GinsuFrenzy

I avoid gluten and wheat effortlessly, it could be a combo of things. I don't eat a lot of eggs, usually every other day or so i'll have an egg white omlette. Stress/emotional anxiety may be a factor, just never know.

Lots of fruits and veggies, some raw and some cooked. In fact, I think adding Cauliflower recently might have F-ed me up the most since it contains a digestive inhibitor (as soy is known for). I also eat a cup of organic nonfat yogurt (with l. bacillius bacteria) every other day. Hmm...

As of the last few days, I've been having some extreme episodes of my lower abdomen feeling extremely full and bloated immediately about halfway through most of my meals. Sometimes its gotten so bad i've almost suspected a severe food allergy or possible cancer? It all started with a tofu stirfry with corn/carrots/peas and a little bit of garlic and black pepper as seasoning. That was the worst reaction thus far. Suspecting garlic as it has given me some past episodes of bloating, i have cut it out for two days. STILL, it keeps happening about the first few bites of every meal I have. The fucked up thing, with all the fullness sensation and bloating in my lower stomach (right between groin and belly button.. during and after meals) i virtually have little to no gas. Just a lot of chaos going on inside that i can't pinpoint. Sometimes the full/swelling sensation spreads to the sides of my lower abs. So my question is... what could this be?? My meals vary from whole grains, to nuts and legumes to occasional organic egg whites and tofu (i'm a vegetarian). The only thing that i have left to suspect right now is the black pepper (ground and organic) seasoning i throw on some of my dishes. But i highly doubt this.

well, then. i didn't know that at the start. i don't eat any of that stuff either. i'm allergic to soy and i can't stand those packaged 'foods' anyway. my dad had a lot of digestive problems and then he cut out soy altogether and his problems all went away. so while tofu isn't affecting you adverselly, you might want to cut soy out completely. it does mess with hormones you knoww... i'd try the quinoa. it cooks in about a third of the time that oats or rice take to cook. you can put different sauces/dressings on it. i like it with raisins, cinnamon and walnuts. or tossed with broccoli and some other veggies + lime avocado and cilantro. quinoa has it's own fat content, so it doesn't really need oil unless you're just looking for extra fat content. Right on. That avocado/cilantro/lime combo with the quinoa sounds pretty tasty. Thanks for the tips mang!

First of all: A study cannot prove anything. Scientifically this is impossible. These kinds of studies are usually done with persons follwing a SAD which lacks almost everything. And for these persons preventive effects maybe true, although I doubt even this. Nevertheless: A healthy vegan diet with a lot of raw food eaten is very rich in antioxidants and protective effects against many deseases and of course contains fewer indegrients causing negative effects. Because of that I seriously doubt that studies would show any correlations coffee/health for vegans with a healthy diet. If meant as a joke: If you really think this: It is not just the sugar. When you have a look at the book metioned above you may understand that you pay a high price for that "enhanced brain function": Coffee causes a state of alert inside the body and the brain. Of course some functions are enhanced others like creativity are kind of blocked because some thousand years ago alert meant a fight or running to save your life. As far as I know these situations are very rare in normal workers life. But I really do not want to repeat more of what others wrote much better than I ever could. Oh well, like homeboy above mentioned.. one negative story vs. one positive usually about comes down to an even line. Everybody needs a little something to get them by. I have a particular friend who picks on me all the time for needing caffeine to start the day. Coffee is what gets me up and puts a smile on my face. For him, it's fast food such as burritos and cheeseburgers and tons of sugary soft drinks. I just find it funny how some people knock the almighty coffee bean for health-related reasons yet they dump all kinds of processed and insulin spiking foods into their bodies. Bottom line, I think there are many more things to worry about before the occasional cup of joe. Better yet, here's an interesting topic. How many of you drink tap/sink water? This includes water at restaurants too. Talk about a poisonous beverage that literally scars the lining of the arteries.

How much physical activity were you doing? When you fast it's supposed to be performed in a relaxed state. Wasn't doing any. I took a walk or two, that's about it. I know 2 days isn't much to speak of, but it was painful to me. All I could think about was foooood. Something to chew on. I really mixed up the veggies and fruits, not just mostly fruit. A heavy mix of both, about 5-6 10 ounce glasses a day. All organic. I planned it all very well. After being awake all night and waking up feeling like a zombie, I just couldn't go on with it much longer. I needed some protein in my body, something solid. Next time i do it I'm definitely adding some protein and fat (avocado and possibly powdered soy).

LoL, now cellphone companies can either be vegan or not. This world is a crazy place. Here's a better notion.. fuck all cell companies. Rip offs like no other.

I did juice fasting for about 2 days straight (only raw fruit and vegetable juice from Jack LaLanne's machine, no coffee or anything.. just raw juice). It was one of the most nauseating and pointless experiences of my life. Almost fainted a couple times outside while I was walking my dog. I'd say fasting is only good for coming down from a serious illness or case of food poisoning. Other than that, I think it's a joke.

Most grains are recommended for only 5 days or so. Beans generally 3-4 days. Tempeh or tofu most likely longer, depending on their expiration date. I doubt cooking has a dramatic effect. I've had red kidney bean whole grain pastas saved in the fridge for about 7-9 days and didn't get sick or notice any spoiling. I'd just use your best judgement.

Yeah I've been meaning to try quinoa for awhile now. I'll have to look into some recipes. I'm a huge steel cut oat and brown rice fan, so that helps. I will never touch tofurkey or any fake meat products like that again. It is manmade garbage and tears my stomach and intestinal lining to shreds. Same with soy milk, soybeans, and most tempeh. Tofu is literally the only thing that seems to agree with my internal organs, oddly enough. Not sure if it can be eaten cold or straight from package?? Thanks for the tips.

It is proven that coffee is rich in antioxidants, and has preventive properties against Parkinon's and similar diseases. I think a good measure of whether coffee is good for you can be summed up with a simple question. Do your non-coffee drinking friends look like poster children for health? Mine sure don't. I love my morning Americano's and organic roasts and I ain't going to let hypocrites sucking down cokes and root beers all day try to convince me otherwise Black coffee in moderation has had numerous reports by doctors and health specialists as helping brain function, speeding up metabolism, and contradicting depression. As has pure dark chocolate. When you add gobs of sugar to things, that's when everything gets fucked. That is why all the black coffee drinkers in my family are thin and young looking, and all the mocha/heavy cream and soda drinkers are either fat or have zits all over their face and nasty armpit secretions.

I am anti-microwave and anti-white flour, so I'm basically trying to plan healthy cold meals to throw in the breakroom fridge and eat as is. Not neccessarily raw foods, but whatever is practical. The problem with all these raw food sites is they list tons of on-the-go lunches of either total junk (peanut butter, pretzels, blah blah) or all vegetables, which wouldn't be protein sufficient for a 185 6'2'' man. I'm sorry but vegan or not, it's not healthy for my body and a sprout salad with a bunch of raisins is going to keep me hungry all day. Bottom line, I'm curious to share and gather info from fellow vegans/vegetarians who dislike microwaves and bring cold lunches to work. Heh.

Gives you all the ''statistics'' on how bad soy is, but no reasonable alternatives if you still choose to remain vegetarian or vegan. It's almost as if people like this force you to think you need animal flesh to be healthy, just as they proclaim the soy industries impose this on meat eaters to sell their product. Then to top it off, all the ''animal tests show that..'' liners. Way to top it off even more on the one-sided war for christ sakes. http://rheumatic.org/soy.htm On any note, the other night I had a bowl of cereal with soy milk (Silk plain) and woke up 2-3 hours later after going to bed with the worst stomach/kidney/bodily aching and cramping I've ever had. For some reason tofu doesn't give me nearly this bad of reaction. Anyone know why this may be?

Hah, funny you mention Nyc. That's actually where I broke down and swung back vegetarian. It's weird because I actually didn't eat pizza whatsoever for 2 days while we were there. I vowed to stay vegan. Then last day we were there I was so fuckin starved and sick of paying 13 bucks for black bean pastries and parsley leaves at gay ass ''vegan friendly'' restaurants. I got a vege-pizza for that price at an even more fancy restaurant and it was 3 times as filling. The hard part about tracking down vegan-friendly restaurants and random grocery stores is exactly that.. hard. I spent 2 weeks calling my mom to have her get on happycow.com or whatever and list all the locations and numbers for me. It was a nightmare. Most of the places downright sucked too and were a pain to get to depending on what venue or hotel we ended up at.

Thanks. Yeah believe me, 2 or 3 times of goin to Taco Bell was enough for me. Shit quality food, and everytime I get a ''beef and potato'' burrito and ask to substitute the beef for beans, they just charge it the same but add beans for extra charge. Place is a damn rip off and the guacomole is even worse. Subway is just as rotten. Bread is always stale, and very few of them other than up and down the west coast offer the veggie patties, which are all not vegan anyway. Ah well. I find it much easier to eat vegan at home most of the time and be a touring/traveling vegetarian when options run out. I wish it was a perfect world. Some people can manage on potato chips and bean dip. I'm over 6 feet tall and 190 lbs. I need my fresh veggies, lean protein and healthy fats so I don't get sick and feel like crap all the time. P.S. I noticed you like ExC, haha I actually asked Scott and Ian some of these questions and they were at a loss of words in giving advice because of how rough they had it eating out on the road. I guess I'm not alone in that way.

Ok, I have two problems. I'll make it brief. I just finished a U.S. tour and after a year being vegan, I had no choice but to slip back into vegetarianism. I didn't beat myself up for it because I was practically starving to death for 2 weeks with the lack of healthy options at restaurants and the lack of grocery stores in site throughout the midwest especially. And the grocery store route was way too expensive and wasteful when it came to purchasing vegan/health options, but most importantly I didn't travel with a stove or microwave to cook anything (minivan only). Anyways.... Anyone have any touring advice when it comes to staying vegan, and most importantly... HEALTHY. I'm done with stopping at Chevrons and picking up salty potato chips and frito dip. What does one do in a country full of fast food exits on freeways and slaughterhouses galore? Second problem is.. After 2 years of being meat-free, I've learned time and time again that soy just doesn't agree with my body. Even one glass of soy milk now will just wreck me, and tempeh and tofu are no exceptions. Edamame I've found is just as bad. I will spend a whole week farting my brains out, and the stench it produces is even more ludacris. I'm finding the only diet that works with my digestive system and makes me feel good is organic lacto-ovo vegetarian. Basically, my question is.. if I hate rice and almond milk and soy has fucked me up so bad.. what substitutes are there left? And without soy products for protein (whole protein, all 9 amino acids which soy has) what can I substitute? I'm rather skeptical on consuming only nuts and beans, as they're not complete proteins but I'm sure it is possible. I eat vegan 90% of the time but these issues are just finally starting to bug me out. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Ok, I have two problems. I'll make it brief. I just finished a U.S. tour and after a year being vegan, I had no choice but to slip back into vegetarianism. I didn't beat myself up for it because I was practically starving to death for 2 weeks with the lack of healthy options at restaurants and the lack of grocery stores in site throughout the midwest especially. And the grocery store route was way too expensive and wasteful when it came to purchasing vegan/health options, but most importantly I didn't travel with a stove or microwave to cook anything (minivan only). Anyways.... Anyone have any touring advice when it comes to staying vegan, and most importantly... HEALTHY. I'm done with stopping at Chevrons and picking up salty potato chips and frito dip. What does one do in a country full of fast food exits on freeways and slaughterhouses galore? Second problem is.. After 2 years of being meat-free, I've learned time and time again that soy just doesn't agree with my body. Even one glass of soy milk now will just wreck me, and tempeh and tofu are no exceptions. Edamame I've found is just as bad. I will spend a whole week farting my brains out, and the stench it produces is even more ludacris. I'm finding the only diet that works with my digestive system and makes me feel good is organic lacto-ovo vegetarian. Basically, my question is.. if I hate rice and almond milk and soy has fucked me up so bad.. what substitutes are there left? And without soy products for protein (whole protein, all 9 amino acids which soy has) what can I substitute? I'm rather skeptical on consuming only nuts and beans, as they're not complete proteins but I'm sure it is possible. I eat vegan 90% of the time but these issues are just finally starting to bug me out. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.