Calling Other Vegetarians - What Do You Eat & What Supplements

[tiredofvampires]

Just so you know, Silverbirch, taking charcoal will not only reduce efficacy of medications (because it absorbs them), but will also absorb vital nutrients. It's like a dietary sponge.

 

So if you're taking supplements, they may be "antidoted" by the charcoal. Plus, charcoal is just not a good thing to be consuming on a regular basis.

 

If you want to reduce gas and bloating from legumes, you could try digestive enzymes instead. In particular, ones containing alpha galactosidase (and invertase as well.) The former is the main ingredient in the supplement Beano. There are other products besides, such as Yes To Beans, that specifically contain enzyme formulas targeted to break down these kinds of complex sugars.

 

There are a lot of digestive enzyme formulas that are very complete and comprehensive that may work also.

[Silverbirch]

Hi and thanks TOV, what would be examples of those foods? Man and I were both saying this morning how much better we feel when we just have a light vegetable meal for dinner and then a light supper - definitely not legumes after lunchtime. I only use the charcoal sparingly - only usually if I am eating something with a lot of legumes and assorted vegies. I much prefer not to eat more than a few vegies at a time. I think our society eats way too much in general.

[sidehop]

It's very difficult to avoid soy these days as its in so many packaged foods you won't even know until you dissect it. Not to say that if you eat soy you'll die faster than others but aside from the high estrogen level there are studies that show the structure of the soy itself may block the actual protein absorption by the body. If you want to leave the article in depth here's a good one: link removed It does go in depth but it's something that's better without IMO; I'm sure it's difficult if you're vegan but either you'll want it in fermented form or reduce the intake of regular soy.

 

To me I would just eat what makes you feel right. Personally I avoid soy as much as possible. Same with gluten as I feel much better without them. Processed dairy is another; if anything I eat more yogurt than drinking milk or eat cheese. Everyone responds differently with each food so it's hard to say.

[Silverbirch]

Thanks for that link Sidehop. Doesn't it make you wonder about other foods too though. For so long, there has been the view that dairy, specifically products made from cows milk for young children can have some very bad side effects. I wouldn't advocate giving soy milk to a child, and definitely not an infant, but there are plenty of women who for whatever reason are unable to breast feed their children. I could only feed my own for a couple of months, and we learnt later that it was due to hormones - I got a period 28 days after giving birth, and every 28 days thereafter. My mother-in-law and sisters-in-law especially terrified me of the harm I was doing to my child. He's grown up now, perfect teeth, played sport at state level, no major health problem except that he did get a lot of ear infections when he was young requiring grommets. Also, when he had to go on formula, he used to get intestinal thrush which resulted in poor red bottom.

 

Maybe whatever you eat, there is going to be some type of trade-off and so as much as is possible, a wide variety of food types.

[sidehop]

True and sometimes genetics or certain tendencies to the way the food react depending on your origin seem to play a role as well.

 

Not to get in to politics but I only encourage people to dig for information and find out what works for them. Just because it's on TV or some organization said it's good for you may not necessary be true. Fine example would be problem with osteoporosis among women in their 50's in United States and vast majority of those women have consumed processed dairy. There's a lot of studies and evidence that indicate certain foods that may have been heavily advertised as a 'must in our diet' may not necessarily be doing all positive things that they claim.

 

Really scary in that sense.

[tiredofvampires]

Hi and thanks TOV, what would be examples of those foods?

 

Digestive enzymes aren't foods, they're supplements. You can find them in health food stores, and sometimes in supermarkets or drugstores.

 

There's one called "Beano" like I said above, or "Yes to Beans". I don't know if you can find that where you are, but you can certainly find them online.

[FathomFear]

I've had mixed experiences with Beano. Sometimes it seems to work, sometimes it doesn't. It's worth trying though.

 

Over time I found my body adjusted to the change in diet, and the gas problems slowly subsided.

[Silverbirch]

Thanks TOV, I'll have a look around for them.