Jump to content

Why is it hard to be vegan?!?!


Recommended Posts

Hi guys,

 

I really hope someone can shed a light to this as I have been struggling to keep up a vegan diet for the last 6-7 months.

 

I transitioned to raw vegan and was doing fantastic... finally I thought I found the diet that made sense to me and made me feel great... However a few obstacles has hindered my vegan approach in a disturbing way...

 

I noticed everytime I would eat a banana or a fruit high in sugar (glycemic index) i would start breaking out heaps- mind you my family is known to have acne prone skin due to genetics.. and the only way to keep it away is to avoid eating too many high sugar fruits.

 

Following a vegan diet I made sure I was getting as much a greens as possible- and lots and lots of veggies but then after a while my stomach started to become more gassy and bloated- I assume I have a really poor digestive tract.

 

This made me really sad as I really want to enjoy a vegan diet but skin and digestive problems get in the way... I just wish I can be normal and eat fruits without worrying to break out with cystic acne and rashes.

 

My hair also started to fall off after being vegan for 5 months- but I know thats an indication that I have a vitamin/mineral deficiency.

I just hope if someone has any advice or tips on how to avoid constant bloating, acne breakouts when going vegan... Because being vegan make me feel great but not until it gives me some unsightly side effects.

 

Some people will say that acne/breakouts are normal when going vegan but my acne is genetic and before going vegan I was able to control it without fruits and sugars.

 

If anyone have any tips please share as I heard some people take digestive enzymes as well (papaya enzyme)

I even started eating more good fats- also Im allergic to nuts- pumpkin seeds is all I can have.

 

Thank you guys- any response or tips will be much appreciated.

 

Peace.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I struggle with acne as well.

If I eat a lot of bananas, I find I break out. Certain fruits I can tolerate better than others.

It might be related to the sugars raising the insulin levels which effects hormones, which then effects acne.

Foods with a high-glycemic index can spike your insulin levels too, so I suggest choosing low-glycemic foods.

Now, bananas are considered to have a low-glycemic index, but that doesn't mean you should eat as many as you want.

One big help I did was cut out GLUTEN from my diet. You may ask what foods have gluten in them- things like wheat, rye, barley. Oats can have traces of gluten, even Broccoli from cross-contamination during harvesting. Do some research about gluten, find out what foods have gluten, and cut those foods out to see if you notice an improvement.

There are gluten free foods like Quinoa, which I eat, and for some reason it improves my skin.

One thing I recently discovered is fermented foods can help rebuild your gut/intestines with probiotics. Probiotics help breakdown your food. If you have digestion problems due to too many bad bacteria in your gut and not enough good ones, this may be causing toxins to leak into your bloodstream, and may cause you to break out.

Sauerkraut has good bacteria(probiotics), but there usually isn't much in store-bought products. You have to make your own, which is easy, so look at some youtube videos.

There is also Kefir which has probiotics in them. The common Kefir incorporates milk, but you can find Water Kefir without dairy. Like the sauerkraut, you can make this yourself too. Look online for details.

One last thing. Try to get Sun exposure as it helps dry the skin, etc..

If you try all these things, I'd really be interested in hearing whether they help you, because these changes helped me. I'm not completely clear of acne, but now I only get a few per day. I recently started working with probiotic foods, and I'm experimenting to see if they'll help.

I have my own theories that I'm sorting out, but I figured I'd share the common ones I've found.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Part of any diet is listening to your body. So when your body says these type of foods give me acne or these types cause me bloating then its a good idea to switch it up a bit.

 

Here is a good article called banish the bloat:http://myvega.com/vega-life/vega-blog/banish-the-bloat/?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=1&utm_content=July+12+-+2013+Vega+News+-+Split+A+-+Banish+the+Bloat&utm_campaign=July+12+-+2013+Vega+News+-+Split+A+-+Banish+the+Bloat&_bta_tid=3.ZbM.BvUMeA.C-dA.8mql..AWAd4g.s.Mz0.l.BLUQ.a.UeBgQA.UeBgQA.iNjPnw&_bta_c=7jzcu0o8rlzcejbvjammai5f5exdp

 

There was a discussion on here a while back about hair loss, not sure what it was under you can try searching for it but I remember someone saying that flax oil or ground flax seed had given him great results when he was suffering from hair thinning. Eating it not rubbing it on his head or anything.

 

-Dylan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hair loss can be related to lack of iron or thyroid problems.

 

If you are eating enough greens for iron, then your next step is to to ensure you are including legumes in your diet... beans, lentils, peanuts.

 

According to veghealth: "The amino acid L-lysine plays a part in the absorption of iron and zinc. Among plant foods, L-lysine is only found in high amounts in legumes, and a vegan who doesn't eat many legumes could find themselves falling short on lysine. "

 

To prevent thyroid issue, make sure you are getting enough iodine. (found in iodized salt or sea veggies). You need about 1/4 tsp iodized salt per day. If you don't use iodized salt then you should be eating sea vegetables or taking a supplement.

 

Veghealth gives a breakdown of exactly what you as a vegan should ensure is in your diet.

 

I agree.. it is not as easy as being omni... but if you follow those recommendations from veghealth, you should be covered. Good luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you all for your helpful responses!

 

My stomach aches have improved since taking probiotics everyday, also supplementing with good ol natural stuff "Sauerkraut".

I have also changed up when I eat fruits and what kind of fruits and noticed LOW GI fruits not affecting my gassy stomach or causing bloating and I have also stopped eating fruits late nights and have been eating a lot of greens!! And when I mean a LOT! I MEAN A LOT!!! lol

 

Hair is stopped falling a tad as I have started taking nutritional yeast with some foods for my B Vitamins as I cannot eat banana.

 

Thank you guys!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's great to hear blissful86!

One thing I discovered recently is that Kombucha Tea contains B vitamins.. It supposedly contains b12, but it isn't proven as far as I know. I've recently started making my own, and have yet to drink it. Figured I'd mention it to you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, my Kombucha tea sat for 9 days, so I finally drank some today. I didn't know what to expect in the taste since I never drank any before, it had a bit of a vinegar flavor which might be because I had to use a bit of vinegar to start the batch since I had no Kombucha tea previously. I started a new batch with some of the Kombucha tea, maybe it will taste different next time.

During the 9 days it grew a new scoby on the top, and the solution got kind of cloudy with yeasty bits. Supposedly that's okay.

I want to get a bigger jar though, because the one I have only holds about a quart.

fun stuff..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...