EDIT: Thank you all for your input. This was quite a lively discussion and I appreciate all of your suggestions for dealing with the gas issue
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The trick is to balance it out. Keep on truckin' and don't mind those looks- you're probably just paranoid. Your business is your business alone, and if that's not enough to keep you going, remember how much good you're doing. For animals, the environment, your body.
If you've been gaining weight, try checking how much starch or grains or fructose you're having, and cut out whichever you find is too much. I don't think you can ever have too much greens, so I wouldn't bother cutting down on that.
As for flatulence, try prebiotics or probiotics (apple cider vinegar has a lot of that, and if you've ever tried soymilk yogurt, that's some good stuff). Also, what really helps is to chew really really slowly.
I may not be much help with the gassy part (I get it too) but my question is why do you care what the people at lunch are saying? When they are all having heart attacks at age 40 from all of the cholesterol they've been eating, well then!
Don't worry what they think, your choice is your choice. Why don't you start telling them their ham sandwiches smell disgusting? And I doubt your gf will kick you out because you fart. I'm sure she does, too.
I notice that I'm most gassy when I ingest soy and chickpeas. Anyway, if your girlfriend is actually serious about it, maybe it's a red flag... but I'm not here to give relationship advice.
Anyway, don't worry about other people. Counter their disgust with a positive answer to "What the hell is that?" Eventually, they might come to realize that it's just normal food. I've found that my coworkers have become more curious about what I use as substitutes and where they can find such things. It can be annoying sometimes, but I'm sure you would probably rather not fight over it or have any negative feelings about it.
No, she's not serious. But she is pleading with me to change my diet. And really, the gas problem has just become beyond ridiculous. If we're running errands I have to stop the car and get out every so often. It's terrible.
I have suspected that it's soy, specifically tofu. I drink soymilk with no problem. In fact I switched to soy milk about four years ago when I developed lactose intolerance.
My three-year-old son is allergic to cow's milk -- and all associated dairy products, by extension. His allergist commented that many people with cow's milk allergy have a soy allergy as well, although this turned out not to be the case with my son. Maybe the same holds true for lactose intolerance (i.e. there is a higher propensity for soy intolerance, too)?
It's possible that you're now eating (or eating a lot more of) something that you're sensitive to than you were before. The good news is that an allergy test diet is totally vegan :)
I'd try cutting legumes first: beans, peas, peanuts, and soy. If that solves your problem, test the different foods in that group *one at a time* to see which one is the problem. Beans seem like an obvious culprit, but soy bugs a lot of people too, and some people react differently to straight soy (edamame, soy protein) than to fermented soy (tofu, soy sauce) sometimes. Read labels obsessively when you're cutting, as soy hides in everything.
Another common one is cruciferous vegetables, which means broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and most dark greens (but not chard or spinach).
Less common, but worth trying if you're stuck: wheat or gluten, nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes), citrus fruits, fermented foods (vinegar, mushrooms), yeast.
I agree--you could be intolerant to almost any food and the only way to find it is by tracking symptoms and trying an elimination diet. There are commonly intolerant foods, but some people will have a rare intolerance. Of course anyone eating a high fiber diet is going to have somewhat more gas than someone who eats no fiber, but excessive and uncomfortable gas can indicate a tolerance issue.
Also, though weight gain and digestion issues at the same time could indicate another health problem. I know this coincides with your timing in going vegan. But if the elimination diet doesn't help you might want to see a doctor and make sure there's nothing else going on.
I have always eaten a lot of fiber and never had a problem with it. It has occurred to me that maybe I am developing more food intolerances as I get older. Maybe I'm developing a problem with gluten. If any of you have an intolerance to wheat or gluten, what are the symptoms?
Gluten intolerances or coeliacs can have a huge range of symptoms and you could almost not compare people from one extreme to the other. Older people might think they are all skinny with diarrhea but that's not the case
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The weight gain I can't speak to, but if the bean-o isn't working, I wonder whether your gassiness could be allergies or intolerance rather than beans. After being vegan for a while, my husband figured out that the large amount of soy in our diet didn't entirely agree with him. We switched from soy milk to almond milk and I cut down tofu and pre-packaged vegan ribs/sausage/patties/meatballs to no more than one meal a week and that seemed to help.
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If you've been gaining weight, try checking how much starch or grains or fructose you're having, and cut out whichever you find is too much. I don't think you can ever have too much greens, so I wouldn't bother cutting down on that.
As for flatulence, try prebiotics or probiotics (apple cider vinegar has a lot of that, and if you've ever tried soymilk yogurt, that's some good stuff). Also, what really helps is to chew really really slowly.
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Don't worry what they think, your choice is your choice. Why don't you start telling them their ham sandwiches smell disgusting? And I doubt your gf will kick you out because you fart. I'm sure she does, too.
Reply
Anyway, don't worry about other people. Counter their disgust with a positive answer to "What the hell is that?" Eventually, they might come to realize that it's just normal food. I've found that my coworkers have become more curious about what I use as substitutes and where they can find such things. It can be annoying sometimes, but I'm sure you would probably rather not fight over it or have any negative feelings about it.
Reply
I have suspected that it's soy, specifically tofu. I drink soymilk with no problem. In fact I switched to soy milk about four years ago when I developed lactose intolerance.
Reply
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I'd try cutting legumes first: beans, peas, peanuts, and soy. If that solves your problem, test the different foods in that group *one at a time* to see which one is the problem. Beans seem like an obvious culprit, but soy bugs a lot of people too, and some people react differently to straight soy (edamame, soy protein) than to fermented soy (tofu, soy sauce) sometimes. Read labels obsessively when you're cutting, as soy hides in everything.
Another common one is cruciferous vegetables, which means broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and most dark greens (but not chard or spinach).
Less common, but worth trying if you're stuck: wheat or gluten, nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes), citrus fruits, fermented foods (vinegar, mushrooms), yeast.
Reply
Also, though weight gain and digestion issues at the same time could indicate another health problem. I know this coincides with your timing in going vegan. But if the elimination diet doesn't help you might want to see a doctor and make sure there's nothing else going on.
Reply
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