
Lou
Forum Legend
Yes! Anything. the worst is Asian groceries where the print is super tiny and you can't often trust the translation
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but if you have been eating vegan junk food multiple times a week, that can have a lot of salt. And that can cause headaches.
But IDK what you are eating.
Vegan junk food is good, but it's just good to remember to eat everything in moderation.
But IDK what you are eating.
Vegan junk food is good, but it's just good to remember to eat everything in moderation.
