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Too gassy for my shirt...
Sorry for the lame '90s reference, but it's true. Since switching to a whole food/vegan diet 30+ days ago, I have become...really gassy. In my triathlon and running groups, no subject related to the body is off limits so long as it is educational and beneficial to my health and my racing, and I'm hoping the same holds true here! Forgive my use of 4-letter words...
Brendan answers this FAQ about gas, but he says it's more of a transitional thing, and the body will adjust in a few days. This has not been my experience, and I'm sure he has plenty more to say about the topic, so I'm fishing for any comments. Mind you, it's not a "PROBLEM" of any great magnitude, it's just...annoying and sometimes a little embarrassing. Or funny, depending on who is around.
My poop cycle still runs like clockwork, that never changed when I went vegan. I can't seem to pinpoint a specific food that makes me fart, but I suppose it's a definite possibility. I cannot imagine - again as Brendan recommends - cutting out certain things to reconfigure my system and see if removing the certain food solves said problem. At this early stage in my transition to a whole food diet, I am at maximum deprivation threshold. I'm holding steady, and feeling great, yet I can't imagine taking soy out of my diet, for example, lest the pendulum of willpower hurl me over the edge of food sanity - right into a sausage omelette.
Should I take Bean-O?
Kale seems to be a culprit, maybe, so...should I try cooking it another way?
Do certain fruits make more gas than others?
Am I not blending my smoothies enough?
Should I take Acidophilus? I thought the Vega Whole Food stuff had some of that built in?
THANK YOU for any suggestions.
Brendan answers this FAQ about gas, but he says it's more of a transitional thing, and the body will adjust in a few days. This has not been my experience, and I'm sure he has plenty more to say about the topic, so I'm fishing for any comments. Mind you, it's not a "PROBLEM" of any great magnitude, it's just...annoying and sometimes a little embarrassing. Or funny, depending on who is around.
My poop cycle still runs like clockwork, that never changed when I went vegan. I can't seem to pinpoint a specific food that makes me fart, but I suppose it's a definite possibility. I cannot imagine - again as Brendan recommends - cutting out certain things to reconfigure my system and see if removing the certain food solves said problem. At this early stage in my transition to a whole food diet, I am at maximum deprivation threshold. I'm holding steady, and feeling great, yet I can't imagine taking soy out of my diet, for example, lest the pendulum of willpower hurl me over the edge of food sanity - right into a sausage omelette.
Should I take Bean-O?
Kale seems to be a culprit, maybe, so...should I try cooking it another way?
Do certain fruits make more gas than others?
Am I not blending my smoothies enough?
Should I take Acidophilus? I thought the Vega Whole Food stuff had some of that built in?
THANK YOU for any suggestions.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jvegegirl on -
You could try food combining (ie not combining protein foods with starches, fruits with other foods). Choosingraw.com has a great primer on this.
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Permalink Reply by Jeannine Scott on -
I'm with you there, curious to see some responses :)
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Permalink Reply by Jeffrey Currier on -
WOW thanks Jvegegirl! That is a great website, I fully read the whole Digestion 101 segment, and I DO mix my nuts and fruits and such ALOT. She didn't necessarily mention grains, but I guess I usually eat them with veggies which she says are neutral. But thanks for turning me on to the site! Be well - J
Jvegegirl said:You could try food combining (ie not combining protein foods with starches, fruits with other foods). Choosingraw.com has a great primer on this.
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Permalink Reply by Vega Kelly on -
Sometimes starting a clean diet can wreak havoc with your digestion. Know that this is just a cleansing phase and it will pass soon. Make sure you're drinking lots of water to flush "things" out. And do a search for "gas" in the community. You're in good company! Happy cleansing!
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Permalink Reply by MddHtt on -
You know ever since I became a Vegan about 4 months ago I have noticed that I'm gassier. However the thing that gets me is that my farts are 300x more potent. I mean I lnock myself out!
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Permalink Reply by RawPeron on -
There are a few things I do when I am "experiencing" this issue. My understanding is that its a sign that you are not digesting very well, often chewing more can eleviate this. Also hit the probiotics the earlier the better if you think you are going to have an issue. There are some great teas that can help too. Yogi tea makes a great tea called Stomach Ease and that works great, especially if you are having alot of trouble. Green tea with ginger often gets you processing without pause. Pineapple and papaya work well also.
Good luck let us know what works.
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Permalink Reply by Jeffrey Currier on
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Thanks y'all! One theme seems to be the digestion aspect, and I will follow the great advice above for chewing more, finding teas, gum, and experimenting with food combining and drinking more water. This week was my 6th week eating a vegan diet, and I felt a little 'bleh' with the weather, and I didn't work out for THREE whole days in a row, eeeek, and I didn't have a single smoothie. But I'm back on track now, and I look forward to cooking good food this weekend. And my big goal is to have less gas and bloating.
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Permalink Reply by Marcel Chenier on -
I've been vegan for over 20 years and I have to admit that I've just had to get used to being way more "gassy". Bloating can be reduced by eating smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. This can be difficult for some, though, as schedules do not often permit this sort of eating pattern.
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Permalink Reply by Tushar Mehta on
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Hello All,
I too have a had a problem with some serious gas, and have pinpointed it to the Vega - Complete whole food optimizer. There things are hard to figure out some times, since we have many things in our diet, and i tried all kinds of probiotics and different dietary things, until i occured that i should stop/start vega for short times and see what happens.
I love the product, and like having it as a suppliment to an alread good diet, but there are some gas issues. I have a feeling that this problem does not affect everyeone, but there may be some of us. Looking at the ingredients, I wondered if there was one in particular that could be more of a problem.
My current guess is that inulin could be the cause. that was a logical culptrit since it was a complex sugar and may be a substrate for bacterial fermentation in the colon. I just read the wikipedia article and it also support this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inulin
I have been using vega for a year, almost daily, about half a scoop per day, and for this whole year, my gas has been terrible and potent! It seems that some peoples systems can adjust, but mine cannot. It seems like inulin can have a lot of benefits, but for me the cons are too immediate and embarrassing. I am wondering if there could ever be an inulin free Vega protein product. I think it would require testing, and also some stats to see how many people are adversely affected, to assess the relevance of inulin side effects, to see if is really worth addressing the issue.
In the meantime, I would love a vega or similar product withouth the inulin. Overall, it is an excellent product, though unfortunately not for me. I have tried probiotics of various sorts, and other dietary changes, but none of these have helped my continue the vega without this problem.
I hope this is helpful and best of luck to Brenden and the Vega team.
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Permalink Reply by Aubrie Rose on -
I sometimes have a similar problem digesting cashew based cheese, similar to "Dr. Cow"'s cheeses. I was curious, and through my experience know it to be a digestive problem. For me any flatulence is related to my bodies inability to properly digest what I am eating, therefore I am not excreting the amount of proper enzymes that I need to excrete in order to break it down. In order to help that, I might add a half a tablespoon of ORGANIC APPLE CIDER VINEGAR to my diet 10-15 minutes before I eat the food that is known to give me some problems. If that does not seem to help, then in goes the Vitalzym!
You might visit your Naturopathic doctor and have them check your bodies functions and see if you are missing anything, or adding to much of something for your diet. I found out about the lack of proper enzymes when I went to mine, and ever since then I have been taking 1 capsule 2xdaily with meals and I have not had much indigestion.
If you think you are deprived of certain foods then I think your diet is in need of some revamping! Pick-up a Vegan Macrobiotic recipe/information book and start taking from there. Remember that things take time, and as long as you have patience and proper guidance you should be fine. :)
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