# Vegetarian / Vegans with IBS



## Clair.gale (Mar 2, 2016)

Is anyone out there a fellow vegetarian? Have you noticed any positive changes? Since becoming vegetarian my overall health has improved so much.


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## jaumeb (Sep 1, 2014)

Interesting. Could you provide details about your improvements? And how does your diet look like?


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## Clair.gale (Mar 2, 2016)

Cutting out lactose, gluten and meat has totally changed how I'm feeling no bloating or pain. I definitely have more energy I was wondering if this happened to anyone else.


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## jaumeb (Sep 1, 2014)

I tried that. It didn't work for me. I tried many things over the years so I consider myself a difficult case.


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## sixcats (Apr 5, 2016)

I've been vegetarian for over 30 years (it pre-dates my IBS by some distance). I feel like the worst vegetarian ever sometimes, since I need to avoid an ever-increasing list of fruit and veg! Despite not having eaten meat since I was a kid, I've still ended up with IBS.


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## lithium (Oct 9, 2015)

Vegetarian here. Struggling with IBS/IBD symptoms.


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## Clair.gale (Mar 2, 2016)

Great to know their are others out there. I recently gave up cheese also and that has helped me so much.


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## sixcats (Apr 5, 2016)

I had wondered if dairy may be exacerbating my symptoms. I drink very little milk, but do eat a lot of cheese. It's annoying because I can eat most things when not having a flare but once my IBS has been triggered, I need to start looking at cutting things out - seems to be a never-ending balancing act of cutting foods and then re-introducing them!


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## jaumeb (Sep 1, 2014)

Not all cheeses are equal. Some cheeses are low lactose and are fine for those suffering only from lactose intolerance. Some patients will have to avoid all cheeses. I ate way too much bread and cheese when I was young.


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## Clair.gale (Mar 2, 2016)

I agree with you both about cheese. We have a love hate relationship and it's definitely a trigger food for me when it's made from cows milk. I like goat cheese and it likes me back (no flare ups). However I feel like avoiding it is safest. Didn't we all eat too much bread and cheese ecckk and cheese wiz luckily I didn't eat that it always made me sick.


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## bwalker89 (Apr 22, 2016)

I'm dairy-free and I've found that my whole body has thanked me for it, although I do miss cheese! I don't eat a lot of meat anyway, just chicken and some fish mainly but wonder if I could try veganism.

I can't eat a lot of fruit though, as it flares me up but most veggies suit me.


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## Clair.gale (Mar 2, 2016)

I went vegan and I feel so much better. You never know good for you


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## HeavenlyJess (Apr 26, 2016)

I'm a vegan, and cutting out dairy and eggs should help you out even more. There is also a lot of cruelty involved in the dairy and egg industries and in my opinion even worse than the meat industry. I'm experiencing the best health of my life.


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## Gemma Hammond (Jun 9, 2016)

I have been a vegan for one year and during this time I have developed painful IBS symptoms. I am unsure whether I had these symptoms before I went vegan to be honest. This is because (and this sounds really stupid) but for ages I thought that wearing clothes that were restrictive against my waist and sitting down all day at work were causing the abdominal pain, bloating and frequent need to use the bathroom.

I am planning to try a vegan version of a low fodmap diet but definitely worried about being able to consume enough calories on a vegan low fodmap diet. Thinking my staples will be rice, potatoes, oats, gluten free pasta and bananas but I am still a bit unclear about what vegetables I can eat.

I love to eat and always make a huge effort for people to know that being a vegan doesn't affect what I can eat or my ability to enjoy food. Now because of my newly discovered IBS I think one thing I will struggle with is people blaming veganism for my restrictive diet, even though the IBS low fodmap is a completely different issue.


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## SusanMcGee (Mar 15, 2016)

I take a multivitamin. But I was thinking I should still take some specific ones as well. B12, vitamin D, and what else would you think?


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## Varius (Apr 26, 2016)

Both my digestive problems and general health improved greatly when I switched to a whole food vegan diet. I talked about how it fixed my IBS in this post:

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/286497-i-cured-my-ibs-with-a-whole-food-plant-based-diet/

And I detail how my general health improved in this post which is on another forum:

https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=50633


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