I'm sorry you had that experience, Soledad. My guess would be that you didn't have a properly balanced vegan diet, maybe you forgot fibrous whole grains? There is also an adjustment period because your body will go through changes including a lengthening of the intestines, but if you were vegetarian before then....I don't know if there would be much change. Anyway, I want to assure Pet Talkers that not all vegans have this experience. I don't appreciate unfair representation of the vegan diet. For example, I think all these recent articles about vegan mothers deficient in B12 giving birth to children with defects are disproportionately represented. There are well thought out vegan diets and not so well thought out ones.


If you cut one thing out of your diet make it trans fatty acids or anything labeled hydrogenated. Among the most important dietary changes in protecting arteries is avoiding foods that contain trans fatty acids! Recently the FDA asked the National Institute of Medicine to study trans fatty acids and come up with a “daily allowance” number that could make its way onto food labels. That report found that NO LEVEL of trans fatty acids is considered "safe." If you eat any commercially prepared foods, particularly baked goods, chances are you are getting a fair amount of TFAs in your diet. Read your labels! They have recently required labeling of trans fatty acids if present.