[gberardi]

So I saw my dentist on Saturday, and after poking a little bit at my gums and looking at my teeth, he concluded that it wasn't my wisdom teeth and I don't have a sudden surge in plaque. He even acknowledged that I have been very good about brushing and flossing. He said he was at a loss to explain why my gums would be so weak.

I mentioned the nutritional deficiency theory and that I have been on a vegan diet for at least six months. He was polite as he went on the offensive against the idea of such a drastic change in diet. B-)

My gums have since become a lot less problematic, and they are perhaps as strong as I remember them. I have been eating a lot more salad and made myself two glasses worth of green juice (one for lunch and one for dinner) for the first time in weeks (a month?). I also had some potatoes for the first time in a long time (vitamin C shouldn't have been a problem, but still) as well as Cheerios (45% RDA iron each bowl) with rice milk.

So the good news is that I have a good idea that my gums have been bothering me because of my diet. The bad news, as I understand it, is that replenishing my iron might take me another six months. B-(

As I understand it, non-heme iron doesn't get absorbed into the body as well as heme iron, and it will take a lot more plant-based foods to get the iron I need compared to portions of animal-based foods. Perhaps I just need to get into the habit of having green juice much more often. I know some people drink it every day, but I don't think I can handle the hassle of cleaning out my juicer each day nor could I afford all of the produce each week!

I've been eating larger bowls of salads (romaine lettuce, mostly, with lime juice and pepper) this past week. My gums haven't been complaining, but I did notice that I seem to be feeling fatigued, too.

*sigh* I miss the days when I would have two big bowls of cereal for breakfast and two ham-and-cheese sandwiches as part of my lunch in high school. I was in the best shape then. B-\