Digestive Issues

Healthy Food Nutrition
#1

Namaste,

I have found that the yogic diet can be tough on my system.
[B]Beans/Tofu:[/B]
Even prepared with proper herbs/spices, the beans (mung, lentil etc) can cause bloating, gas, discomfort. And tofu isn’t too far behind in that category.
I’d prefer to be pure vege, but I already had issues getting enough protein/energy from the all vege diet - add the above issue to the mix and I have had to settle for a mixed (ie. fish and meat) diet over the years.

[B]Milk:[/B]
The yogis love their milk - for fasts, sadhana, and in general. Very sattvic we are told. Thing is, we don’t need animal milk in our diets, and many are either senstive, or outright intolerant. Not to mention if having cows (or more likely relying on others to have cows) is just to satisfy our milk/cheese needs, than not very yogic in my books.

Anyways, anyone have any suggestions for making pure vege protein easier to assimilate and digest?

#2

I would add that I also have trouble with raw vegetables (some more than others).
And I don’t think the above picture is all that uncommon these days either.
I have done all the tests, various diets, fasts, ayurveda, etc, over the years, and it appears to just be how my system functions (or doesn’t in some cases)

I wonder if others have a similar situation, and what they have found useful/effective?
If they have found a reasonable way to be pure vege? If they have found reasons/causes/fixes?

Thanks

#3

Have you tried adding [B]kombu seaweed[/B] to your beans? It works wonderfully for me. For gases cumin works well too. You can try other kind of carbs like: quinua, millet, amaranto, corn, nuts.

Don’t get obsessed about proteins, there are two essential aminoacids you have to care: methionine and cistine. The rest of EA are easy to cover. Lead a varied diet, including some milk, and you’re done.

#4

[QUOTE=panoramix;84686]Have you tried adding [B]kombu seaweed[/B] to your beans? It works wonderfully for me. For gases cumin works well too. You can try other kind of carbs like: quinua, millet, amaranto, corn, nuts.

Don’t get obsessed about proteins, there are two essential aminoacids you have to care: methionine and cistine. The rest of EA are easy to cover. Lead a varied diet, including some milk, and you’re done.[/QUOTE]

I’m familiar with the cumin but will try the kombu.
Why do you feel cow’s milk should be part of the diet?

#5

Well, cow milk helps to cover the range of essential aminoacids.
It’s rich in calcium and B12 vitamin too.

#6

Fair enough.
I am not able to do pure vege these days.
But as far as milk, I’m sensitive to it and there’s no need imo.
And I’m surprised for vegetarians, that it’s a part of the diet - for the reason I express above.
But to each their own.

#7

Hi Triston! I really struggle with milk. What’s worked for me in getting calcium is a great adundance of leafy greens- doesn’t seem like it would work to well for you though… I love almonds too and I recently found out molasses is a great source of calcium too! But you were asking about protein. My personal favs for protein are hemp seeds, sprouted grain bread, and the awesome and tastey quinoa, as panoramix mentioned. Quinoa also calms my stomache if it’s upset.
I’m not a nutrionist and don’t want to offer advice because I think every body is different and requires different nutrients in different ratios and I haven’t the skills to evaluate your needs. For myself I played around a bit to see how much protein I really needed, determined by athletic performance, recovery rate and mood. For me keeping protein lighter helps with my yoga practice- I do need to increase it after a particularly tough mountain bike ride though! Otherwise I’m pretty sore for a while afterwards.

I hope this helps a little:)

#8

Triston,

Totally agree with you about not needing cows milk.(sorry panoramix!) We are the only species that continues with milk and the only one that crosses over to another species. In addition, milk has the protein casein, a known carcinogen. We do not need milk. We can get calcium and D in other ways. (fruits and veggies)

I’m vegan now, but for years had stomach issues. Cheese was my favorite food. I had always thought it was nuts, beans, soy and onion that caused my discomfort. Once I stopped the dairy, my discomfort was gone. I eat all the aforementioned with no issues. Now of course, that’s me and my issues differ from yours. In my experience, if you follow a vegan diet, you will get more than enough protein. Usually you will get more than the carnivorous eater! (I argue this point with my mother al the time) Hard to get enough B’s in, B12 in particular, so you may need to supplement.

Try going on a bland diet with foods that do not cause any discomfort for a few days. Gradually, one by one add back in the things that seem to bother you. It’s easy to rule out this way.

You may also want to try peppermint tea or some warm water with lemon.

Final question. Is your diet made up of processed foods? If so, that could definitely be a culprit.

#9

Cooked foods make digesting protein more difficult. Sprouting raw garbanzo beans to make humus reduces bloating gas etc. I blended the beans with a raw sweet potato, juice of a lemon, salt, small clove of garlic, and some coriander powder today. It was tasty.
Look up raw foodist recipes and have them early in the day before putting the slow moving cooked processed foods in ya. Something like green smoothies are great.
Vegan has been great for me the past 5 years with probably half or 3/4’s raw usually in a recipe. My bones, muscles and mind are better than decades ago. Today was a nice bike ride.
Best wishes, Gil.

#10

[QUOTE=Triston;84658]Namaste,

I have found that the yogic diet can be tough on my system.
[B]Beans/Tofu:[/B]
Even prepared with proper herbs/spices, the beans (mung, lentil etc) can cause bloating, gas, discomfort. And tofu isn’t too far behind in that category.
I’d prefer to be pure vege, but I already had issues getting enough protein/energy from the all vege diet - add the above issue to the mix and I have had to settle for a mixed (ie. fish and meat) diet over the years.

[B]Milk:[/B]
The yogis love their milk - for fasts, sadhana, and in general. Very sattvic we are told. Thing is, we don’t need animal milk in our diets, and many are either senstive, or outright intolerant. Not to mention if having cows (or more likely relying on others to have cows) is just to satisfy our milk/cheese needs, than not very yogic in my books.

Anyways, anyone have any suggestions for making pure vege protein easier to assimilate and digest?[/QUOTE]

The enzyme PROTEASE greatly facilitates the digestion of proteins.

BEANO can help you:

http://www.beanogas.com/

#11

[QUOTE=gilyoga;84839]Cooked foods make digesting protein more difficult. Sprouting raw garbanzo beans to make humus reduces bloating gas etc. I blended the beans with a raw sweet potato, juice of a lemon, salt, small clove of garlic, and some coriander powder today. It was tasty.
Look up raw foodist recipes and have them early in the day before putting the slow moving cooked processed foods in ya. Something like green smoothies are great.
Vegan has been great for me the past 5 years with probably half or 3/4’s raw usually in a recipe. My bones, muscles and mind are better than decades ago. Today was a nice bike ride.
Best wishes, Gil.[/QUOTE]

Actually raw veggies and sprouts can be the worst for me - certain veggies worse than others - but all have that effect. And I know plenty of people who have this issue with raw too.
If it works for your system great, but for people like me, mind over body for the sake of some ideal isn’t an answer in my books.

#12

[QUOTE=Kristie Eccleston;84763]Hi Triston! I really struggle with milk. What’s worked for me in getting calcium is a great adundance of leafy greens- doesn’t seem like it would work to well for you though… I love almonds too and I recently found out molasses is a great source of calcium too! But you were asking about protein. My personal favs for protein are hemp seeds, sprouted grain bread, and the awesome and tastey quinoa, as panoramix mentioned. Quinoa also calms my stomache if it’s upset.
I’m not a nutrionist and don’t want to offer advice because I think every body is different and requires different nutrients in different ratios and I haven’t the skills to evaluate your needs. For myself I played around a bit to see how much protein I really needed, determined by athletic performance, recovery rate and mood. For me keeping protein lighter helps with my yoga practice- I do need to increase it after a particularly tough mountain bike ride though! Otherwise I’m pretty sore for a while afterwards.

I hope this helps a little:)[/QUOTE]

Thanks Kristie. Interesting.

#13

I don’t really know you, so I’m just giving my opinion as it would apply to the general public.
We have digestive systems that each of us has contributed in making the way it is. And that it will change and adapt depending on what we eat over the course of weeks. Sort of like the way our bodies start adapting to yoga if we do daily yoga.

Presently, I’m in southern arizona and twice a week I visit a raw foods retreat for lunch (called the Tree of Life). The people that stay there, work there, and go there for treatments, all seem to have no troubles that you mention, even though they eat raw recipes 3 times a day. I suspect it is similar to the adult diabetes and other reasons people go there, that after a week of the retreats raw recipes that everyone starts getting better.
I’m speaking about the general public and this topic, not you specifically, maybe you are some rare 1 percent of the population that can’t find a way to eat what you call a sattvic diet. But I doubt it.

I’ve had over 150 different vegan foods (grains, seeds, nuts, fruits, and vegetables) in the past years, so there are plenty to choose from, and many different ways to prepare them. Some are low glycemic, some are high glycemic, some are fat rich party foods, some low fat fruitarians, etc. One learns what works for themselves and what doesn’t.

Also, our diet from the previous month is what decides what type of probiotics, bacteria, and enzymes our stomachs develop. And there is also the problem how much bread, sausage and eggs is in the stomach when the veggies arrive there, lets not blame gas on a fruit dessert fermenting if the previous slow digesting food is blocking its path. Smoothies in the morning are not known for creating gas, they normally digest quickly.
In short, I doubt if you would have these problems if you went to a retreat like Gabriel Cousens ‘Tree of Life’ for a few weeks. They know food and digestive systems better than anyone.
But who knows for sure? You and I can only guess if we don’t go there and try.

Personally, I get gas from glutens. I don’t know why. Bread doesn’t give me other gluten problems, just gas. So I avoid the gluten grains unless I’m sprouting them first to deal with the phytic acids and enzyme inhibitors.

P.S. Lets be honest, eating is a treat and a luxury that many in this world don’t get to play with much.
Today, I have an inch of vanilla bean and a piece of ginger soaking in a liter of water to flavor it. I shouldn’t of bought the processed vegan marshmellows for lunch today.
Best wishes, and by the way, I’m not criticizing vegetarians for not being vegan. I’m just under the impression that this thread’s topic is ‘can someone be sattvic (or vegan)’. I’m simply saying that its possible to be vegan, not easy, but there are usually ways to be learned.

#14

I must be that 1% then - because I have been vegan, vege, ayurvedic, raw, done the detoxes, you name it.
I have done it all over the years, and while there have been times of better and worse digestively speaking, the underlying problems have never left me since they began at age 18 or so. I’ve done all the tests, seen all the experts (mainstream and alternative) and they can’t seem to figure it out.
Even if it was stress related, it would not have appeared as if out of the blue and then remained more or less in tact for so many years.
Then again, there’s plenty they don’t understand about the digestive system.
Take IBS for example - it’s basically a way of saying they’re not exactly sure what’s going on - they can describe some of the symptoms, and identify that the GI tract is the culprit (or one of them at least), but the underlying cause and treatment is still unclear.

#15

DHAUTI KRIYAS (Nauli , Agnisara Kriya, Kunjal Kriya)

#16

Have done in the past - helped but didn’t address the underlying problems.

#17

Vastra Dhauti Kriya

Common underlining problem is virus, bacteria, parasites and this is what these techniques target and more.

Modern approach is a two week course very expensive antibiotic that is not absorbed i.e. safety profile good; xifaxan/rifaximin.

Dairy, wheat and sugar do not agree with me and I’m sure it’s do to an underlining problem.

#18

[QUOTE=ray_killeen;85039]Vastra Dhauti Kriya

Common underlining problem is virus, bacteria, parasites and this is what these techniques target and more.

Modern approach is a two week course very expensive antibiotic that is not absorbed i.e. safety profile good; xifaxan/rifaximin.[/QUOTE]

Interesting - to be honest I only did one or two of them and not for that long - maybe a few months at the time. I should try all of them as a regular practice and see what happens - but I know I need to find an experienced teacher.

Also interesting about the virus, bacteria, parasites - are there tests that can accurately detect these? Would they fit the profile for long-term issues - like can they stick around for 15 years without detection and doing harm beyond the symptoms I’ve described?

#19

Seems prudent to start with an upper/lower GI doc that can scope, culture, breath test, etc. Testing/diagnoses is good for the obvious but modern medicine doesn’t seem to have a good handle on these type chronic issues rather they tend to treat symptoms not underlying problems, chronic issues seem best treated by trial and error i.e. that which has worked for others, of course one must be prudent weigh the risk/reward, try the less risky seek skilled guidance with the unfamiliar, no doubt holistic endeavors take willingness, persistence, energy.