Alarming blood circulation issues, swelling, low libido

[vincent]

Dear forum,

I’m desperately trying to understand what I suffer from and what causes the health issues that I developed under a WFPB diet. Maybe someone can help me out.

The most apparent symptom is that my blood circulation seems to be disturbed. I experience times where my right foot is badly supplied with fresh blood. It feels very cold and gets a dark blue color (mostly in the first half of the day). Opposed to this there is extreme swelling, hotness and pain of the toes (mostly in the evening). Physical activity usually leads to the swelling described. These symptoms started in November.
After a while my fingers of the right hand started to show similar symptoms. Sometimes some fingers are hot while others are cold at the same time. They also have an inhomogeneous coloring with spots. Maybe the first signs of this are some dark spots on my belly that I have since the end of summer.
Besides that I sometimes have erectile problems. In general my libido is low since the period of fasting and start of eating vegan.

I visited two internists who couldn’t help and saw no connection to my diet. On my blood tests gamma globulin, IgE, monocytes and thrombocytes are elevated, but that has been the case on the western diet before. Testosteron is in the normal range but in my opinion too low for someone like me (5.66 mcg/l).

I’m 26 years old, male, very trim (1,91 m, 73 kg). I had my spleen removed at age 10 due to an accident. I eat at least 2500 kcal from whole plant foods per day. Though in the past I have practiced fasting a lot.

I happily share every piece of information with you that could help resolve this (pictures, blood tests, daily eating habits, interventions etc.).

Best regards from Germany,
Vince

[Willijan]

You should realize that you are not talking to medical experts here. Just ordinary people, many of whom follow the McDougall diet. We are not going to be able to solve this problem for you. When you say you eat WFPB, that could mean a lot of different things, some of which are very healthy and some not so healthy.

I would first have recommended, with the symptoms you have, seeing a doctor, but you have done that. The other thing you should do is learn about different WFPB diets, such as this one, so that you can improve your health in general, and possibly get rid of the problems you describe. Without knowing what is causing your symptoms, there is no way to know if a healthy diet will affect them. But this diet is for everyone and will improve anyone's health.

If you want to learn about this diet, and learn about the evidence for it, one place to start is to read what Dr. McDougall has written. Look over the resources on this website and read until you understand the evidence and how to eat.

I personally prefer reading Dr. McDougall's books, which have a complete but compact presentation of the diet and rationale. Usually a person would only need to read one of them, and most are available online used.

This way of eating can start improving one's health very quickly--a couple of weeks--if the diet is followed strictly. I say that so that you will know there is hope. It makes you feel better, it prevents many health problems, it reverses many, and it makes you look better. It is like winning the lottery, you just have to decide to win.

Come back if you have further questions. We'd like to support you. We just aren't medical experts. Good luck!

[VeggieSue]

With the feet and fingers changing colors, my first thought was Raynaud's Disease, an auto-immune problem. Your other symptoms may be auto-immune, too. I suggest you have your doctor run a slew of auto-immune lab work, or just send you to a rheumatologist for a work-up.

A WFPB McDougall diet can help relieve the symptoms if it is an AI disease, but was certainly not the cause of it.

[Vegankit]

With the feet and fingers changing colors, my first thought was Raynaud's Disease, an auto-immune problem. Your other symptoms may be auto-immune, too. I suggest you have your doctor run a slew of auto-immune lab work, or just send you to a rheumatologist for a work-up.

A WFPB McDougall diet can help relieve the symptoms if it is an AI disease, but was certainly not the cause of it.

VeggieSue may be right as I have Raynaud's Disease and your description sounds like it could be Raynaud's Disease. Mine is temperature dependent. Whenever it drops to near 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder I can have an attack. I have to keep my body warm and hands in gloves to protect myself. If I stick my hand in the freezer or handle frozen foods, or even food from the fridge it can set off an attack. Eating The McDougall way of eating helped, but I still have attacks, just less frequently.

[vincent]

You should realize that you are not talking to medical experts here. Just ordinary people, many of whom follow the McDougall diet. We are not going to be able to solve this problem for you. When you say you eat WFPB, that could mean a lot of different things, some of which are very healthy and some not so healthy.

I know that, I hoped that there might be some doctors present who know more about nutrition and could help with this since visiting doctors here didn't do much for me. I didn't want to write down every detail of my diet right from the start to not make things too overwhelming. Typical day for me is oatmeal with some fruit in the morning and twice per day rice or potatoes or whole wheat pasta with vegetables and salad.

I would first have recommended, with the symptoms you have, seeing a doctor, but you have done that. The other thing you should do is learn about different WFPB diets, such as this one, so that you can improve your health in general, and possibly get rid of the problems you describe. Without knowing what is causing your symptoms, there is no way to know if a healthy diet will affect them. But this diet is for everyone and will improve anyone's health.

I have read many hours and studied nutrition a lot in the past year. That is why I try to find help here, because I have tried so many things and nothing seemed to help. Things I tried include: Increasing total calories, increasing fats, supplementing DHA and EPA Omega-3, eliminating certain foods for periods of time, not taking B12 (allergy against supplement) and more..

This way of eating can start improving one's health very quickly--a couple of weeks--if the diet is followed strictly. I say that so that you will know there is hope. It makes you feel better, it prevents many health problems, it reverses many, and it makes you look better. It is like winning the lottery, you just have to decide to win.

It seems like I have to emphasize that I developed these issues under a WFPB diet. Before I probably wasn't healthier concerning cholesterol etc., but I felt good. This diet definitely changed something about my metabolism or hormones or I introduced some food I'm now showing allergic reactions to that I didn't have before! I felt really good in the beginning, but my body is clearly showing me that something isn't right. It is just very frustrating not to find someone who can help.

Come back if you have further questions. We'd like to support you. We just aren't medical experts. Good luck!

I'd really want to get in touch with an expert, but that is rather hard to accomplish..

With the feet and fingers changing colors, my first thought was Raynaud's Disease, an auto-immune problem. Your other symptoms may be auto-immune, too. I suggest you have your doctor run a slew of auto-immune lab work, or just send you to a rheumatologist for a work-up.

A WFPB McDougall diet can help relieve the symptoms if it is an AI disease, but was certainly not the cause of it.

VeggieSue may be right as I have Raynaud's Disease and your description sounds like it could be Raynaud's Disease. Mine is temperature dependent. Whenever it drops to near 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder I can have an attack. I have to keep my body warm and hands in gloves to protect myself. If I stick my hand in the freezer or handle frozen foods, or even food from the fridge it can set off an attack. Eating The McDougall way of eating helped, but I still have attacks, just less frequently.

I stumbled across Raynaud's as well. The symptoms fit secondary Raynaud's pretty well, but for me this does not appear in attacks. It is basically an ongoing condition. And with secondary Raynaud's it says that the cause can be manifold and the symptoms are just a side effect of the true cause. My blood clotting seemed to be very slow also though laboratory data could not confirm this.

[Willijan]

Vincent, I know how you feel in trying to find an expert who also supports WFPB eating. I myself have unexplained health problems, ongoing for years, and have no in-person access to a WFPB doctor who can help me, or even a very sympathetic and attentive standard doctor. It is really a very frustrating situation.

[viv]

Have you had your B12 blood levels tested? Some of the symptoms you describe could be neurological issues from a B12 deficiency. B12 is necessary for survival.

Viv

[vincent]

Thanks for replying. Yes, my B12 is in the middle of the normal range. The Holo-TC value is sufficient too. I've been eating vegan only for a year now thus a deficiency is unlikely too. In fact I suspect the B12 supplement to increase these effects. Whenever I take the supplement constantly for several days it fails as if the symptoms get worse, so there might be a correlation. I also used to take vitamin D since many of the WFPB doctors promote this, but I feel that my body is really sensitive to unnatural sources of nutrients and since studying Dr. McDougalls take on it more closely I think its better to not supplement it.

Vincent, I know how you feel in trying to find an expert who also supports WFPB eating. I myself have unexplained health problems, ongoing for years, and have no in-person access to a WFPB doctor who can help me, or even a very sympathetic and attentive standard doctor. It is really a very frustrating situation.

Thank you! It's very frustrating. Good luck finding a solution for your problems!

[Qwerty988]

This might sound crazy, but are you eating fortified nutritional yeast? Does your B12 supplement contain B6?

It might be B6 toxicity.

I found out (the hard way) you can get it from nootch or supplements! The result, for me, was severe neuropathy in my feet along with numbness and painful burning at night. It's going away now that I stopped using nutritional yeast, though.

[lymphamaniac]

Hi Vincent,

I need to chime in here with some ideas to help. The first thing I need to say is you are on the right track with trying to tweek the McDougall diet to suit your bodies needs. Not everybody is the same, and some of us need more fats, some more protein etc...

One big problem I have found through the years, is even if you are eating a pristine diet with all the right ingredients and quantities, but still not feeling great, it might definitely mean your body is missing something it needs. The farmers are growing the produce on the same soils over and over, only using nitrogen fertilizers and not properly replenishing the minerals. The plants can make vitamins and amino acids, but they can't make the minerals. It has to be in the soil. Even if you shop at Whole Foods, buy the best organic produce, it still could be less than adequate. You mentioned that you did alot of fasting, I have 30 yrs. experience with fasting. Fasting can definitely deplete you, if done too often or too long. So, I will tell you my top ways to restore your minerals. These might not be exactly McDougall method's, but they work for me, and are natural. You don't need to do all these at once, but just try them out for a little while one by one, and see how you start feeling after a week or two.

1. Take 1 tsp of Blackstrap Molasses a day in like an inch or two of warm water. Blackstrap Molasses is concentrated minerals,
it is a byproduct of sugar production. When they boil the sugarcane juice, the minerals float to the top, that is the Molasses.
This will definately help. If you feel you need more, you can take a second teaspoon. It will give alot of energy. I buy
Plantation brand Molasses, most supermarkets carry it.

2. Sesame seeds are extremely nutrient dense. You want the whole seed with the hulls. Most of the nutrition is in the hulls.
You can put them in your blender or seed grinder, then sprinkle a tablespoon or two on your food. If you want it ground
into Tahini, there is a brand on Amazon that has whole seed Tahini including the hulls, it is Pepperwood Organic Whole
Hulled. Most Tahini in the supermarket has the hulls removed before processing. They are missing a lot of the minerals.

3. I make nut milk with 1/3 cup sprouted almonds and 1/4 cup whole sesame seeds. You can buy the sprouted almonds in
Whole Foods, or sprout them yourself by putting them in water for 24 hrs. Grind them up in a blender, add 4 to 5 cups water
some maple syrup if you like, and put it through a nut bag to strain. Lasts in your refrigerator 2 to 3 days. Drink a cup or
two a day.

4. Eat 1 or 2 Brazil nuts a day for extra Selenium.

These will definitely restore your minerals. It might take a month or two. Also, you might want to put a pinch of Kelp in your food for iodine. Bladderwrack seaweed is also good. Just a little seaweed like 3 times a week.

I read the brief statement you wrote on your diet. I would not thrive on that. I don't know your lifestyle, do you exercise alot? are you under alot of stress? I personally need more concentrated sources of protein like beans, peas, lentils etc... You can try a pea protein powder. Bobs Red Mills makes a good one. Just add a scoop to some water, see how it makes you feel after a few days. If you lift weights or do calisthenics, martial arts etc... You will need more protein. I need one to two protein meals a day or I don't thrive, but that's with a lot of physical exercise. Also, I see no fruit mentioned in what you eat. You definitely want to step up your fruit game. Your Adrenals love fruit & vitamin C. The swelling and numbness in your leg in the evenings, can be tied to adrenal exhaustion. Right leg, right adrenal. The adrenals love fruit sugar, the adrenals love vitamin C, the adrenals love natural pink salt.

[vincent]

This might sound crazy, but are you eating fortified nutritional yeast? Does your B12 supplement contain B6?

It might be B6 toxicity.

I found out (the hard way) you can get it from nootch or supplements! The result, for me, was severe neuropathy in my feet along with numbness and painful burning at night. It's going away now that I stopped using nutritional yeast, though.

Thank you for your hint! My B12 supplement does not have B6 in it. Though I have been eating nutritional yeast every other day. I think my symptoms do not fit a B6 toxicity.

Hi Vincent,

I need to chime in here with some ideas to help. The first thing I need to say is you are on the right track with trying to tweek the McDougall diet to suit your bodies needs. Not everybody is the same, and some of us need more fats, some more protein etc...

One big problem I have found through the years, is even if you are eating a pristine diet with all the right ingredients and quantities, but still not feeling great, it might definitely mean your body is missing something it needs. The farmers are growing the produce on the same soils over and over, only using nitrogen fertilizers and not properly replenishing the minerals. The plants can make vitamins and amino acids, but they can't make the minerals. It has to be in the soil. Even if you shop at Whole Foods, buy the best organic produce, it still could be less than adequate. You mentioned that you did alot of fasting, I have 30 yrs. experience with fasting. Fasting can definitely deplete you, if done too often or too long. So, I will tell you my top ways to restore your minerals. These might not be exactly McDougall method's, but they work for me, and are natural. You don't need to do all these at once, but just try them out for a little while one by one, and see how you start feeling after a week or two.

1. Take 1 tsp of Blackstrap Molasses a day in like an inch or two of warm water. Blackstrap Molasses is concentrated minerals,
it is a byproduct of sugar production. When they boil the sugarcane juice, the minerals float to the top, that is the Molasses.
This will definately help. If you feel you need more, you can take a second teaspoon. It will give alot of energy. I buy
Plantation brand Molasses, most supermarkets carry it.

2. Sesame seeds are extremely nutrient dense. You want the whole seed with the hulls. Most of the nutrition is in the hulls.
You can put them in your blender or seed grinder, then sprinkle a tablespoon or two on your food. If you want it ground
into Tahini, there is a brand on Amazon that has whole seed Tahini including the hulls, it is Pepperwood Organic Whole
Hulled. Most Tahini in the supermarket has the hulls removed before processing. They are missing a lot of the minerals.

3. I make nut milk with 1/3 cup sprouted almonds and 1/4 cup whole sesame seeds. You can buy the sprouted almonds in
Whole Foods, or sprout them yourself by putting them in water for 24 hrs. Grind them up in a blender, add 4 to 5 cups water
some maple syrup if you like, and put it through a nut bag to strain. Lasts in your refrigerator 2 to 3 days. Drink a cup or
two a day.

4. Eat 1 or 2 Brazil nuts a day for extra Selenium.

These will definitely restore your minerals. It might take a month or two. Also, you might want to put a pinch of Kelp in your food for iodine. Bladderwrack seaweed is also good. Just a little seaweed like 3 times a week.

I read the brief statement you wrote on your diet. I would not thrive on that. I don't know your lifestyle, do you exercise alot? are you under alot of stress? I personally need more concentrated sources of protein like beans, peas, lentils etc... You can try a pea protein powder. Bobs Red Mills makes a good one. Just add a scoop to some water, see how it makes you feel after a few days. If you lift weights or do calisthenics, martial arts etc... You will need more protein. I need one to two protein meals a day or I don't thrive, but that's with a lot of physical exercise. Also, I see no fruit mentioned in what you eat. You definitely want to step up your fruit game. Your Adrenals love fruit & vitamin C. The swelling and numbness in your leg in the evenings, can be tied to adrenal exhaustion. Right leg, right adrenal. The adrenals love fruit sugar, the adrenals love vitamin C, the adrenals love natural pink salt.

Qwerty988, thanks a lot for these detailed tips. I really appreciate that you took the time to write this. I'll try to give some more information on my nutrition.

I have some kind of molasses around that I use when I want to sweeten things, but I think it's a pre-stage of blackstrap molasses. Next time I'll be getting one of those.

I regularly eat sesame seeds, however I'm not sure if they were hulled or not. I often eat tahin, same applies for that.

I already eat one brazil nut a day for selenium and I also eat dulse for iodine regularly. For the past 6 weeks I averaged 3000 kcal, 100 g of protein and 20 % of fat. I tracked every calorie on cronometer and with the values from their database I'm getting at least double of everything except vitamin E and calcium, which still is around 100 % of the RDI. I used to exercise hard doing squats, deadlifts etc. for strength training, but the vasodilation and swelling of my feet have made it intolerable. I have quiet some stress from doing my master thesis at the moment. Backing of seemed to improve the symptoms, but they never disappeared completely.
My libido has gotten better, but it's still a lot less compared to the omnivorous diet. I eat fruit every day at least for breakfast and as a snack. The bulk of my calories comes from whole grains, vegetables and legumes. I eat some nuts and seeds. I have had the same suspicion that I was lacking some minerals. I tried soaking all my nuts, oatmeal, rice and legumes, but it didn't seem to make a difference.
I feel like it has something to do with fatty acids and the relationship of them in my diet since taking omega-3 DHA and EPA supplements changed the symptoms, but didn't resolve them. I tried to do some research on the role of fatty acids in vasodilatation and vasoconstriction, but it seems pretty complex and also not fully understood.