Crumby Veganism is Healthy…

Posted on by The Crumby Vegan Posted in Food/Nutrition, HealthTagged , ,

And I have the blood test results to prove it.

This post is all about trying to eradicate the crappy myth that veganism isn’t healthy. In regards to health, there is a huge amount of negativity towards veganism, probably stemming from the meat and dairy industries, that I wanted to desperately disprove when I transitioned to a vegan diet. So I decided that after a year of veganism (if I didn’t die of protein deficiency) I’d take a blood test. 

So I did.

My vegan anniversary was on Saturday 1st of July 2017, so the Monday after I marched on down to the doctors to face my fears (I wasn’t worried about the results, I’m just petrified of needles!). I got the results a week later and had my doctor explain them to me.

Below are a few points that I thought might interest you. Be aware that these snippets of information come from a very brief recollection of what my doctor told me and my really shoddy skills at Googling… However I do have the scanned copy of my results below for you to scrutinise. Enjoy!

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My neutrophil (a type of white blood cell) count was slightly low. My doctor said this level is normally from having a weak virus around the time of the blood test. This makes sense as I had a cold around that time.

My doctor described sedimentation rate to be the rate at which blood settles down after it’s all fizzed up (he used a different term). My sedimentation rate is smack bang on the upper limit. In consideration of my other results, my doctor advised that this was probably higher than normal because of the date that I, a woman, had my blood test. If you know what I mean.

My ferritin levels are low. My doctor said that ferritin is the ability to store iron and that low levels could indicate an iron deficiency. He said that he was pretty sure that my levels were low because of the same reason that my sedimentation rate was high. However he couldn’t be sure and so advised me to take an iron supplement for one month and then rest for two, then repeat. Easy peasy.

My alkaline phosphate levels are perfectly fine. The reason I mention this is because low levels of alkaline phosphate may indicate a deficiency in calcium and/or vitamin D… But not this vegan!

Vitamin B12 is a vegan’s cryptonite as it is widely reported that we (and everyone else – but that doesnt get reported) can sometimes suffer from a deficiency. This is because we can’t naturally source vitamin B12. However B12 is supplemented into an animal’s feed, so non-vegans also get it in vitamin form but only after an animal has eaten it first. So when I got my results you can imagine my surprise when they reported that my B12 levels were too high! Fortunately a high level of B12 is not toxic but the doctor has again advised me to do the one month on, two months off dance and not supplement every day as I had been previously. If anyone is looking for a vegan B12 supplement then I would highly recommend HealthSpan.

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I don’t want to tempt fate but I think the whole ‘eating healthier, saving animals and the environment thing’ is working! But hey, I’m not going to get cocky, there’s always next year… And the doctor said I need to drink more water.
And I do.
So I am.
It’s vegan 😀

If you have any comments or questions about my blood test results, feel free to post them on here or to me in a private message. Thanks for reading 💚

63 thoughts on “Crumby Veganism is Healthy…”

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      Haha! Ginger we think so alike… I put myself out there hoping to show I was super healthy but no one else would join me. Even though it’s actually quite a good thing to do in general.

      Family and friends always have an opinion on our health, I think it’s time we turned the tables 🙂 Let me know if you do get a blood test 💚

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      Haha glad you like the photo so much Jaime.

      I hope it genuinely does disprove the misconception people have. From now on if you hear that vegans are unhealthy, you can correct that person and show them my blood test 💚

      Like

  6. Reply
    Chronic Wanderlust says:

    Thanks for sharing your results!
    I’ve tried eating vegan for 1,5 months some years ago and I loved it, but it took quite much time that I don’t really have now. But I’m 90% vegetarian and I skip milk products the best I can 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      Ah that’s fantastic to hear – sounds like you’re doing mega!

      I’m sure when you get the time and the energy (as we need to be ready) then you’ll go fully vegan. For me it took as much time as it did to be vegetarian but it really depends on what’s motivating us 💚

      Like

  9. Reply
    Shell says:

    We eat vegetarian 5-6 days a week… we still have fish or chicken once a week, but this is a big improvement from when we thought red meat had to be at every meal…

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Reply
    Jocelyn says:

    Great results. I think it’s so funny when folks thing being vegan can’t be healthy. My blood work always comes back perfect which is way better than when I was even just vegetarian!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      ***EVERYONE READ THE COMMENT ABOVE***

      Yah Jocelyn… It’s great to hear of another vegan taking a blood test and it coming out super healthy too. We need to spread these healthy messages because the amount of article I see claiming that vegans have all sorts of deficiencies is shocking… And so untrue.

      Vegans can absolutely be unhealthy when they choose to eat a crappy diet… But veganism can also be far healthier than a meat diet.

      Thanks for your mega comment 💚

      Like

  12. Reply
    Kate says:

    It’s crazy how people condemn whole diets. Eating a vegan diet isn’t unhealthy. Eating a vegan diet that consists mainly of candy and soda is unhealthy….but that’s true of any diet!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      You’re right it is crazy and I 100% agree with your point. I know that when I eat a whole bag full of crisps (which I have been known to do) then all that oil that the crisps were fried in is incredibly unhealthy for me. Doesn’t mean veganism gets rid of the effects of that oil. But veganism (without a whole bag of crisps) is far healthier than a diet consisting of meat… But the media don’t want us to know that 😦

      I really appreciate your comment Kate 💚

      Like

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      Yah another vegan!

      Yep it’s important that everyone (not just vegans!) has a check every now and then… But it’s even more important that we can show we are healthy to the skeptics 🙂 💚

      Like

  14. Reply
    Bianca says:

    This is awesome. I hate when people say vegans and vegetarians don’t get protein not realizing that we eat too much protein from all the red meat we ingest with every meal. Though, i do know some vegans that are not healthy — partially because they find something that fits their dietary guidelines and then binge on them. But what do I care, it’s their lives and as long as they’re happy, I’m happy.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      That’s lovely that you want people to be happy AND you’re absolutely right… If vegans binge on unhealthy food then we’ll be as unhealthy as any other diet.

      People don’t realise that protein actually only comes from plants… Not from animals. Animals only have protein because they eat plants haha! So non-vegans can get more (unnecessary, as you say) protein from meat.. But then they also get all the other bits and bobs, like fat, hormones and steroids.

      Thanks for your mega comment 💚

      Like

  15. Reply
    makeamomsmile says:

    As far as diet and eating I think we should all be able to do what makes us happy. I hate how others have to judge so much even as far as saying certain diets are unhealthy. Great post with great info, thanks for sharing

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      Well when certain diets are unhealthy I think we are allowed to say they are unhealthy (in a very respectful way of course) but sometimes those claims are unfounded… Therefore I wrote this article. I appreciate your comment though and how openminded you are to other people’s diets 💚

      Like

  18. Reply
    helensnowdon says:

    Yay this is amazing. I did Veganuary this year successfully and plan on trying another vegan month later on in the year. Small and steady steps.

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Reply
    Christina | From Under a Palm Tree says:

    I LOVE that you did this. Though I’m not a vegan, I am a vegetarian, I get comments all the time about my health. The public is so misinformed about the health of veganism vs. nonvegan. I mean people instantly think you are going to be protein deficient but they don’t even realize there are a whole lot of other things that matter too. Like you’ve shown. So thank you for posting this and showing how awesome it is to be a vegan. I’m working my way there 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      We need to spread the message that protein actually comes from plants haha!

      Sounds like you’re doing mega being veg… If you do ever want to come over to the dark side (haha!) then I’m totally here for you 💚

      Like

  22. Reply
    emsry14 says:

    This! It absolutely boggles my mind whenever people say that being vegan isn’t healthy! Science says it’s healthy (significantly more healthy than omnivore diets) and I tend to listen to science.

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Reply
    Sarah says:

    I’m not a vegan, but I really admire people who are! It’s really cool how you can get a lot of your nutrients from plants! I wish I could commit to this lifestyle.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      That’s so sweet of you Sarah! Fortunately we can get all of our nutrients from plants… That’s where the animals (like cows, elephants, giraffes, pigs, etc.) get theirs from too 🙂

      If you ever want any help in just reducing the amount of animal products then I have a ton of tasty recipes for you 💚

      Like

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      Thanks for the mega comment Joscelyn! It’s actually a common misunderstanding that people think you can’t get all of your nutrients from plants (I know that’s not what you said) but actually plants are the only sources of ALL of your nutrients. Animals get nutrients through plants and then people eat the animals… Animals are the ‘messenger’ haha 🙂 💚

      Like

  27. Reply
    Sweet Coralice says:

    Hahaha I love that photo!!! Like you, I hate needles. Like really truly hate them. I also like that your doctor explained the results for you so well to help you get a handle on the reasons why they were low/high – Cori 😉💕

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      Yah another vegan!

      It is fun because you get to see how amazingly healthy you are haha. If you do take a test, let me know the results please. I’d love to add more strength to this argument 💚

      Like

  29. Reply
    Plushy says:

    I’m not vegan, but your approach of becoming vegan is so humble. Like “I don’t know if it’s healthy for me, so I’ll monitor it closely”. Usually vegans I’ve came across are disgusted by people eating everything and telling all the time “that’s not healthy”, like they were nutritionist doctors. But you presented all this in such a humble way, you’ve put things into perspective, as I thought all vegans we’re like that.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      Ah thank you Plushy… Your comment means a lot to me. I think it all comes down to the fact I speak to people how I like to be spoken to. I’m sorry you have that impression of vegans but unfortunately a lot of people share the same feelings as you 😦 💚

      Like

  31. Reply
    kekoaskorner says:

    You know I think everyone should be eating whatever he wants to eat. I don’t understand of people nagging against veggies or vegans.. If they choose this lifestyle they should and they know how to supplement their needs if they need to. Me personally I couldn’t give up eating a steak one in a while I think. But there are so many good ways to imitate meat it’s incredible. We have a veggie restaurant and I swear their “chicken” nuggets taste exactly like the normal ones.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Reply
      The Crumby Vegan says:

      Thank you for the comment and it’s a very thoughtful one. You’re right though, I shouldn’t have to go to the trouble of taking a blood test to prove I’m healthy but it seems that society isn’t that accepting yet.

      One day let’s hope they’ll have an imitation steak that you’ll love 🙂 💚

      Like

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