Gross poop question

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selenabaroni

selenabaroni

Joined
Aug 10, 2013
Messages
37
Location
mississippi
it seems that no matter how well i cook my veggies and chew well they come out in the poop in undigested chunks:poo: should i just not eat veggies? i sure cant eat a salad and have even stopped having lettiuce and tomatoes on my sandwiches
 
I have the exact same issue. I'm not sure why, I told my GI and he said it had to do with my body not absorbing the food properly. Other than that he had no idea what it was.
 
Yeah, I have the same problem. Stinks. Some foods are just harder to digest for us. My suggestion would be trying to juice them, or making sure that you're chewing really good and not swallowing them whole.
 
When you are flaring, your digestive tract is damaged and has difficulty properly breaking down these items. This is also one of many reasons people experience pain from flaring. ALSO, if you are over a flare and have developed scar tissue, it may be that you are unable to properly digest certain foods because your body cannot break them down as a healthy digestive system should.

It doesn't necessarily mean that you are not digesting ANY of it, it's just that you are not getting the full benefits of eating these items. One of the best ways to solve this problem is to puree or juice your veggies and drink them. This way your body skips the hardest part of the breakdown process and can more easily attempt to absorb essential nutrients.
 
If you haven't given quality probiotics a try, I would strongly urge you to try them. They specifically have helped me tolerate most veges and completely digest them for the past 8 years.

There were times, however, when I would not completely digest iceberg lettuce and frozen broccoli, from time to time. I alternate taking 2-3 caps a day, on an empty stomach (morning/night, usually) and swap between NOW Acidophilus Bifidus 8 Billion, Garden of Life Primal Defense Ultra, and Jarrow EPS.

I have lately been able to eat anything (including caffeine daily), whole foods as I don't do preservative laden anything, after taking a greens powder (GOL's Perfect Food, others with similar formulas might work too--find USA sourced greens mixes) and a combination zeolite/nascent iodine tincture daily. One of these, or both (I'm not sure cause I started both at the same time 2 months ago) have also staved off my SI joint pain completely.

I just quit the zeolite mix and got a cheaper nascent iodine, so I may know shortly if the zeolites were singly the magic potion if my joint pain or food digestability changes.
 
The same thing happens to me. Do the vegetables cause you pain? If not, there's no reason to avoid them. Like Chicago said, you're likely still absorbing some of nutrients - and some is better than none. If they do cause you pain or other symptoms, it might be a good idea to cut them out until you're feeling better and maybe try juicing instead (as Chicago mentioned) or supplementing (which I would suggest you consult with a doctor before doing).

:hug:
 
Many people can't digest veggies well. 40% of vegans in a study were iron deficient even though the food they ate had similar amount of iron compared to controls. They couldn't digest it. Many people can't digest vegetables well, we're omnivores, digesting vegetables isn't our forte.

I think we are just crazy enough to look and try to desipher our own fecal matter, other people probably don't look at stool the same way we do. That doesn't mean they're any better at digesting vegeables as us.

Cooking vegetables apparently helps, especially for the iron absorption.
 
Amy2 said:
It's actually quite easy to get enough iron as a vegan. Vitamin C greatly inhances absorption and vegans typically eat a lot of vitamin C. According the VRG, omnis are no less likely to be deficient.
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.php
Click to expand...

40% of vegans were iron deficient, regardless of iron intake from vegetables

259yamd.jpg


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14988640

Vegetarian Children were iron deficient, regardless of Vitamin C intake, high Vitamin C did not correct their iron deficiency

3b1h.jpg


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23712019
 
Last edited:
When I was a kid my GI said that whenever my intestines encounters an item that's difficult for it to digest it simply rejects that entire section but when the inflammation is under control this doesn't happen. Some foods are more difficult to digest than others and as mentioned, inflammation and scar tissue play a huge role in digestion. Not only with nutrient absorption but also transit time (could cause diarrhea or constipation). So if you have diarrhea then your stool will likely look like a lovely freshly chewed salad.

Cooking foods that are higher in fiber can help you get at least some nutrients as the cooking process helps break down fiber (steaming provides more nutrients than boiling). Juicing can help you get nutrients as well but could also cause diarrhea depending on how much you drink (and what you juice) because of all the sugar. So if you try juicing or even blending your vegetables, take it slow so you can find an amount that works for you.

More importantly treating the inflammation is key to being able to tolerate raw fruits and vegetables better. During remission I'm able to tolerate salads and raw fruits and vegetables just fine (no pain or diarrhea).
 
Same problem as you, OP, whether flaring or not. They always come out looking pretty much like they did going in. I never had that issue till after my first surgery - and GI said the section if small intestine they removed was majorly responsible for absorption of nutrients from veggies, and so as someone above said, if it can't be absorbed it just sort of shoves it along without further breaking it down. I have pain all the time from gaseous veggies like broccoli or cauliflower so I avoid those, but the ones that come out whole but don't cause worsened pain I still eat! I found the best lettuce for me (but I only eat when I'm in a streak of feeling well) is romaine (not the white hearts, just the green leafy part).
 
I used to have problems with some types of vegetables, they would make my stomach feel bad in too large a quantity, as would other foods high in fibre, but they wouldn't appear undigested. Now I have an ileostomy, and veg (and pretty much any fibre) looks the same coming out as going in, even though I take the tiniest bites and chew and chew like I'm supposed to. And then it blocks the stoma opening. This happened so dramatically that after a couple of tries I've basically given up fibre (no fuit, veg, whole-grains, nuts or seeds, with just a few exceptions).

Apparently others with ileostomies don't get blockages as easily as I do, and my ileostomy is only three months old, but I'd really like to know what it was about me getting an ileostomy that completely took away my ability to even begin to break down fibre.

Now I know that as long as my output is smooth, it's all good. Fibre results in hard bits in the output - since I take small mouthfuls, the bits were like gravel, yet they still blocked the stoma, so now I keep it smooth always.
 
UnXmas said:
I used to have problems with some types of vegetables, they would make my stomach feel bad in too large a quantity, as would other foods high in fibre, but they wouldn't appear undigested. Now I have an ileostomy, and veg (and pretty much any fibre) looks the same coming out as going in, even though I take the tiniest bites and chew and chew like I'm supposed to. And then it blocks the stoma opening. This happened so dramatically that after a couple of tries I've basically given up fibre (no fuit, veg, whole-grains, nuts or seeds, with just a few exceptions).

Apparently others with ileostomies don't get blockages as easily as I do, and my ileostomy is only three months old, but I'd really like to know what it was about me getting an ileostomy that completely took away my ability to even begin to break down fibre.

Now I know that as long as my output is smooth, it's all good. Fibre results in hard bits in the output - since I take small mouthfuls, the bits were like gravel, yet they still blocked the stoma, so now I keep it smooth always.
Click to expand...

I'm betting Nyx might have looked this up already and may be able to help you understand why this is happening so I'm tagging her. :)
 
kiny said:
40% of vegans were iron deficient, regardless of iron intake from vegetables

259yamd.jpg


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14988640

Vegetarian Children were iron deficient, regardless of Vitamin C intake, high Vitamin C did not correct their iron deficiency

3b1h.jpg


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23712019
Click to expand...

There's a lot that needs to be clear up here...

First, the 40% German study...

FROM: http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/iron

"White vegetarian women have high rates of iron deficiency ranging from about 25-50%, although omnivores' rates of deficiency ranged from 20-60% in those same studies (11, 22, 25, 26), possibly suggesting that women with iron deficiency issues are more likely to take part in studies on iron deficiency. "

Source 11 refers to the German study you listed... females, regardless if they are vegan or not, have problems with iron levels. This isn't a vegan-only problem.

The polish children study you gave, both the veg and non-veg kids were getting UPTO 60% of the RDA of iron, so they weren't even getting enough to begin with, then add in the fact that " The main sources of iron in vegetarians were cereal products, followed by vegetables and mushroom products, then fruit.", it seems Poland either has a food problem or lacks nutritional education. Legumes and greens should have been at the top of that list, not cereal or mushrooms(???).

Women need to increase their iron intake, regardless if they are vegetarian or not. If they are vegetarian, they should be getting more than the RDA (since non-heme iron has a lower absorption rate) and eat iron-rich foods with vitamin c and/or garlic/onions, which also improve absorption.

EDIT: Looks like that polish study was already torn apart with similar observations: http://jacknorrisrd.com/iron-deficiency-in-polish-vegetarian-children/
 
Amy2 said:
Are you saying the Vegetarian Resource Group is incorrect? Because they state the opposite of your study. Maybe I should let them know...;)
Click to expand...

My guess is a site dedicated to vegetarians would not be a very objective way to get your information.

Vegetables, especially when they're not cooked properly, are not as bioavailable as meat. The iron found in vegetables is in a form that is different from meat.

Knowing people with crohn's disease have chronic iron deficiencies and anemia, I don't think a vegetarian lifestyle is the way to go, that's just my 2 cents, if someone wants to be a vegetarian or vegan, that's fine, as long as they get their iron and B12 checked.
 

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