What is a Vegan Diet?
Vegan diet is basically a plant based diet. It is a bit different from a vegetarian diet. In a vegan diet foods are made of vegetables, grains, nuts and fruits only and it does not include any food that comes from animals. Furthermore, a vegan diet does not allow you to eat any dairy products and eggs too. People choose to accept a vegan diet over other types of diets because it has many health benefits such as it improves blood glucose, improves blood pressure, decreases the risk of cardiometabolic diseases and type 2 diabetes. Surprisingly the diet has a great effect on mental health disorders. Study shows that vegan diet is associated with a higher prevalence of unipolar depressive disorders. However, along with some good effects vegan diet has some bad side effects too. One of them is bloating. Bloating and Vegan Diet are co-related. It is a common side effect during the starting of the vegan diet. So, in this article we are going to learn how we can control bloating while on a vegan diet.
Bloating and Vegan Diet
If you have recently started following a vegan diet or switched to vegan diet from any other type of diet then you may feel bloated and this is common for many. Bloating in a vegan diet can be caused by your eating habit and shifting of food choice during the vegan diet and the large amount of food you eat during the diet. All of these contribute to the formulation of stomach gas and lead you to feel unexpected bloating. There are more exact reasons behind the expected bloating during the vegan diet.
Reasons of Bloating in Vegan Diet
There are potential causes of bloating while on a vegan diet. Some common reasons can be medicines that you take during the diet, diet, and lifestyle. Over eating has been the most common effective reason behind bloating in a vegan diet. Now, let’s understand why bloating happens in this diet one by one.
Over Intake of Fiber:
Plant based foods such as fruits and veg, beans and legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains are high in fiber which means if you have planned to shift your diet from standard omnivorous diet to vegan diet you are going to consume more fiber.
Fiber is a type of carbohydrate and unlike other foods, fiber doesn’t get digested or absorbed by our body instead this passes into our large intestines. There it gets fermented by our gut bacteria. During this process some amount of gas gets formulated which can make you feel increased pressure in your intestine and full. This can cause bloating. However the feeling can be temporary.
Over Eating:
Plant based foods contain fewer calories than animal based foods which is why people on vegan diet tend to eat an increased amount of food to meet their calorie needs. This large amount of food goes through our digestive tract and causes feelings of fullness and bloating.
FODMAPs:
FODMAPs are one kind of carbohydrates that are not digested by our body instead fermented in our intestines. People sensitive to this can feel bloated. Plant based foods are high in FODMAPs and cause gas formulation in the intestine which causes significant distension and bloating.
Not Enough Fluids:
When we don’t drink enough water our body starts to retain water to our cells which increases the chance of bloating and swelling. Along with the increase of fiber intake in vegan diet it is essential to increase drinking water. This would help you to avoid bloating, constipation, otherwise you may experience abdominal pain during the vegan diet.
Eating too Quickly:
It is important to chew foods properly otherwise this can cause you digestion problems. When we eat quickly and we don’t chew food as much as it requires. Because of this your digestive enzyme may not be able to make foods digested or it can take longer time to digest the foods. This formulates gas in your intestine and leads you to bloating.
Beans and Legumes:
Beans include legumes and peas are highly nutritious. They contain indigestible carbohydrates which means when they are fermented by our gut bacteria, the process formulates gas which causes bloating.
How to Control Bloating?
Since bloating and vegan diet are correlated so when getting into vegan diet you must find out the ways to control bloating. The basic thing that you need to keep in mind is that if you want to control bloating you need to control eating foods that formulate excess amounts of gas in your stomach. There are some more ways to control bloating while on a vegan diet. We have mentioned those methods below:
Slow Eating:
In fast eating you may not chew food till the time it requires which formulates gas in your intestine so, using the opposite method which is chewing the food more by taking more time can help you in better digestion and reduces the chance of formulation of gas in stomach and this helps in controlling bloating.
Mindful Eating:
When you eat quickly you may swallow air and this can lead you to experience bloating so when you eat slowly you reduce the chance of swallowing air. Also mindful eating can help you to stay aware of the volume of food you’re eating.
Drink Water:
When you are on a vegan diet you are supposed to eat more fiber. Water prevents soluble fiber from sitting in your gut for too long and on the other hand water also eases out the fiber to pass through the digestive tract. All these help to reduce the chance of bloating. It is better to drink water in small intervals instead of drinking large amounts of water at once.
Soak Legumes Before Eating:
Chickpeas, black beans, lentils of all colors, pigeon peas, mung beans, and split peas contain plant based protein but with protein they also contain high amounts of fiber in them. Fiber does not digest easily which causes gas and bloating. So if you soak dried beans overnight it leaches out the sugars and reduces the chance of upsetting stomach and bloating.
Walk and Talk:
You can go for a short walk with your partner or do some light exercises. These can reduce the chance of formulation of gas in your stomach which controls bloating symptoms. But don’t overdo anything after having a meal as this time the body tries to digest foods. Keep it casual.
Eat Foods that have Probiotics:
Probiotics often help to minimize bloating. Foods with probiotics such as kimchi, miso, tempeh, and sauerkraut are great for managing bloating symptoms. However more research is required to determine which probiotic strains are particularly beneficial for controlling bloating.
Limiting Processed Foods and Drinks:
Limiting certain foods and fluids such as sodas, other carbonated drinks and sugar alternatives such as xylitol, sorbitol, and mannitol formulate gas which causes bloating.
High salty processed foods such as fast foods can cause bloating. This is because sodium in salt causes the body to retain water which in turn causes bloating. On the other hand fast food, chips and other snacks, fried foods, and other processed foods contain high amounts of fat and they produce gas in the stomach and lead you to feel bloated.
Hence, limiting the consumption of processed foods and foods high in fat during the vegan diet can help reduce bloating.
Conclusion
So, are Bloating and Vegan Diet correlated? The answer is Yes. Since the diet is plant based, you will consume more plant based protein which causes gas in the stomach and results in bloating. But we are not saying vegan diet is bad, in fact it has many health benefits and also people who want to get into a diet but do not want to consume animal and dairy based products, they can follow vegan diet to intake the required amount of protein. It is just that everything has a side effect so bloating is one of the side effects of vegan diet. However, if you follow the above provided instruction and eating habit then you are surely going to manage the symptoms.
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