Seems so miraculous I just had to tell you...

[Dodo4350]

I have struggled with all the symtoms of IBS for as many years as I can remember. I have tried this diet and that diet and some with short lived effect and some with no effect at all. Most recently, due to worsening tummy pain, I had given up dairy, grain and ultimately meat, and it ocurred to me that I was pretty much almost vegan, so I decided to read up about veganism, and came across the very current thinking - which is outlined in books such as - The China Study, and How Not ToDie, and Fork Over Knife, which advocate a wholefood, plant based diet. This seems to make sense for so many reasons, not least of all because of the claims that eating this way can reverse the effects of many illnesses and disorders - IBS being one of them.

I never ever thought that I would become vegan, loving dairy produce as I have done....cheese, ice cream, yogurt etc, but in order to alleviate the symptoms I thought it worth a try, and so I decided to embrace it for a trial period at least. And also to investigate what I maybe Could eat, having eliminated most things from my diet.

My diet was a pretty depressing subject until I started the wholefood plant based diet. I thought I would crave certain foods, and be tempted to cheat etc, but I honestly have to tell you that this way of eating opens up a whole new way of creativity around food and eating. I have been doing it for about 5 or 6 weeks. Prior to this time I have also been struggling to lose weight, even eating as little as 700 or 800 calories per day, and managing to average over 4 years only 12 ounces weight loss per week. (28 pounds in 4 years)

Now for the good news! Pretty much within days of starting this new way of eating my tummy painabated and disappeared! Instead of either going 7 days between 'poos' or going multipe times in the day to pass very foul diarrhoea, my trips have become NORMAL!! Once a day, formed but soft enough to pass effortlessly. I can barely believe it. The most unbelievable part is that suddenly the weight has started shifting. I have lost approx 15 pounds in this time, and all the time eating as much as I want of these particular foods with no cravings for my old ways.

I can only believe that animal related foods have been poisoning me, and causing all this grief. No way will I be rushing back to resume eating like that.

[Eliana5]

This is great news! Keep up the good work. 👍☺

[Dodo4350 in reply to Eliana5]

Thank you Eliana5

[Ukbusybee]

Glad it’s working for you. I avoid wheat/gluten, dairy and eggs but not meat and that’s kind of worked for me. Search for Bosh on Facebook or Youtube for some truly amazing vegan recipes! 🙂

[josephinemarion in reply to Ukbusybee]

Glad the vegan thing works for you. I am teetering on the brink of going vegan myself, but still have a way to go! An interesting tip: Morrisons has a large 'free from' section and a friend told me about milk/gluten free ice cream cones which they stock and they're great. I can enjoy ice cream again........

[Dodo4350 in reply to josephinemarion]

Also ,the thing with the whole food plant-based diet is that it focuses on the lesser end of the calorie scale ie on foods like veg, fruit, pulses and grains, with more moderate inclusion of the denser cal foods ie nuts ,seeds and oils. Along with that, and where it differs to traditional vegan diet, it avoids unrefined and processed foods like sugar, and pre-manufactured foods (ready meals etc). So it is pretty clean eating. Ice cream used to be my thing, but honestly, since I have been doing this I have made my own, and also bought a vegan on, both of which were just too sweet. I seem to have lost my sweet tooth.

[Dodo4350 in reply to Ukbusybee]

That's just about where I was when I made the leap. I was beginning to think that there was very little left to eat. And you are right about the amount of stuff available out there.

[Hidden]

Thank you so much for sharing and it sounds so interesting to me and seems to makes slot if sense. I'm so glad I came across your post.

How did you start i.e. did you look for vegan diets/recipe books online?

I am a pescatarian and think I probably could become a vegan.

I'm going to save your post.

Once again, thank you so much for sharing and all the very best to you for a healthy, happy future.

😁

[Dodo4350]

Thanks for your post Crazyfitness. The thing is I already used to buy Vegetarian mags occasionally, and had already had a go at some vegetarian dishes, so yes, I looked on line, and on Youtube. Also , quite coincidentally, having a Kindle Fire, and being interested in cooking etc already, I received a post from Amazon recommending the book 'The China Study' and when I clicked on that, a couple of other books were recommended too. Reading through the reviews was testament to the impressive claims these studies were making re bringing massive improvements to health, reversing or lessening many illnesses,and disorders, inc. IBS (BINGO!!), and , double whammy, people were losing significant amounts of weight too, whilst eating as much as they wanted.

Since my struggle with losing weight has been pretty much life long, it seemed mad not to give it a whirl. What could I lose - apart from pain and weight!

There are lots of vegan blogs too, and many provide you with quite disturbing information about the bad side effects of intensive farming of animals (damage to the planet etc) and the many reasons why consuming animal products is a bad idea. When you read about the number of hormones and drugs animals are injected with and fed to make them yield more meat/milk/eggs, that fact alone makes perfect sense as to why eating the produce is possibly/probably causing many of the illnesses and issues we battle with in our thousands. Also some people apparently have an intolerance of the particular protein found in dairy.

Ican only say that I feel so much better mentally and physically since I cut it all out. It does take a little imagination to develop new eating habits, but that's not a big deal really, and since more and more people are going down this road, maybe we won't be in such a tiny minority. If only I had found out about this say 50 years ago. I did used to enjoy meat, to be honest, but now ,on balance, I will never be tempted again.

Good luck with this, if you should decide to make the final leap.

[Hidden in reply to Dodo4350]

Thank you so much for responding, I am really teetering on the edge to changing to vegan. I do have a meat eater in the house but that doesn't bother me as I don't like meat. The only things in my diet that aren't plant based are salmon, tuna and dairy, dairy being the hardest to give up. What did you replace your dairy with?

The China study sounds very interesting and I fully understand what you have said above that's why a while ago I started buying organic eggs and milk but I still don't trust the manufacturers.

I make my own burger and my favourite are the black bean and beetroot burgers in the Clever Guts Diet book, they are yummy. I also make my own sourdough bread, raw fruit bars and nut butters. I've weaned myself off chocolate and that happened when I started making the raw fruit bars, I don't even like chocolate now.

Just a quick question, I like sandwiches particularly with cheese, how easy is it to find vegan cheese or is there a selection of vegan fillings?

I've got some things to use up by whilst I do I'm going to research as much as I can on organism.

Your post has really inspired me, thank you.

Alicia 😀

[Dodo4350 in reply to Hidden]

Hi again Alicia - glad to inspire lol!

It really sounds like you are almost there. I am the only vegan in a household of carnivores too, so I know what you mean. I was just like you doing my research while using up supplies of yogurt.

As for replacing dairy - initially I tried various plant milks - original soya was too sweet, almond too watery, oat milk ok apart from the colour -it made me think of breast milk ha ha! and the flavour was a bit porridgey. I decided to drink green teas and herbal teas, and do without. That was fine. Then I found unsweetened soya milk, and that is great on cereal and in coffee - lovely flavour (ie. flavourless) and alot like dairy milk. Abit crreamy for me in tea, but good in coffee.

Re cheese - my weakness- there are recipes for vegan cheese in some of the mags and books, and no doubt on line too, but if you have a vegan supply shop near you you will find that there are several brands available commercially. I have tried to avoid these altogether.

There are many recipes which use nutritional yeast as a cheese flavoured ingredient. I came across one recipe for a 'macaroni cheese' which used pureed steamed cauliflower seasoned with nutritional yeast flakes to make the cheese sauce to pour on the pasta. I have not tried it yet, but I plan to.

I have found that Ocado have a decent supply of vegan ingredients - inc cheese, yogurts, and various ice creams, and ........chocolate!!!

There is so much creativity out there - this wholefood, plant based diet is the 'up and coming' way to eat. A lot of peope are taking it seriously and for good reason.

I wish you lots of luck with this. I don't think you will feel bored or deprived.

Diana

[Hidden in reply to Dodo4350]

Thank you so much for your reply and you really have inspired me and I have to say I have been looking at vegan for a while now and not been sure but yiur post made me think alot more seriously. The health benefits seem to far outweigh any difficulty in getting hold of ingredients and time spent in the kitchen.

Funnily enough I have nutritional yeast in my cupboard and used some in the burgers I made yesterday. I am having salmon tonight and another 4 portions left in the freezer and that's it.

Fortunately I am the cook in the house so that'll mske it easier i.e. I won't have any moans saying that I am difficult lol😂😂

I'll have a look at Ocado and see what they have.

Once again, thank you.

Here's to a happy, healthy lifestyle 😀

Alicia😁

[Lulububs]

Hello dodo

I have had ibs for along time i have also had other health problem( women problems) and about year ago i was so ill i just could not stomach food fullstop.

I eventually gave up gluten, yeast, dairy and slowly meats been creeping out to, still eat fish and chicken though or i really would have no food.

I have found that not only has my ibs got better had two attacks in year and that coz i could not accept fact i had to give up steak!

Now i have lol.

The added bonus is i lost two stone i look really healthy and my once crippling periods are now nearly painfree

[Dodo4350]

Well done to you!! Isn't it fabulous!! Every body needs to knowabout this , don't you think?

[rozwalts]

I am glad it works for you, but if I gave up meat and dairy then there wouldn't be much left for me to eat. One simply could not live on cauliflower, broccoli, peas, green beans, plus bananas, lychee, pineapple, cooked (without skin) apple/pears, and tinned peaches for long.

[Dodo4350]

That's what you might think at first. I admit I felt a bit glum too. But when you investigate on line blogs and websites, there is so much to go at. There are all the vegetables, all the cereals, the pulses, grains. I promise you it's a whole exciting new area to discover. Ther is a website called vegan recipes online. If yu are at all interested just have a look. Incidentally, I am now eating all the fruit and veg ruled out on the low FODMAPs diet.