...The More You Eat, The More You...

Alright. We need to have a serious discussion. I know I'm not the only one experiencing this. I thought that after a month or so of eating primarily vegetables my body would adjust and function normally, but no such luck. Vegetarians and vegans of the world, you know what I'm talking about:

Gas.

And not just your regular run-of-the-mill girl gas. Used to be that, on the occasion that I did have to toot, it would be small, odorless, and infrequent (most of the time). Now I'm creating enough natural gas to power a small metropolis, and I'll admit, it's quite offensive.

I've Googled the matter, and here's what I've found: (BTW, I appologize if this grosses some of you out, but I find this extremely interesting. Our poo is one of the best indicators of how our digestive system is working.) This comes from a thread on www.caloriecount.about.com.

supersized (user name)
Jul 13 2006 03:31

Here's the explanation we've gotten from my friend (a fecieologist) and confirmed by our local GP.

If you eat a lot of packaged foods and meats consider how your digestive track is working.... meat takes on average 19 days to digest. It slowly sits in your colon... and for all essential purposes rots (it's supposed to), as it decomposes (helped out by the bacteria in your colon) the nutrients are extracted and sent into your blood stream and the rest needs to be broken down and sent ... well... out.... Meat takes a long time to break down.

Now consider veggies.... veggies take a lot less time to break down, and they also contain a lot more gas....

So when the average North American meat and processed/packaged food eater (processed and packaged foods have a lot of stuff in them to make sure they last longer i.e. don't break down easy) starts eating a lot of fresh veggies.... well... there's all this meat sitting in the colon.... and the veggies start breaking down faster and before the meat but they are not first in line... this sends the gas back into the stomach creating bloating....

Also, your colon isn't used to working at this pace.... it may think there is something wrong and try to compensate by flushing it (frequent and runny movements)

The good news is this does go away... give it at least a full month to work itself out in the beginning stages... three months to really be clear.

The amount of bread eaten can also act as an absorber for the veggies as well so you need to figure out how much fiber your body needs... and what constipates you.

What a great explanation! Thank you, supersized.

Now, what's the solution? I have read that many recommend antacids. Well, if that's your path, that's fine and dandy, but part of my contract with myself is to rid my body of artificial chemicals and such. Like, if I wanted to put chemicals into my body to solve the problem, I'd just eat the processed foods and avoid the gas altogether. Then there's Beano, but for those of you who aren't aware, Beano contains fish gelatin which is outside the vegan realm. There is another product called "Say Yes to Beans" which looks pretty promising. You take it like Beano, but it's all natural. If any of you have tried it, lemme know how it's working for you.

My personal favorite is a product called "The Toot Trapper." It's an activated charcoal lined cushion that absorbs the smell for things like car rides and plane rides. (I guess the company actually had to change the name of it to "Flatulence Filter" because too many people thought it was a joke item.) How fabulous! www.gasbgone.com carries a large assortment of odor reducing cushions, underware, and face masks. And at $64/pair of undies, who wouldn't give those fancy pants a try? Three cheers for the good people of Dairiair, LLC!

According to our supersized friend above, we need to give it 3 months to be really clear. So the good news is that this isn't a permanent chronic condition. Hallelujah! In the mean time, I'll just have a lot of fun using my personal atomic bombs to incinerate my husband. :)