I’ve been a Vegan for 2 months. I was struck with constant Acid Reflux, and now I can’t eat normal. Help!
I can’t eat tomatoes, onion, garlic, fried foods like I used to because instantly I get bad acid reflux. I used to drink socially and I can’t even have a a few sips of wine or my acid reflux starts acting up. I like the benefits of being a Vegan, but I can’ even eat what I like or drink alcohol socially. I want to go back to what I was before, but my body is rejecting everything. I need help! I’m depressed because of this. What did I do wrong? I limited my diet and changed it but now I"m just eating like a rabbit, with some carbs. I can’t even eat a handful of grapes without having an episode. I’m 24 years old.
Filed under: Acid Reflux
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You really do need to go to your doctor about this.
I have mild reflux, but as long as I stay seated upright for at least 45 minutes after eating and don’t go to bed less than three hours after eating, I’m fine. I also eat soy yogurt several times a week. It soothes the stomach and helps the good bacteria in your gut. Chewing gum also helps.
Stress can also cause reflux. If you’re in a stressful job or situation, you need to do something to mitigate that.
When I became a vegetarian, I fell off the wagon a couple of times in the first month. I ate some tuna salad and some chicken breast. Both made me sick. Another thing happened as well–I became lactose intolerant! My theory on this is that humans were meant to be vegans. Our canines are not long or particularly sharp. More suitable for biting into a mango than tearing meat off a bone. Also, our other teeth are more suitable for an herbivore than carnivore.
About the acid reflux–I strongly suggest you see your doc. But until then, I would take an over-the-counter acid reflux medication.
Finally, I don’t know your lifestyle, but if I stop exercising, I get acid reflux. When I start exercising regularly (every day) again, it only takes a couple of weeks for the acid reflux to stop. Hope you feel better soon.
Oh dear! Ok, the lady ‘cookies and corn’ answer above is right, I have been vegetarian since I was 9 years old and I did it gradually finally stopping fish at age 17 and now I very limit any dairy. I’m 34!
Easy does it with your body honey! Your body is not happy right now and needs to be fixed!
Going to a doctor and taking medication wont fix whats going on just mask the symptoms but stay in touch with your doctor as this could progress if you dont take steps to fix it.
Your body needs to come back to alkaline, your ph balance is off.
I had this about 8 years ago suddenly and briefly and what I did was I drank milk and I ‘calmed down’ my diet I ate just gentle foods for a few weeks and no alcohol and it has never returned in any shape or form. Gentle foods are not the ones you listed above!!!
You can heal this yourself. If you want to drink alcohol try baileys irish cream or guinness or ale (newcastle brown?) wine is out for a while!
The foods you can eat is a far longer list than the foods you cant right now…research it a bit..
‘Cookies and Corn’ answer would cost you about $100 from a Naturopath! I advise you to follow what she said.
Go to the doctor, they will definitely be able to help. This may or may not be due to your diet. In some people (like me), the muscle that is supposed to hold everything in your stomach becomes weak, which causes acid reflux all the time (no matter what you eat or don’t eat). In this case, it is irreversible and medical attention is required to fix it. In some extreme cases, people have to have surgery to correct it (if mine gets any worse I might have to).
However, there are some general rules to follow that will definitely reduce it. Garlic can be a trigger, but since you said you don’t eat it then you won’t have a problem with that. Avoid carbonated and/or caffinated drinks. Don’t lay down for a few hours after you eat. Alcohol can definitely trigger it, as you have found out. Acidic foods will obviously make it worse.
Seriously, see a doctor. They will be able to prescribe medication that will help you remedy the acid reflux. If you need immediate relief, take an OTC heartburn relief or take a huge swig of water.
BTW, not eating enough can aggrevate your stomach and cause acid reflux as well.
Edit to Sunshine Girl, acid reflux is not ALWAYS caused by what you are eating. Sometimes it is caused by circumstances beyond your control.
Do some research, and follow a diet that will reduce or eliminate your acid reflux as much as possible. If that doesn’t work, you should see a doctor as they will have to FIX, not MASK the problem.
If changing your diet does not work, it is very important that you see a doctor as prolonged acid reflux can erode your esophagus and may cause esophagal cancer (if it goes on for a long time).
What should one do to remedy acid reflux? Following a detoxification diet, drinking about 1 gallon of filtered water daily along with high doses of quality probiotics goes a long way toward restoring normal stomach function for most people. Normally, you should try to drink enough water each day to keep your urine a light yellow shade. However, when you suffer from acid reflux, more water may be necessary to dilute the acid and normalize the pH in your stomach.
Healing Diet
Following a detoxification diet is critical to good health because our bodies are constantly bombarded with toxicity in our everyday lives. Most people can’t avoid everyday pollutants altogether, but they can take steps to protect their health using a healing diet. Once environmental illness is diagnosed, the logical first step to take is removing the offending toxins from a person’s environment and begin body detoxification. Only then can healing begin. Detoxification is the key to getting better. There are many ways to detoxify your body using a detoxification diet and I examine some of those here:
First, a good way to protect your health is to not eat harmful foods! Here are foods to avoid if you are to live a long, healthy life:
Foods that Kill
Margarine and other hydrogenated fats,
Chlorinated Water
Antibiotics (not always, but in many cases)
Aspartame
Table salt
MSG – Mono Sodium Glutamate
Pesticides
Carcinogens
Hormones which can be present in milk
Food additives
Refined sugar, sweeteners
Junk/processed foods (Processed "food" is life-less food)
fried, smoked, grilled foods
Soft drinks – Keep your child away from this
Alcohol drinks
What should a detoxification diet consist of?
An important part of your detoxification diet should be water, healing foods, vegetable juices, fats that heal, and unrefined sea salt.
Eat primarily foods that contain live enzymes, "life force" and nutrients. "Foods" that lack these elements cause the body to become acid, produce mucous, and congest the intestinal tract. Over time, if you keep eating a poor diet, this congestion builds up, layer after layer, eventually forming a hardened layer of plaque in the intestin. This substance is known as "mucoid fecal plaque" and is believed to contribute towards a majority of the obstacles to optimal health.
A good detoxification diet will make your body ALKALINE. The acid/alkaline balance of your body needs to be managed. Most people today have an over acid body, primarily from a diet of acid-forming foods and stress. It’s difficult to be acid and totally healthy. Becoming acidic is one of the first steps toward illness. It’s almost impossible to find someone with a disease who is not over acid. More about the critical role of body PH here.
Anytime the body drops from full vitality, weakened areas result. Stress alone may create the over acidity which leads to mucoid plaque. And stress often prompts deviation from a good diet as the person seeks comfort or quick energy through acid-forming foods.
Another aspect of the nontoxic diet is avoiding drugs–over-the-counter, prescription, and recreational types–and substituting natural remedies, such as nutrients, herbs, and homeopathic medicines, all of which have fewer side effects.
Other natural therapies, such as acupuncture, massage, and chiropractic may help in treating some problems so that we will not need drugs for them. Avoiding or minimizing exposure to chemicals at home and work is also important. This lessens our total toxic load. Substituting natural cleansers, cosmetics, and clothes is helpful. My favorite source for ayurvedic massage oils and natural cleansers which don’t contain harmful ingredient is here
One form of the detoxification diet is one made up exclusively of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, either raw or cooked, and whole grains, both cooked and sprouted; however, no breads or baked goods, animal foods and dairy products or alcohol are used. This diet keeps fiber and water intake up and helps colon detoxification. Most people can handle this well and make the shift from their regular diet with a few days transition.
The next level of detoxification involves a diet consisting solely of fruits and raw vegetables, all cleansing foods. The green vegetables, especially the chlorophyllic and high-nutrient leafy greens, are very cleansing and supportive for purification of the gastrointestinal tract and the whole body.
I was first introduced to the power of raw, water rich foods such as fruits and vegetables by the popular motivational speaker Tony Robbins . Tony Robbins has helped me make marked improvements in not only my health but other aspects of my life as well. I highly recommend his life-changing programs.
A raw foods diet is fulfilling for many people, very high in energy and nutrition. This type of cleansing diet contains lots of sprouted greens from seeds and grains such as wheat, buckwheat, sunflower, alfalfa, and Red Clover; sprouted beans; soaked or sprouted raw nuts; and fresh fruits and vegetables. Cooking food is not allowed with this diet; eating foods raw maintains the highest concentrations of vitamins, minerals and important enzymes, and allows them to find their way into our body and cells. Many people feel that this is the best of diets; it can be health supportive over quite some time if it is balanced properly.
Another form of cleansing diet is juice fasting.
Whether you are on a detoxification diet or not, it helps to follow those recommended rules while eating.
- While on a cleansing diet, follow these recommended steps to protect yourself from toxins in the environment
Water plays a critical role in a good detoxification diet
There are also many cleansing herbs which may be part of a detoxification diet.
Niacin can play an important in the detoxification of fatty tissue.
Have you thought about going to the doctor to get on prescription acid reflux medication? Have you thought about loosening your diet restrictions- maybe a vegetarian vs a vegan? I’ve been a vegetarian for 13yrs, and have had a few episodes with acid reflux and milk seems to help a lot, but if you’re a vegan, that isn’t an option. Another thing that I didn’t even consider- I thought I was having horrible acid reflux problems- my throat would burn, etc- but it turned out it was food allergies- and my throat was actually closing.. I’d ask a doctor or look at least look at webmd or other sites online..
Sounds like you could have some other problem occuring. You may want to contact your doctor about this. I have had simular problems, however not vegan. Same foods bothered me and it ends up I have a Hiatal hernia and my gall bladder was not functioning correctly. I have had surgery since and things are getting better. I am only 30.
The human body was designed to eat meat and vegetables. Too much of one and not enough of the other is not healthy.
Most of us eat far too much meat. But you need some meat to be healthy.
Its because changing to a vegan diet is not natural! Your body is in shock because it needs other things that you can’t get from a vegan diet!
take 2 TUMS 3 times a day that’s what I did
P.S. I had the same problem you have
Hm, could be all kinds of reasons. We cannot determine why without looking at your entire lifestyle.
You probably have a high acid forming food diet of some kind, then when you go and eat something very high in acid all at one meal or at one time, that’s more than your body can handle.
Think of it this way, when a smoker quits, what happens? Do they instantly feel better? No, they feel horrible, they start to cough up black gunk, their body has always been fighting against it, but finally sees it change to purge.
So, try to balance your diet out between acid and alkaline. You should be eating more alkaline producing foods and less acid. Cut out the processed foods, eat more raw fruits and veggies. It could simply be that you are mixing food improperly, such as another person on this forum mixing O.J. with tofu, and cereal, and pickles, and bread,… all sorts of stuff…
There are lots of books in your library that will tell you which foods are acid or alkaline producing, check them out and read them as a start.
What is it that you like? I’m vegan and eat out all the time…
BEING VEGAN ISN’T ABOUT "LIMITING YOUR DIET"! It’s about cutting out nasty and unhealthy products from inhumane industries and replacing them with healthier, plant-based alternatives!!
I honestly don’t know what you could have done, except maybe you thought being vegan meant eating lettuce and nothing else. Alcohol is never good for you.