Vegan needs advice about bread (I am feeling VERY sick).

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annakaren83
annakaren83 Posts: 4
in Food and Nutrition
Hello,
I am vegan and recently tried to cut bread out of my diet because I felt I was not getting enough nutrients (most of my meals were bread bassed: think pita and hummus, sandwiches, etc.). I'm not sure if it's because I quit cold turkey, but these past few days by the time it came to dinner time I would feel extremely nauseous and, a few of these times, actually throw up. This may be a stupid question, but is it because nothing traditionally "solid" is going into my stomach? I've heard over and over again that bread is the enemy, so I cannot believe what a downturn my health has taken. But I also recall all those times we give drunk people who have been puking crackers or toast. The doctor recommended bismuth tablets until I feel better, but I don't want to be on thesd forever! Anything helps! I am so incredibly uninformed on nutrition...

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  • annakaren83
    annakaren83 Posts: 4
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    By nothing "solid," I want to emphasize that my meals are tofu, hummus, avocado, fruit (lots of it, but mostly of the squishy sort), and the like. None if it is "solid" or dry and so that is my concern...
  • hiraethed
    hiraethed Posts: 26 Member
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    As long as they are low in sodium and relatively clean (simple ingredients list) bread is not bad for you! Your body is probably just missing all those sweet sweet carbs. I don't think eliminating bread entirely is necessary, but getting more variety never hurt anyone. Try replacing it with rice, potatoes, barley, or some other carb. Especially potatoes! Potatoes are wonderful because they are a whole food straight from the earth packed with all the good stuff like Vitamin C, Potassium, etc. Too much fat can be hard on your stomach so cut down on the avocado and hummus. Carbs are not the enemy, especially on a vegan diet. Embrace them!
  • pastybuns
    pastybuns Posts: 81
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    Cutting something like bread out of your diet shouldn't make you feel sick in the ways you describe. I'd be more willing to guess that it's something you've introduced - either new or in greater quantity to replace bread.

    Another possibility may be that you are low on calories in general. Typical commercial based breads are pretty high in calories for a low volume (not saying this is bad). If you've cut this out and increased vegetables, you may simply be running on empty which might make you feel low in energy. Watch your calories and if this is the case, feel free to add more fruit (dates are a high calorie option) or starches like potatoes or rice.

    To be sick though, I'd look at what you've introduced or increased. Perhaps you might try going a few days or a week without a suspect and seeing how you feel then moving onto the next? You might be sensitive to fatty foods (avocados, hummus), or perhaps a certain type of fruit for instance. Maybe you do well with a small amount of them but once you increased that amount in place of the bread, your body tolerates it less. I am that way with cherries for example. Embarrassingly enough, if i eat more than a few handfuls at a time, I get kinda smelly. Don't tell anyone! :X

    This is all just guessing, but it's where I would start. Worst case scenario, I'd go back to your original diet and try to make your changes very slowly and gradually. It might reveal more about what you're experiencing.

    I'm a high raw, high carb vegan btw. So I consume very little bread based products - typically only on special social occasions.

    I hope all goes well for you and that you find your answers. Listen to your body!
  • GertrudeHorse
    GertrudeHorse Posts: 646 Member
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    Bread is one of life's pleasures. I don't understand why you would want to eliminate it completely.
  • SewingLynx
    SewingLynx Posts: 27 Member
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    I highly doubt giving up bread would create this reaction. You might need to replace some of the vitamins that were added to the bread you used to eat. Are you using a multivitamin? If not, I highly recommend looking into a plant-based vitamin. Bread is super-processed and most people naturally feel better after they quit eating it. Your sugar levels may be lower as a result, too. That's something to consider but your body will adjust. Try replacing the bread with nutritious foods like sweet potatoes or brown rice. ;o)
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
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    You have just described the way in which about 2/3 of the gluten intolerant or celiac folks I know discovered that they couldn't tolerate gluten. They happened to stop eating gluten for some reason (often with no noticeable effect at the time) and when they try to reintroduce it, their reaction was noticeable.

    I have not heard a medical reason listed for this phenomenon, but anecdotally, it's pretty common (two of the celiacs in my own family had this happen, as well). Not saying that this IS what's happening, but it's a possibility.

    One way I've seen folks try to figure this out is:
    1) Drop gluten again.
    2) See if your symptoms go away.
    3) If they don't, you might need to see a doctor. If they do, slowly try to reintroduce the gluten foods you were eating, to see what you DO react to. Often this is easiest to do one ingredient at a time, so if it's something else that you've introduced that's the problem, you can figure it out, too.


    At the same time - a test for celiac disease won't work without eating gluten daily for about 4-6 weeks, and requires a much more severe diet. If you've been gluten free for a while, dropping it to see might be a good way to do this. If you have only been gluten free a short time, then you might be able to still get the celiac test and have it be accurate, if you continued to eat gluten right now, potentially.

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