most recent 30 from http://paleohacks.com 2013-06-20T01:52:04Z http://paleohacks.com/feeds/question/155374 http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://paleohacks.com/questions/155374/vegan-to-paleo-to-heal-health-issues-share-your-stories veggielover 2012-10-12T20:18:26Z 2012-12-02T17:40:49Z

<p>I recently came across a post from one of the users that she was a vegan for many years and cured her immune disorder, and lack of menstruation by switching to paleo. I am in the same place right now as I have suffered for 5 years without a perdiod, low thyroid (although now it is normal due to medication), digestive issues, constipation, after I took a drug that completely destroyed my immune system. I have tried every single vegan diet, raw, macrobiotics, etc, thinking it would cure me but never even thought about paleo seriously until recently. Would love to know how people have changed their health around through this paleo diet! Please share your stories!</p>

http://paleohacks.com/questions/155374/vegan-to-paleo-to-heal-health-issues-share-your-stories/155379#155379 areyousuchadreamer 2012-10-12T20:30:36Z 2012-10-12T20:30:36Z

<p>My story is long - and I just happened to post it this week on my blog (linked in my profile). In short, I was vegan for 10 years, and did every type of vegan/vegetarian diet/cleanse and my health kept getting worse and worse. I lost my period for awhile but somehow it came back. My health kept deteriorating until I lost my job and could not function anymore. I started eating meat again and began the slow climb back to health. I have been Paleo for a year, and on versions of the Autoimmune Protocol (I have Celiac and Hashimotos) for about 6 months and feel like I am finally scratching the surface of restoring balance to my body from that phase of my life. I think there are many stories on paleohacks of ex-vegans regaining their health using paleo. </p>

http://paleohacks.com/questions/155374/vegan-to-paleo-to-heal-health-issues-share-your-stories/155381#155381 samanthalee 2012-10-12T20:31:30Z 2012-10-12T20:31:30Z

<p>I did the raw vegan thing for some time a few years back. Started losing my hair; NOT normal for a relatively low-stress 23-year old. I'm talkin' distinct, unmistakable bald spots on my scalp, ranging from 1-3 inches wide. Went vegetarian (lactose/gluten intolerant and therefore free from both things) and occasionally (monthly, let's say) enjoyed fish/chicken. Still no progress with my hair.</p> <p>Wasn't until I was living in another country where we had no choice but to eat red meat on a daily basis that my hair started to grow back with a bloody freakin' vengeance. I'd heard of paleo before, but this dramatic change led me to read up on it and make the switch. Now I have a lovely abundance of the stuff (and great skin/nails, to boot).</p>

http://paleohacks.com/questions/155374/vegan-to-paleo-to-heal-health-issues-share-your-stories/155383#155383 Erin 2012-10-12T20:34:58Z 2012-10-12T20:34:58Z

<p>I was vegan 11 years. Thought I felt great on that diet. I started to have chronic musculoskeletal pain (hips, finger joints) not to mention some seriously painful and embarrassing rosacea. Primal diet now for 7 weeks. My chronic pain is significantly reduced and so isn't my rosacea. I'm going to knock out dairy soon to see if that helps totally eliminate the rosacea but I believe it's not completely gone due to some medications I recently started for a short duration. I feel awesome all the time. Tons of energy whereas before I'd hit a wall around 2:30pm everyday. Used to have to take naps after weight training. Don't need that anymore. I used o eat 9 meals a day and was super lean and had a hard time putting on as much muscle as I'd like. Now I eat 4 times a day and am completely satisfied. I used to get so hungry I thought I'd vomit. When I get hungry now it's very tolerable. I'm very very happy I made this change!</p>

http://paleohacks.com/questions/155374/vegan-to-paleo-to-heal-health-issues-share-your-stories/155398#155398 Michelle 2012-10-12T21:34:35Z 2012-10-12T21:34:35Z

<p>Was never vegan, but even a mostly-vegetarian diet did enough damage on my body. Spent about a year following a real food, "flexitarian" way of eating. Didn't notice problems at first, since most the problems I had existed since before switching from SAD to real food. But then things spiraled out of control. My libido never returned after spending 6 months on the pill, and I was developing daily headaches, irritability, and fatigue. I felt like I was sick and needed to stay in bed every morning, even with regular bed times and 7 hours of sleep every night. Plus, my HDL, which had never been in the "ideal" range, DROPPED 13 points on a super-clean, 80% vegan diet. My severe seasonal allergies, acne, and irregular periods were a norm--never really knew anything else.</p> <p>I finally had enough last year and contacted my OBGYN with thoughts that I had an endocrine imbalance. He was really unhelpful, telling me my lack of libido was all in my head and all my other symptoms were nothing. I contacted a holistic practitioner and HE was very, very helpful. He ordered some tests for me and it turned out I do in fact have a hormonal imbalance. In fact, I took my results back to my OBGYN and he confirmed that I have estrogen-dominant PCOS. I fired my OBGYN.</p> <p>After that I immediately followed my holistic doc's orders to drastically cut my carb load, only eat carbs with a protein or fat, follow a gluten-free diet, and do weight-bearing exercises regularly. Then, for the first time in my life, I experienced a regular, 28-day cycle. And then another one. And then another... I follow fertility awareness method, and in addition to regular cycles, I was actually ovulating at appropriate times in my cycle (day 13-15, versus...19 or later). My headaches GREATLY lessened, and my debilitating seasonal allergies disappeared. I wake up every morning feeling far more rested than I used to. Plus, my skin is actually clear. I've had acne since elementary school, so this was a big deal for me. Oh, and my libido finally returned after two years of being off the pill.</p> <p>It's funny. My holistic doc is a vegan, and this is what he recommended for me. I always knew that I felt better with meat, especially red meat. And you'd think I'd get the clue after many different "diets" that are based on your "type" all suggested I eat in a hunter-gatherer-ish sort of way (not that I think these diets are reliable sources of information, but there's certainly a common denominator of truth). I think I wanted to be vegetarian to fit into the crowd around me. Or for some sense of "blamelessness." I don't know. </p>

http://paleohacks.com/questions/155374/vegan-to-paleo-to-heal-health-issues-share-your-stories/155399#155399 joanna 2012-10-12T21:35:17Z 2012-10-12T21:35:17Z

<p>i was vegan for 5 years, doing raw vegan/fruitarianism for 3 years. i started paleo about 2 months ago to help with my ulcerative colitis. my UC is really bad so i'm sure it will take a while to heal, but i have seen some improvements. my frequency is less, i can exercise, i've gained strength, and im not in constant pain all day. i still don't have my period and i'm very anemic, but i'm hoping these things will improve with paleo and lots of supplements. i've been on immunosuppressants for a long time so i'm sure that slows my healing down and makes me prone to getting sick.</p> <p>i was nervous at how my body would respond to having animal products again because i've heard of people getting sick from accidentally eating them. i did fine though. i had a lot of acid reflux/vomitting issues before paleo and that has all went away. </p>

http://paleohacks.com/questions/155374/vegan-to-paleo-to-heal-health-issues-share-your-stories/156684#156684 Katy 2012-10-19T02:39:44Z 2012-10-19T02:39:44Z

<p>I was vegetarian for about 3 years. I strongly believe that my vegetarian diet (very heavy on the "healthy" whole grains) contributed to an imbalance of gut bacteria that lead to serious digestion issues. I don't think it was the cause*emphasized text* of my Crohn's disease diagnosis, by any means, but it was likely a contributing trigger among many other things. I have a blog (linked in my profile) that describes my experiences in using diet to control my symptoms. I have had wonderful success and I currently do not have any GI symptoms! My other symptoms, such as fatigue and joint pain, are slowly, but surely improving. I started off by following the specific carbohydrate diet and GAPS diet, but my diet is more in line with Paleo now that I'm not symptomatic. </p>

http://paleohacks.com/questions/155374/vegan-to-paleo-to-heal-health-issues-share-your-stories/157255#157255 Carole Gadacz 2012-10-22T10:10:04Z 2012-10-22T10:10:04Z

<p>I find the debate between paleo and vegan incredibly frustrating. They are the two diets that are most responsible for advocating the consumption of unprocessed foods, but they are at each others throats about their differences. If half the world went paleo, and half the world went vegan, the whole world would be much healthier than we are today.<a href="http://www.stopsweat.com/" rel="nofollow">Excessive sweating</a></p>

http://paleohacks.com/questions/155374/vegan-to-paleo-to-heal-health-issues-share-your-stories/165183#165183 Vdurig 2012-12-02T05:42:59Z 2012-12-02T05:42:59Z

<p>I was a vegetarian for 3 years, vegan for 7 months. I got Interstitial Cystitis as a vegan, along with digestive problems like constipation. Took to Paleo, after about 3 weeks my issues were gone! So was my habit to over eat. I did gain weight though. I was on it for 3 months (on and off) and now I'm vegan again, thinking I would do it differently, well... It's been 2 weeks. My health concerns are back. Everything is back. Huh, imagine that d:</p>

http://paleohacks.com/questions/155374/vegan-to-paleo-to-heal-health-issues-share-your-stories/165253#165253 Pecan 2012-12-02T17:40:49Z 2012-12-02T17:40:49Z

<p>I've been vegetarian, conventional vegan (fake meat, soy, whole grains, etc) and raw vegan (both high fat and low fat).</p> <p>I'm still vegan, but now focus on incorporating paleo principles (gluten free, more fats, O6/03 ratio, etc). Compared to raw vegan which is gluten-free anyway, I now have increased satiety and better mental concentration. </p>