[damon]

Hi,
Are there any precautions people on a macrobiotic diet should be aware of if donating blood? Have others had complications with donating because of their diet?

I ask because I didn't have a great experience donating for the first time this weekend. After the procedure was done, I blacked out for apparently a long while and had a real difficult time recovering.

Now, I'm not very massive of a guy (5'8" 135lbs) and was told that some systems just can't take that amount of blood loss. I was also told by the nurses that tea dehydrates and that I should have had a large breakfast, including lots of water.

Not knowing any better, I had a small breakfast involving a cup of kukicha tea and some brown rice cereal (w/ ground flax seed). I rarely drink straight water unless thirsty and instead drink a number of cups of bancha or twig teas throughout the day.

When the nurses were working on reviving me, they had me down 2 cups of Coke (I wasn't in any condition to object) and a couple sugar cookies. They also feed me a number of fruit juices and crackers, trying to increase my blood sugar levels quickly.

Sugar is something else absent from my diet, except for the very occasional piece of fruit.

So while I was told I wouldn't be donating again, I'm still left curious for the perspective of someone familiar with macrobiotics. What do you think about this?

Thanks!
Damon