Vegetarian Diet causing memory/thinking problems?

Hi this thread is for people who having participated in vegetarian diets or are currently in a vegetarian diet. Ever since I began my vegetarian diet a year ago, I have been having really bad memory issues and cognitive functioning impairments, its really hard to learn things and remember things. Did anyone else have this problem, and can anyone tell me why I might feel this way? I also have been getting really bad fatigue and body aches. Help me out please!!

eating to little healthy fats maybe

Goal: Cut to less than 10% BF by summer.

Creation has a point.  Invest in a good omega 3 supplement.  I'm not saying that will fix it without a doubt, but it will help.

DHA is usually missing from a vegan diet, but not usually from the other forms of veg dieting, such as those that include eggs, dairy and fish products.  If you are a vegan, you will be short on oil based nutrition and should consider:
Ginkgo biloba
Omega 3 from cold water wild fish
Omega 9 if diet is short on olive or olive oil products
CLA if you are training hard on a vegan diet

You may want to look at other aspects of your lifestyle as well, sports, injuries, recreational habits such as toking, drinking etc.......not to assume you do, just a general suggestion, you may not do any of that but I would thing there is a much more likely reason other than veg diet.  Any meds you are on or need to take presently, past etc, there are many areas to examine before diagnosing an exact cause.
Note, hemp hearts are huge in the efas (DHA etc) and protein.....great for veg diet.
Linda

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thanks so much people...I have been thinking about fatty acids I may have been lacking on...I have been lifting and hitting the whey and soy products for protein sources but I havent made any real gains. and ItalianAngel...Wow seriously

well, I don't eat much vegetables but It's really hard for me to remember things.

Vegan sources of protein

* Cereals and grains - wheat, rye, corn, rice, pasta...
* Leafy green vegetables, including spinach
* Legumes - beans, lentils, peas, peanuts
* Nuts - almonds, walnuts, cashews...
* Seaweed - kelp, spirulina...
* Seeds - sesame, sunflower...
* Soy products - tofu, tempeh, soy milk...
* Vegetables - Brussel sprouts, potatoes, yuca

Ovo-lacto sources of protein

* Eggs
* Cheese
* Milk
* Yogurt

As long as vegetarians (and everyone else, for that matter) eat a wide variety of foods, they will easily manage to eat enough protein - not to mention other nutrients.

If you want to be absolutely certain that you are getting enough protein, you should eat food combinations which form a complete protein, such as:

* Legumes + seeds
* Legumes + nuts
* Legumes + dairy
* Grains + legumes
* Grains + dairy

Chances are you already eat complete proteins without even trying. Here are some tasty and healthy complete protein combinations:

* Beans on toast
* Cereal/muesli with milk
* Corn and beans
* Granola with yogurt
* Hummus and pita bread
* Nut butter with milk or whole grain bread
* Pasta with beans
* Pasta with cheese (e.g., lasagne, macaroni and cheese)
* Rice and beans, peas, or lentils
* Rice with milk (rice pudding)
* Split pea soup with whole grain or seeded crackers or bread
* Tortillas with refried beans
* Veggie burgers on bread

Note that these combinations don't necessarily have to be eaten at the same time; you can eat one several hours after the other and still benefit from the complete protein.

As you can see, there are plenty of vegetarian sources of protein, so the next time some "carnivore" ;-) says your diet is unhealthy, you'll know how to respond.

Bon appetit !!

http://veggietable.allinfo-about.com/articles/protein.html

It comes right from the best of nutrition post I wrote 3 years ago.

I haven't eaten any meat in 15 years, and haven't really had any problems, other than that I have always tended to space out & completely miss whats going on around me... lol...

Make sure you're taking a multivitamin, b-12 can be an issue - a lack of it can cause nerve damage: http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/b12.htm , and since you're talking about your brain here....

you really should post more about your whole diet.  Just like any diet, a vegetarian one can cause problems - if you just live on... say... potato chips... you're gonna be in a world of hurt.

optimumhealth


DHA is usually missing from a vegan diet, but not usually from the other forms of veg dieting, such as those that include eggs, dairy and fish products.  If you are a vegan, you will be short on oil based nutrition and should consider:
Ginkgo biloba
Omega 3 from cold water wild fish
Omega 9 if diet is short on olive or olive oil products
CLA if you are training hard on a vegan diet

You're telling a vegan to take a fish based omega 3 supp

I thought there were some proteins that are present only in bovine meat that are needed for the brain to function correctly

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