I think I may be malnourished. Can malnourishment cause vomiting? Because I've been doing alot of that in the past while.
I'd think that malnutrition can cause vomiting, since anything that causes stress to the body can induce vomiting, and malnutrition certainly does... especially if it results from simply not eating enough food, then yeah, vomiting is a common sign. (I know this from experience) The definition of malnutrition (courtesy of Yahoo! Health): A condition caused by inadequate intake or inadequate digestion of nutrients. It may result from eating an inadequate or unbalanced diet, digestive problems, absorption problems, or other medical conditions. You might wanna look it up on the site... http://health.yahoo.com/health/ency/adam/000404/overview OK... so let's see now... we've established the fact that malnutrition can cause vomiting. Just like practically anything else can. So what led you to the conclusion that your vomiting is caused by malnutrition? A reeeeally, really common cause of vomiting is stress, which I guess could be also linked to malnutrition if you're so stressed out that you can't eat... Have you been taking in enough calories lately? Do you know what you haven't been taking in enough of... protein (although it's kind of difficult to go without enough protein)... carbohydrates, fats, iron, calcium... heck, the list is waaayy too long to list here... Basically, have you experienced any other symptoms? Like weight loss or extreme tiredness/dizziness/irritability? Have you had this frequent vomiting before? If the answer is yes, do you know what caused it? Wow... that's a lot of questions... *sheepish smile*. OK, see, I'm only 15, the only medical knowledge I have is from high school and some extra research and experience, I haven't even started college yet, so yanno, don't blame me if I've unintentionally left something out . I suggest you see a doctor in any case, if you don't manage to find a way around it by yourself (sometimes you know your own body better than any doctor does). OMG, I almost forgot... if you're vomiting like really frequently, make sure you don't go into dehydration, you probably know already that you should drink at least 8 glasses of water a day... . Not many people are aware of this, but yeah, just, you know, make sure you're taking in enough water, to avoid even more problems (the best way to do this is to drink a little at a time, like half a glass each hour). I hope I've helped and I really, really hope you feel better soon!! If you could give me a bit more detail, I might be able to help more . Please take care, and don't hesitate to contact a doctor if your vomiting gets too severe or if you, you know, experience fainting or something like that .
Well, let's see... I really haven't been eating much lately... just a small dinner every day composing of maybe some rice or salad. Sometimes (rarely) I'll have some peanut-butter and honey on toast in the middle of the day. And I have been losing quite a bit of weight.. I had an average amount of girth (5 lbs. above average at most), and now I seem to be very skinny. Strange. And thanks for the info! I think I might need some more protein...
the use of hard drugs can cause this as well, so if thats in your life and your not eating, then thats bad. if all your eating is rice thats not good. try mixing your rice with some vegetarian baked beans, that at least will form a complete protein and taste better then just rice. if you get bored of rice you can use couscous or quinna as an alternative grain, as they are more nutriciuos. dont use bleached white rice as that has next to no nutritional value, use a whole grain rice. i am not a big fan of soy, so i really dont eat that and ive been veggie for 10 years. make sure your eating alot of fruits and vegetables, so you get all your vitamins, or else once your fat is gone your body will feed off your stomach.
Look at your skin... pull it; if it pops back slow(it's not very elastic), your dehydrated and probably malnourished. What color is your skin? If it's normally pale, and is now opaque, your malnourished. If your hair or nails are brittle, your malnourished. Look at your finger nails... if you have alot of white spots(or not enough, someone please correct me if I'm wrong) you are'nt getting enough calcium in your diet. Malnourishment does'nt cause vomiting directly, but starvation does. I highly doubt that you have actually starved yourself because you seem like a kid with a good head on his sholders, but if you have, eat soups untill you can get the power to eat whole foods again. Another thing, just because you are a vegetarian, does'nt mean you can't eat. Fill that stomach up! Rice and salad, as delicous as they are, cannot feed a growing boy.
If all you're eating is rice and salad every day for dinner, than yah, you're probably malnourished. I mean, it's really simple, you know what you gotta do... eat more . As WayfaringStranger said, first off, you could try to substitute your (probably white) rice for brown rice... and add some beans to it... or peas, or anything else you like... I find that almost every vegetable goes well in a stir-fry with rice... You could add small cubes of tofu (extra firm) to give you some extra protein... Oooooooh, and I love backtothelab's idea... eating soups!!! They'll probably work for ya, I know when I'm feeling sick and don't feel like eating anything, the only thing I can eat is soups... Tomato and noodle soup being my favourite... OK, we've established the fact that you're not eating enough. But now I gotta ask you a kinda personal question... why haven't you been eating enough? Do you feel that you just can't eat more, no matter how hard you try? Did it start as an attempt to lose weight? (don't think so, but I gotta ask) How long has it been going on for? Do you know anything that might have caused you to stop eating? Oh yeah, and about your vomiting... yeah, in your case it's definitely due to malnourishment... I suggest you increase the amount of food that you eat a.s.a.p.! Take care and good luck, let us know how you're doing Sonja
Well, I just didn't feel the need for all that food and yeah, I can't really eat all that much without getting full very quickly (after a bowl of rice I'm spent). No, it didn't start as an attempt to lose weight, I was a pretty skinny dude anyways. It started sometime a few weeks ago, and hasn't let up. I have no idea what could have caused that, I used to eat three meals a day, was healthy and all that, but one day I just kinda stopped I suppose. I think I should take Backtothelab's advice and eat some soups and then work my way up. Or maybe instead of eating more I could just eat food that's more nutritional (brown rice, tofu ,etc.) Thanks everyone, you all are very kind and helpful!
Could you share the secret for feeling full after a bowl of rice... and staying full? I could use your advice!! "Or maybe instead of eating more I could just eat food that's more nutritional (brown rice, tofu ,etc.)" - yup, that's exactly it, if you feel full quickly, you just need to eat more calorie-dense foods (more calories in the same weight)... some examples being peanut butter, cashews, pistachios (all nuts really), honey, avocado, margarine, any kind of bread/pasta, dried fruits and fruit juices, olives (mmmmmm), chickpeas (think hummus), kidney beans, peas... The good (or bad, depends on the way you look at it) thing about calorie-dense foods is that they increase your appetite, making you crave more... which is great for you, since you'll be able to eat more and get all the calories and nutrients you need. I hope I'm making your mouth water!!! You're lucky, lol, you get to eat the things we have to rule out... not fair not fair not fair!! I'm kidding, I'm glad I could help Oooooh, just one more thing... try and combine as many different foods as you can in a single meal, since that's the way you'll get all your nutrients and vitamins . Make sure to eat some tofu, not necessarily every day, but a couple of times a week, you're a growing guy, you need protein... and even if you didn't, tofu is still delicious
Also may I suggest orange juice and fruit juices as a way of not only avoiding dehydrations but upping your caloric intake and getting vitamins and enzymes.
Go and see a doctor Seriously, if this has been going on a while then it could well be something major. Might not be but why risk it. Hope you get better soon. TTFN Sage
