Donating Blood while Dieting

lelandt50 · Sep 14, 2015

Hey guys, I'm planning on donating blood this week. I'm in prep right now and on very low carbs, so eating the free pizza afterwards is out of the question. My questions are: Is it dangerous (as far as high fainting risk) to donate while on a low carb diet? Also, is it advisable to slam some carbs immediately after donating? Just curious what anyone else out there has done in this situation. Thanks in advance.

TungstenMan · Sep 14, 2015

Just drink lots of water both before and after to make sure you're hydrated. If your piss isn't clear you're not drinking enough. Other than that you maybe feel light headed for the rest of the day. Eating protein may help as the body can convert it into sugar but my guess is you're getting plenty

Sure your chance of fainting will be higher compared to normal but it's not that high eat a decent meal the night before and morning of and you should be good IMO.

phatkid77 · Sep 14, 2015

lelandt50 said:
Hey guys, I'm planning on donating blood this week. I'm in prep right now and on very low carbs, so eating the free pizza afterwards is out of the question. My questions are: Is it dangerous (as far as high fainting risk) to donate while on a low carb diet? Also, is it advisable to slam some carbs immediately after donating? Just curious what anyone else out there has done in this situation. Thanks in advance.

Good Q!! Thinking same thing and I'm low carb now at 6wk out
I'll grab the coffee post donation lol

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nothuman · Sep 14, 2015

You'll probably be fine

Giants83 · Sep 14, 2015

The only thing I do after is drink water and then drive home. I've done it plenty of times on low carbs. Not saying you won't feel weak but that's just my experience.

lelandt50 · Sep 14, 2015

Alright sounds good guys I appreciate the feedback. I'll go donate as usual, drink a little extra water too.

maldorf · Sep 14, 2015

Your diet should have zero impact on this. Like the others said, just be well hydrated. They will measure your BP before and after the blood letting and if your pressure is too low afterwards they can give you some water to drink. Usually its only a problem if you feel lightheaded or dizzy afterwards. Ive been doing this as often as 1/month now for over 7 yrs and never even felt dizzy after getting out the 500-600 ml.