# Going vegan.



## Jessyka (Mar 20, 2010)

I was diagnosed a few years back with IBS and it has progressively gotten worse. I am sick all the time. I can't remember the last time I ate without (at the least) stomach cramps. I've tried everything except eliminating meat out of my diet. I'm starting to suspect that it's the culprit. I've always wanted to go vegan for my animal loving purposes but the people around me are about as anti-vegetarian/vegan as you can get. I think they're all actually just anti-healthy things.
You should have heard the mess I got for quitting cigarettes! :disgust:

ANYWAY, I'm thinking if I tell everyone that I literally _can't_ eat animal products, maybe they'll lay off. And it's not like it's a lie. I have very high hopes that eliminating animal products from my diet will probably make the IBS disappear. I am at my wits end and sick of being sick! I'll be cruising the net for some vegan forums and learn how to go about this safely. I thought I'd tell you guys, cause I know we have a lot of veg*ns around. I'm gonna need a lot of support and unfortunately I think I'm only going to be able to find it on the internet.


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## katt (Mar 20, 2010)

good luck!

i personally cannot give up cheese. that is my animal by-product weakness lol.


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## degrassi (Mar 20, 2010)

Good luck! 

I have severe IBS(for the last 11 years) too and I'm planning on starting another elimination diet but this time i'm going 100% no gluten(not even trace) and no diary. Last year I did a no dairy/wheat diet but I didn't eliminate all gluten, just wheat. I've done a million elimination diets over the years but things change and just because it wasn't a problem a few years ago doesn't mean that its not now. So here goes diet attempt # 429. 

That really sucks your family/friends aren't supportive. How can people not be supportive of something you are trying to do to feel better and improve your health. 

What kind of elimination diets have you been on before? Gluten?Dairy?Fructose? Have you checked if soy causes issues? I know soy can be a big part of a vegan diet but it can be a big trigger for IBS too. 

Good luck! I'm starting my diet on monday


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## undergunfire (Mar 20, 2010)

Good Luck!! I really hope it helps you to feel better :biggrin2:!


I wish I could go vegan, but I am a picky eat on a budget and I literally can't afford it because #1 I'd starve to death & #2 Its very expensive since we only have 1 health food store within 100 miles. I eat a lot of cheese (its pretty much my meat substitute, LOL) and I think soy cheese is nasty. I don't drink milk (gave that up a few months ago), but I do use milk when I cook (pretty much just mac & cheese) because I can't see spending $3+ on a half gallon of almond milk (hate soymilk) to only use 1/4th of the jug then throw it away.


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## Amy27 (Mar 20, 2010)

I have IBS and became a vegetarian in August. I went cold turkey and I think that was a mistake. I would make a slow adjustment. For a while after my stomach really bothered me. It takes sometime for your body to adjust. Now, I don't have any issues. It has actually really helped my IBS. A forum that I have found really helpful is veggieboards.com they have everything you would want to know about becoming vegetarian and vegan. Good luck!


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## nicolevins (Mar 20, 2010)

I really hope going vegan will help your IBS!

I'm vegetarian (because of my love for animals) and the people around me are anti-vegetarian/vegan too! I actually gained support from the internet too since there was nobody I could turn to and talk about it with. 

Im sure on VeggieBoards you will get lots of support from other vegans/vegetarians!

Anyway.. good luck with your IBS and good luck to finding a suitable diet :wave:


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## Jessyka (Mar 21, 2010)

I made an account on Veggieboards, add me as a friend! :biggrin2: Here.

I've tried eliminating gluten and dairy before and it was a no go, still sick. Although I do notice that dairy does cause discomfort, so even though it isn't the only culprit, I'd probably be better off without it. Lucky for me, I could drink a gallon of soy milk in one sitting. 

I'm going to have to learn to cook with this endeavor, but that's probably a good thing, otherwise I'd just keep living off of prepackaged salt laden meals and fast food. And my dad wonders why my blood pressure is so high. Assuming that I can convince him to start picking up more fresh veggies and less junk I should be fine without meat. On the other hand, if I can't convince him (or if this proves to be too expensive), I'll just have to suck it up until I can find a job and buy my own food. My boyfriend is also... Well, lets just say he's not fond of the idea. That and he will argue about anything with anyone, sometimes just for the sake of arguing. I'll just have to learn to ignore it. I love the boy, but sometimes he's a big dumb head. 

At the very least I know Bayou will appreciate it. :grumpy:


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## RandomWiktor (Mar 21, 2010)

If you have a touchy GI, one thing that might help while transitioning to a healthy vegan diet - which involves a LOT of leafy greens and veggies, which can be hard to digest - is making "chop salad." Basically, you put your salad ingredients through a food processor/chopper so that they're all small pieces you can eat with a spoon. I know this sounds totally crazy, but it makes things much easier to digest since it is smaller particles with a greater surface area for digestion. I had to do this when I was on IV anti-biotics for a month, murdered my gut flora, and had GI ulcerations. It worked like a charm!

One suggestion I have if you are going vegan (I've been vegan for ten years!) is to avoid - at least after transitioning - meat analogs and products of the like. Most really aren't all that good for you. Instead, eat plenty of whole grains - some gluten free examples are quinoa, amaranth, teff, and of course RICES! Rice is your friend! - and legumes. Buy them bulk dry, it will make your diet SO much cheaper, leaving you money for fresh greens, fruits, and veggies. It costs me about $0.25 to have a rice and bean meal, even eating organic wild rice and exotic beans. Conversely a single meat analog would run $4-5; sorry I'd rather have that cash for a big healthy salad and a mango! Some good legumes if you have a sensitive stomach would include lentils, adzuki beans, and mung beans; basically anything that cooks quickly, because its that tough outer covering of other beans that make them so much trickier to digest. Grain millet and rice are good grain choices for a touchy GI. In fact, they feed grain millet to kiddos in third world countries when they haveGI problemsand it works wonders. 

I imagine with IBS most seeds are problematic? If you can get hulled hempseed or hemp/flaxmeal, you can benefit from the omega 3's without the digestive difficulties. Hulled pumpkinseeds are a great source of nutrients but big enough to chew, unlike many smaller seeds that can irritate the GI. Don't neglect nuts and rich fruits like avocado, either.

Basically, if you make your diet a bonanza of whole and fresh foods - really just re-invision your diet and lifestyle - you're going to be a healthier vegan than the person that keeps having their meat and potatoes lifestyle but with a veggie burger instead. I've remained vegan through catastrophic physical illness and I really think good nutrition is about the only thing going for my health!

Best of luck to you!


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## Pipp (Mar 21, 2010)

I live on lentil soup. All I do is take a stockpot, throw some water in it, throw in whatever kind of lentil I feel like that day along with a little wild rice (great flavor), and while its boiling toss some celery, garlic, shallots, dill, parsley, basil, a bunch of carrots and a whack of fresh tomatoes (the key to the flavor) into the blender and toss it in with the lentils. If its a straight veggie soup, I'll add whatever other veggies are kicking around the fridge, and if its tomato lentil, I add some canned tomatoes. I make enough to last a few days and every time I feel like a dinner or a snack, its in the fridge. I eat it with really grainy bread with some margarine. (Sometimes I cheat and buy a box of veggie soup stock, but not too often, I'm not a sodium fan, either). 

My other staple is oatmeal. I boil a few cups of rolled oats in water and a little juice and throw in the fresh fruit I keep on hand for that purpose (which is great because I'll also eat the fruit on its own). I play around with different kinds of soy or nut milk. (I'm on an almond milk kick at the moment). And I add some sunflower or pumpkin seeds or nuts.

Lately I've been buying bags of coleslaw, grating apple to mix with it, adding raisins and nuts and mixing up an avocado with some mayo and calling it dressing. (I'm not fanatical about the non-dairy thing, I'll occasionally eat free-run eggs and a bit of cheese from animal-friendly farms). 

And there's beans and toast (with mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers and green onions to spice up the beans), and of course the veggie stir fry with various curries, a little tofu and a lot of brown rice. 

I also stay away from sugar and try and as mentioned keep the sodium to a dull roar. 

I eat well and its very cheap. And its all very digestible.  



sas :eats:


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## Jessyka (Mar 21, 2010)

I'm happy to report that my dad has decided that he won't stop me from being vegan! We went to the grocery store today and picked up lots of safe food for me, along with a blender for smoothies. I think I'm gonna bum some money off my mom at some point to get some more stuff. It seems in Nashville that no one wants to hire you until you're 18 or if you know someone. Unfortunately I don't know anyone and I'm 17. :grumpy:

Now I just need to make a list of animal safe cosmetics and clothing for when I run out of what I already have. The internet has made this so much easier. I can't imagine what it was like being vegan before the net. :shock:


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## BethM (Mar 22, 2010)

:wave:

I'm on VeggieBoards, too! I also recommend a transition period, it seems to be easier on your body. I don't officially have IBS, but I'd been having some digestion issues for quite awhile before I stopped eating most meat, and I feel better now. (I still eat a small amount of fish, but it's started to taste nasty to me lately, so that might out soon, as well.) 

I do agree that you can eat very well on a veg*n diet, for quite a bit less money than if you were eating meat. (If you're not buying the expensive meat replacement things.)

I used to have a co-worker who was vegan for health reasons. Anytime she ate anything with meat or animal products in it, the next few days her joints would swell up and be extremely painful. If someone gave her soup, and said it was vegetarian, she could tell the next day if they'd lied and put chicken stock in it. She also couldn't eat dairy, eggs, gelatin, etc. At the time I knew her, her doctors all thought she was just crazy and making it up, but I don't think so. 

leapingbunny.org is a great resource for cruelty-free cosmetics.


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## Myia09 (Mar 22, 2010)

Thats so funny! Today is my first day as a vegitarian again! 
I have been an on/off vegitarian for years (literally since I was in 6th grade) and only survived being vegan for 2 weeks.

I can't drink milk, it makes me sick to my stomach. Thankfully I love soy milk!

Cultured milk (i.e. cheese, yogurt, ect) is okay after the enzymes process. I still try to eat all soy, but Amy is right, soy cheese is DISGUSTING. Soy yougurt and cream cheese is amazing though.

I also can't eat a lot of red meat, and I HATE pork. HATE HATE HATE. Its disgusting. 

On the topic if what you can/cannot eat, I cannot eat wheat/sugar mixes. Thats right. I love wheat (pasta, rice) and drink soda and what not, but combine the two? Nope.

List of food I CANNOT tolerate stomach wise: Donuts, waffals, pancakes, brownies, cookies, most cake, ect.

What I do is I love soy beans (the white ones in cans) and put it in rice and add some sour cream..its DELICIOUS! Trust me! It is also the way to replace protien!

My problem is I am dating a hardcore meat eater..I was vegitarian for over 3 months before dating him. When we are at his moms house, there is nothing to eat. Literally. 

I don't do it for "animal rights" I do think they need to be strictly regulated, but I do it for reasons of CAFO's, antibiotic resistance (as a former biotechnition I can tell you it is very true) and health reasons. I am on of those "bad" people who do think certian animals should be allowed to be "farmed" for food, but only if they are happy and live in more than adequate conditions.


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## Jessyka (Mar 22, 2010)

I knew I wasn't crazy! I've hated pork since the first time I tried it! As far as the antibiotic thing... I was raised on them. Literally. Most of my childhood memories are of me taking antibiotics. So you can imagine how wonderful it is when I get sick now! :grumpy:

I'm going into this vegan thing cold tofurkey. That's the way I have to do things, otherwise I just keep putting it off like I did with smoking. One day I just said, "THAT'S IT. I'm done." And that was that. 

Though I must admit, finding truly vegan things here in the South is proving to be a bit of a pain. We have a store that sells the stuff, but it's all the way down town and my dad doesn't even like driving to the gas station at the end of the street. This will be so much easier once I turn 18! I'm nervous about going over to my boyfriends house from now on as well, because his family is easily offended and... I can just see it becoming a pain. I might just have to bring my own food! :dunno


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## Jessyka (Mar 22, 2010)

So far so good! I actually had a bowl of cereal this morning and only had minimal cramping. 

In other news, I was googling soy milk and there seems to be a big debate about whether or not it is actually a miracle food, or if you'd be better off eating rat poison. :grumpy:


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## BethM (Mar 22, 2010)

Just remember that if you're willing to do a little bit of cooking, there are TONS of things that are vegan. Fruits, veggies, beans, rice.....and you can find all of that stuff in just about any normal grocery store. 

Many things can also be vegan-ized fairly easily, if you're cooking yourself. I used to make red beans and rice, and add cut up spicy sausage....Now I just leave out the sausage, and it's vegan! I cook greens in olive oil with garlic now, instead of in animal fats. If I'm making a soup that calls for chicken stock, I just use veggie stock instead. If you like tuna salad, there are some recipes floating around on the internet for "mock tuna salad" that's made with mashed up chickpeas instead of tuna. (It's not exactly the same, but I really like it on a sandwich.)
There are TONS of recipes on Veggieboards, too.

There are even packaged snacks that are vegan- Thai Sweet Chili Doritos, Ritz crackers, etc. (Though you might want to limit packaged things if you're trying to cut down on salt.)

Don't get too hung up on having to buy "special" vegan food. Lots of normal food is already vegan!

As for soy milk.........My mom has underactive thyroid, and her doctor has advised her to avoid large quantities of soy products, so she does not eat tofu or drink soy milk. She does like packaged convenience foods, and I don't think she's aware of how much soy-derived things are in many packaged foods. However, I consume a fair amount of soy products, and at this point I have not had any problems with my thyroid function. (I get it tested every year.) 
I have read some other studies involving soy and estrogens. I honestly don't know as much about this issue. However, I am a believer in moderation. I get a container of soy milk every now and again, but I don't drink a carton every week. "Good" soy products are fermented, and include things like tempeh and miso. These don't have the isoflavonoids that the unfermented soy products (soy milk, tofu) have. Many Asians have been eating fermented soy products for centuries.
I know Silk and maybe a couple other companies now offer almond milk, and I have been using So Delicious coconut milk creamer in my coffee instead of half and half. 

Also, I have found a good resource for food additives is http://www.foodditive.com/ You can search for additive names, and it tells you info about what they are, and what they are made from. (There is an app for iPhone/iPod Touch that I use when I'm at the grocery store.)


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## RandomWiktor (Mar 23, 2010)

Soy definitely shouldn't be relied upon as a primary source of protein or as a main constituent of a vegan's diet, or anyone's for that matter. But it's absolutely fine in moderation, and as BethM said, steer towards fermented soy rather than normal or processed soy. At any rate, you really don't need to drink soy milk either way; there are rice milks, almond milks, coconut milks, hemp milks, etc. since many people have soy allergies or reservations about eating it. I'm a big fan of hemp milk, personally.


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## Jessyka (Mar 23, 2010)

I'll make sure to switch it up between the different types of milk. I am on a huge vanilla Silk kick right now though. :bow

Veggieboards is really helping me out, though some of the people there are a bit... err, abrasive?


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## Amy27 (Mar 23, 2010)

Jess,
I added you on veggieboards as a friend. You are correct that some people are abrasive on that board. I generally don't post because I am afraid to lol. I have seen them be really mean to people. But I read a lot of the threads because they have so much good information.


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## Jessyka (Mar 23, 2010)

I added you Amy. 

I'm also happy to report that my boyfriend has found a way to make my veganism benefit him. I won't be eating up all of his chocolate and cream cheese anymore, and he is very excited about this.


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## iluvdutchrabbbits90 (Mar 24, 2010)

I have noteaten meat for 5 years. I just stopped because first i got a pig so i couldnt eat a pig lol then i got a cow so i couldnt eat that either and my barn animals grew and my meat eating stopped lol


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## Myia09 (Mar 24, 2010)

I think soy is great..but I think its hilarious when people bash on it as being "bad" or only good in "moderation" when people drink another animals milk (Which we are the only animal to do this willingly) even thoug we are ALL intolerant of milk, just in different levels. Yes, milk isn't good for you techinically either!


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## BethM (Mar 25, 2010)

I've posted a few times on veggieboards, but I mostly read, because of the sometimes-abrasiveness! 

Amy and Jessyka, I've added both of you. 

Myia, I pretty much believe there are a lot of things that are perfectly fine "in moderation," but maybe not so much in large quantities. For me this is more an issue that I like variety, and I don't think it's healthy to eat the same thing all the time. If that makes sense, LOL!


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## RandomWiktor (Mar 25, 2010)

Almost anything is bad for you in excess, and unfortunately a lot of veg*ns eat soy in true excess - soy milk, soy cheese, soy meat, soy codiments, soy beans, soy chips, soy everything! There's good evidence that this can be bad for you, so I do think it's reasonable to advise it be in moderation, even if people do other silly dietary things like drink milk after weaning 

Veggieboards is abrasive too, eh? I've given up on veg*n forums, too many intolerant, opinionated, nasty people. I was on Vegan Freaks, which is probably one of the most abrasive and uptight vegan forums you can be on. I almost got banned for "racism" for saying that some rapper caught dog fighting (I forget who) promoted "gang culture" and dogfighting in his music. He literally had an entire album of songs about being a gangster, including dog fighting references. Wth!


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## Jessyka (Mar 25, 2010)

They've been really helpful in helping me sort through BS information and legitimate stuff. I like it so far, I just stay away from the debate threads. A lot of them have that _I am a better veg*n than you and I'm in more politically outspoken facebook groups than you_ attitude. Get over yourself. 

:foreheadsmack:Some of them are also rabid PETA supporters who approve things like firebombing medical research facilities and assaulting people who don't agree with them. Fanatics about anything are almost always never a good thing. Despite all of the crap that goes on, they are very helpful if you can stomach the attitude. I'm not used to being apart of forums where they require you to post under a screen name (other than RO), so it's a whole new world for me. I went from NO RULES, to STRICT RULES. :shock:


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## jcottonl02 (Mar 25, 2010)

I'm sorry to hear that, Jess- my twin sister has IBS too, and I know how she suffers.
Fortunately, however (well, actually I'm not entirely sure if this IS fortunate or not), hers is stress-related, and not diet-related. 
She's on meds for it, and will be for the rest of her life, but right now we are trying to sort out the stress management for her, before anything else happens. 

I really respect people who are vegetarians, becuase I totally agree with the principle. The way we humans eat meat is SO unnatural- farms and farms of tortured animals for our benefits....... whereas a tiger will chase a prey, catch it, kill it, and eat it. Obviously there are a few exceptions (pythons, for example (we just learnt today in one of my lectures)obviously asphyxiate their prey, but not to the point of death, in many occasions- just to unconsciousness, so the prey has every likelihood of waking up as it's being squeezed down the snake's oesophagus. EEK or what!), and some animals die in horrible ways at the hands of their predators, but generally we are the absolute worst, and the only ones with morales and knowledge of it being "wrong".

I love love love all food (except peanuts - thats it), and am the easiest person to please. I love a macdonalds, and I love a gourmet meal, I love any type of meat at all, any part eg. kidney etc. and just..well anything!! I love allllll veggies and happily get my 5 a day atleast!
But to try and ease my consience I always buy free range eggs and meat. It's expensive, for me being a student, but I literally can't pick up a pack of battery eggs when there are free range so easily accessable. Obviously this is MUCH harder when eating out etc. because you can't tell if the animal is free range. I mean....do Prezzo use free range chicken? I doubt it...but you never know.

I just try and do my best. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion due to cost/budget/lifestyle etc. cos you don't know what everyone's life is like.

My sister is the total opposite to me- she NEVER eats meat, because she just doesn't really like the taste. She makes herself wonderful vegetarian meals- butternut squash risotto Jess!! It's the nicest thing you'll ever have. Her meals always look so vibrant and colourful.

There are so many wonderful vegan variations to lovely, classic meals, and I'm sure as you look through more and more sites (and books are fabulous too- try "Living Vegan For Dummies"- these are always great), you'll find great recipes that are inkeeping with your dietry issues.

Jen


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