About three weeks ago, I went vegetarian. The trasition was not hard, I jumped in head first, and i've been doing well since. But over the last week, I've noticed some unpleasant things happening. Not horrible, but enough to make one frown.

TMI alert.

Okay, my stool has been kind of loose, and at first I attributed it to more fiber. But it and my passed gas has been quite...rank over the past week, if not more frequent.

I wonder if I'm detoxing, because before I made the plunge, I ate meat for two of three meals a day. My diet was okay, but I still have some junk food in there which I've eliminated. I am not lactose intolerant as I do not consume more than a small glass of milk a week and I am not allergic to soy, and I do not consume a lot of soy either.

Help! :flush:

Meat putrifies in a the intestines, causing lots of gas, back-up and constipation. So if you stopped eating meat, things are clearing up in there.

Your instestines are going through changes and are attempting to normalize, so you will probably be experiencing more frequent, maybe even unformed and odiferous stool.

The cleaner, fresher food you eat, the more your body will cleanse with the absense of the offending food.

Also when fiber moves past "impacted" food It gently dislodges it, removing years of built up waste. I don't know if this is true or not but since many gut problems are caused by food particles that get trapped in pockets, I can sort-of believe it. If you want to get it over with, there are some interior clensing programs which some people have been satisfied with. I am going to do one in May, because they say that built up stuff can also interfere with the absorption of vitamines and other micro-nutrients-- so if you occasionally clean out your intestines, you are going to be healthier in the long run. Has anyone tried one of these kits?

Oh and I agree with Sharon-- loose stool is indeed a transitional thing unless you are being bothered by something specific. Unfortunately loose stool is among the most common symtom of a lot of things-- If it is combined "sick stomach" feeling and other symthoms, (lethargy, feeling like you are going to toss up, etc.) you might consult a health care worker-- also, make sure to wash your fruits and veggies-- a lot of people just pick them up to look at them and put them down in the store and you never know where their hands have been.

Yes, it seems that your body is in cleansing mode. That's a good thing!!! Yeah for you! I work at Hippocrates Health Institute and when people come and get on a raw vegan diet, they experience all kinds of detox symptoms. They think we're crazy sometimes because we're like, "Yeah!!! You have a rash!" They'll tell me they have diarrhea or a headache and I'm like, "Oh great!" It's a big joke among the guests and employees.

Okay, my stool has been kind of loose, and at first I attributed it to more fiber. But it and my passed gas has been quite...rank over the past week, if not more frequent.

indeed

when my wife and i went vegan a few months ago the same thing happened

we were literally farting our asses off...i was in comic heaven, but my wife didn't share my jubilation lol

and teh stoolage was soft and messy

now everything is back to normal

my #2's are solid again and i often/usually have my lovely ghost poos (the kind where when you wipe there's nothing on the toilet paper) nice clean breaks :D

i really, really miss my musical ass though...so much joy...gone so soon :(

Almost all of my poos are of the ghost variety...you save money on t.p.:flush:

I've read that the average american has 40 lbs of sludge in his/her intestines. while this seems quite exaggerated, i'm sure it is a pretty close estimate when you look at the average weight of americans also. I imagine that the increase in fiber might have something to do with getting rid of some of this sludge.

When i first switched into vegetarianism, i noticed this too...

The term 'detox' is not scientifically established or validated (you won't find it any credible medical text), so it is much loved by new-agers and folks susceptible to fanciful pseudo-scientific claims (folks who, sadly, abound in the veg*n world and greatly hamper our ability to move into the mainstream by reinforcing the common notion that veg*ns are just whacked-out poorly informed ex-hippies). I recommend a healthy skepticism regarding nutrition and health-related claims you see on public boards like this. The key point is that the human digestive process is extremely complex and poorly understood at this point (however, you can place the meme that meat 'putrifies' in the intestine solidly in the realm of pseudo-science). Congrats on your transition to a healthier diet! :D

-- To get back to the original problem, I think your body is getting used to the change in food-- You may need to adjust your diet for a while to come up with something that works. I am only an L/OVeg so I can't say what is right for a vegan or strict Vegitarian. I've heard that people who transition more slowly instead of going cold turkey (or cold tofu) have better luck. "Gas" is after all from the little co-inhabitants of our bodies (your microbial fellow travelers). You knew you were going vegitarian, but you probably did not tell them. Beanzyme at Amazon, or beano may help you adjust. If you are allowed to have milk products, I would suggest getting some yoghurt starter and making yoghurt with some organic low temp vat pasturised milk, some multidophelous or acidophelous suppliments might help. The yoghurt you buy in mainstream stores is generally not vegitarian-- it has gelatin in it--

TMI alert too:

When I went veg my stomach and intestines were shall we say ........ :flush: loose and not pleasantly fragranced.

After I got over what seem to be my body flushing a bunch of toxic stuff out things returned to normal. On an odd note the color is different, much lighter. Things are easier and less smelly too.

I've read that the average american has 40 lbs of sludge in his/her intestines. while this seems quite exaggerated, i'm sure it is a pretty close estimate when you look at the average weight of americans also. I imagine that the increase in fiber might have something to do with getting rid of some of this sludge.

When i first switched into vegetarianism, i noticed this too...
lol I don't know about THAT :lol: If this was true, my "true" weight would be like 75lbs! I highly doubt there is "sludge" in your intestines, but I do agree any big change in diet is going to give your digestive system some getting used to.

The inside of our intestines is similar to the inside of our mouths/cheeks...pretty slippery. I can see how a huge intake of soluble fiber could get wedged in there lol.