Veganism and Digestive Problems

Vegan Health and Fitness
1

Hello,

I have been a Vegan for over a year and I really like how it makes me feel and look. I also workout 4 times a week, and I have to get creative in how I get enough protein. I am already at 7% body fat and very lean, but don’t want to go lower than that. Veganism has totally transformed my life for the best, including lowering my cholesterol, giving me more energy, and so the list goes on.

That aside, however, my main problem has been digestive and it is starting become such an issue that I may have to go back to being a vegetarian or including some meat in my diet. My daily diet consists of foods like tofu, wraps, quinoa, wheat berry, ground peanuts and almonds, mixed nuts, avocado, wraps, tomatoes, apples, lots of Tofurky products, soy milk, oatmeal, pea and bean soups, lettuce, broccoli, burritos, toast, etc. And to keep my protein intake up, I drink three soy powder protein shakes a day, plus eat one Organic Food Bar after I work out. The results are great. Between this and working out I am in better shape than when I was in my 20s.

Without getting to graphic here, before I became a Vegan I was already very regular, rarely had issues with constipation. Now it is out of control. Things just seem to go right through me, and I’m starting to feel like a renewable source of energy and potential investment for the Intermountain Gas Company. It is seriously disruptive and, no pun intended, a total pain in the ass.

Is there some type of Vegan food that I can eat that will serve a binding agent? Ironically, what I need is something that will actually slow me down and stop me up a bit. My system is running like a race car.

Thanks for the help.

Kris

2

Hi there Kris and welcome to the forum… Hope you’ll learn a lot in this site… Well, maybe try having some soy yogurt once in a while and lots or citrus fruits because they slow digestion… :smiley:

3

That’s what I thought too, but I eat a container of soy yogurt every morning, like clockwork. I take probiotics once in a while too…no effect. I’'ve got to find some solution. But I will try to eat more citrous fruit and see if that helps.
Kris

4

Hello Khartung, and welcome to the forum.
Do I understand correctly you have the opposite effect of constipation i.e. you are visiting the toilet more often than you want and you suffer from gases?
For how long have you been vegan before it started, and when the actual problems started?

BTW did you try eating pure boiled rice for a day or two?

5

Here are some tips that I found:

While it’s healthy to have gas on a regular basis. Gas to the point of being painful or otherwise inconvenient can be eased by gradually adding the high fiber foods that cause it in your diet.

If you haven’t been eating kale, quinoa, onions, etc. and just started 3 weeks ago, your body is going to take some time to adjust.

Consider adding 1 of the high fiber foods to your diet daily, versus eating several servings every day and slowly increase your intake. Also watch portion size. While these foods are certainly good for you and it’s better to stuff yourself with kale than cookies, eating too much at a time will also increase gas and bloating. The body is not used to develop enough enzymes to process the food.

Eat slowly and chew everything properly.
Concentrate on eating instead of eating while watching TV and such.
Drink a lot of pure water.

6

Yes, oppposite of constipation. My system is on overdrive. :slight_smile: Yes on all of the above.
It has been this way pretty much from the beginning, since I became Vegan over a year ago.
Kris

7

I’ll try eating more rice, though I’ve been eating quinoa since the beginning of being a Vegan. It’s my system…everything I eat is pulverized and seems to go straight through me. I drink tons of water and don’t watch TV, so those aren’t on the list of issue. I also don’t eat too much. I tend to graze throughout the day. I had a personal trainer take a look at my diet. It is entirely in line and well balanced. So I’m not sure what the issue is…just more binding foods will hopefully do the trick.

Kris

8

This post has been dead for some time. But to resurrect it with a bit of advice. While eating vegan it is incredibly important that you eat a variety of protein sources. Plant protein is not like animal protein and eating only one type of plant protein will rob your body of the ability to build itself and repair damages.

Soy though one of the most complete plant proteins is one of the most absolutely difficult for the human body (more so men’s bodies) to break down into useful amino acids. It is possible to even have additional problems caused by the slow breakdown of Soy protein including colitis. Soy (also tofu) should be eaten in moderation and not as the only protein you take in. Expand your diet to include many different sources of protein instead of regular three soy meals a day. This should help considerably with avoiding the complications of eating mostly soy. I had a friend switch to pure vegan and in only 6 months he had 7 feet of perforated bowels from ulcerated colitis; he had eaten soy every day during that time and was put on a roughage diet after and had to include meat back in his diet to get protein because of the effects of the soy not properly digesting in his system. Granted not everyone will have as bad a reaction to soy but it is more common than we would like to admit and particularly with men. But obviously in this case it seems that a change in diet to exclude a portion of the soy might decrease the trips to the bathroom. A trip to the doctors to double check might be in order too.

9

I always suggest when starting off with the supplementation of a Probiotic to start off with a CFU (colony forming unit) of 25billion. This wil help establish a strong digestive tract by filling any gaps in the intestinal wall. Probiotics are live bacteria that will aid not only in digestion but, future digestion as well. :flower:

10

Try this vegan flaxseed meal wraps, crunchy and so easy to make. They are great as a savory breakfast, or just a quick, portable lunch. An easy protein wrap recipe to enjoy your finger food while boosting your body with wholefoods.