Diarrhoea due to veganism.

[Rose]

I've been vegetarian my whole life and now I have decided to go vegan. I'm really enjoying it and I can't imagine going back, however I've suffered from really bad diarrhoea. I've not added anything new to my diet apart from B12 vitamins. I stopped being vegan for a week and continued with the vitamins to see if this was causing my diarrhoea but it stopped. So it's not the vitamins. I even tried not smoking for a few days but to no avail.
I have no idea how to work around this! Any suggestions?

 

[amberfunk]

Your body could be detoxing. I had stomach issues for a little bit after going off of dairy products but it stopped. What were you eating before you became vegan and what are you eating since you became vegan?

 

[Mark Mywordz]

Rice would almost certainly help. Rice with your main course and/or rice pudding as a dessert. I think many vegetarians and vegans suffer from the trots (can't spell the d word). If this happens with me, my partner or our dog, we go for rice. It always works.

 

[animallover]

Probiotics and the brat diet can help.[ Bananas, rice, applesauce, toast]

 

[Veganite]

I had the opposite problem when I began. I'd definitely take a look at what you're eating though. You probably need a lot more bulk fiber, I'm guessing. It's really what makes the bulk of your poop. There's some good suggestions already, but whole grains, legumes, nuts, bran, seeds, and all beans have fiber.

If I'm not mistaken, we need about 28-30 grams of fiber a day. Maybe try supplementing with some ground flax in your smoothies or in your oatmeal in the mornings. Chia seeds have good fiber content as well.

 

[Forest Nymph]

That's...interesting. Make sure if you're eating raw vegetables they were washed thoroughly before eating, as it could be a bacteria or something. I never experienced this. When I first went vegan, I had to "go" 2-3 times a day, but it wasn't loose or painful, just normal (probably pushing all of the decaying animal products out of my guts). Now it's more like 1 or 2 times.

Are you taking an excess of B12? Check the mg. You need very little per day. Many vegans only take a supplement once or twice per week. In fact if you just went vegan in the past couple of weeks your B12 stores may already be high and you're supplementing too much.

Also, if you're doing fully raw or eating more beans than usual, you might want to balance it with some cooked grains (oatmeal, rice, farina porridge) and tofu or tempeh. There are different sorts of vegan diets and some people go very extreme when it's not necessary.