Difficulty digesting fiber

[donsabi]

I am new here and experiencing some detox symptoms after the first week. I opted to include some salmon and tuna while tapering. I have become a pescotarian.
I have been baking bread for over ten years. In that time I have tried a variety of breads. Every time I tried a whole wheat or high fiber bread I had digestive issues. My last effort was grinding 5 grain cereal and adding a small amount to my white bread but still had digestive issues.
Many years ago I enjoyed black bean soup and chili but as I aged I had difficulty digesting the beans. I tried a number of probiotics and enzymes but still the bloat and gas persists after eating beans. I tried soaking and pressure cooking but nothing helped.
This week I tweaked my no oil/eggs muffins to include pumpkin and flax seeds and so far so good.

Anyone else have issues with beans and high fiber?

 

[Veganite]

It's best not to use canned beans if at all possible. Also, soak your beans extremely well. Soak, rinse, and double-soak them. Rinse them again before cooking them in fresh clean water. This will help reduce their natural sugars, which tend to cause the digestive problems. No guarantees. Some people just don't tolerate them.

Also, introduce beans slowly into your diet, as though they were a potent drug. Start will a little bit and gradually add a bit more every day until your tolerance for beans hopefully improves. It is not an uncommon problem not being able to handle beans in the GI tract. Also, choose beans that are easier to digest, like lentils, black-eyed peas, adzuki, anasazi, mung beans, etc.

The fact is there's nothing in meat you can't get from plants, and be healthier for it. If you need more reasons to go fully plant-based, watch "Forks Over Knives" or "What The Health" on Netflix. Forks Over Knives is the reason I went vegan. YouTube is also very helpful for information, and awesome recipes.

 

[donsabi]

Veganite
Thanks for your post. Today I ordered a small pressure cooker in the hopes that will allow me to digest beans more easily.
I love split pea soup and black bean soup. I am hoping I can go back to eating them among other beans.

I watched Dr. Furman on PBS and he was talking about the caloric density of foods. I track my calories and I am amazed at how much veggie foods I can eat and yet my daily intake is less than 1200 calories. He suggested eating more nuts. More nuts more fat. Is that a good idea?

 

[Veganite]

Nuts are great, especially walnuts, but seriously, common sense would say to eat more fruits and veggies first. Avocados, nuts, olives, and the rest of the tasty fats are most certainly important to your diet, but should make up a much smaller percentage overall, don't you agree? I would think eating more nuts would easily put you over 1200 cals.

I must say 1200 calorie diet is quite strict, even for a vegan diet. In theory, if you stick to a whole foods plant-based diet without salt, oil and sugar, you shouldn't have to count calories.

 

[donsabi]

It's been a long time but I finally was able to enjoy a bowl of split pea soup (vegan) without any digestive issues. I followed some suggestions that seem to work very well. I soaked the split peas overnight. I also bought a new 2 qt pressure cooker and cooked my soup using it. The split pea soup, all vegan, was delicious and I was pleasantly surprised to have no bloat or gas.
I also watched a video that mentioned that when going vegan our microbiome changes and will adapt to a vegan diet very quickly. I bake my own bread and it is mostly white bread because I had a difficult time digesting whole grains. The other day I made a loaf using 25% whole wheat and again was pleasantly surprised that I did not have any digestive problems.
I have also had some detox issues like arthritic pain in my feet that lasted a day. Another day I had itchy wrists and ankles for a day. Today I simply feel tired. Overall I think I am moving along nicely

 

[Catman]

Congrats!

So if it's only beans/legumes that give you digestion issues, the issue likely isn't the fiber content.

Instead, it's the oligosaccharides; Soaking removes most of it, which is probably why it helped you.

Additionally, make sure you're drinking lots of fluids, you need more if you're consuming more fiber than normal.

 

[Veganite]

I'm so glad to hear it. keep us posted