digesting veggies

I discovered something interesting the other day. It seems that my stomach has an easier time digesting vegetables if there's a bit of fat/oil included in the dish. Does this happen to you too?

First, a bit of background: After surgery, I had a lot of trouble digesting vegetables. Whenever I ate them, it felt like my stomach was full of something with sharp corners. Not painful so much as uncomfortable. I love veggies, and they're good for you, so I persevered. I found that some veggies were easier to digest than others, and making sure they were well-cooked and that I chewed them thoroughly also helped.

Fast forward a few months I found some yummy frozen vegetable dishes that are vegan. The bag includes little vegan "butter" bits for flavour. I naturally eat a diet very low in fat, perhaps a bit too low, so even though the dishes had a bit more of the "butter" than I would have used by choice, I left it all in. I found that these dishes were easy to digest, so they became a staple of my diet, and eventually I sort of forgot about my problem digesting vegetables.

Recently I microwaved some of one of those veggie dishes and ate it. It so happened that the bits of "butter" weren't evenly distributed in this bag, so this particular serving had none of it. I didn't mind that; I just ate the veggies (brussels sprouts) anyway. Big mistake! I had the sharp-corners-in-my-stomach feeling, and even got a bad case of the foamies. (At 1.5 years out, the foamies were just a dim memory until this happened!)

Finally it occurred to me: my stomach has an easier time digesting vegetables if there's a bit of fat/oil included in the dish. I'll ask my dietician about this next time I see her. I'm curious about why this happens, or if it's all just in my mind.

I don't have any problems like that with vegetables, but only eat very small servings most of the time and usually add oil or butter.

I didn't eat any veggies at all - literally zero, until I was 5 months post-op. Then only cooked veggies until about 1 year. I've since re-introduced salads/raw veggies and they don't cause me any issues at all. In fact, i'm currently eating a good sized buffalo chicken salad as we speak!

However, I have other foods that give me that same feeling you describe. I call it "like swallowing gravel". Specifically, chili will do it to me (I assume it's the beans, although black beans and black eyed peas don't do it). Also, grits - which I don't eat regularly anyway but have had small bites of and they hurt. I also tend to have that reaction with chicken sausages which is a bummer since they're a good protein option.

I am looking into having surgery and saw your post I love veggies so I hope this is normal for everyone because I don't know what I would do if I can't have them. Any other foods you have problems with?

thank you,

Heather!

No, I don't have problems with any other foods. For the first six months or so, my stomach was more delicate, and I had to be particularly wary of "dry" foods, like falafel. And for some reason chickpeas were problematic for a while. My lactose intolerance got worse after surgery, but I had that before surgery. I've been vegetarian for 35 years, and became vegan by choice after surgery. The only non-vegan things I ate before surgery were bad for me anyway (like pizza and ice cream), so for me it was a natural decision.

Don't let my post scare you away from having the surgery. I didn't have to give up veggies, I just needed to make a few adjustments, like making sure they were well-cooked, adding a touch of oil, and chewing thoroughly. Only some veggies, like brussel sprouts, give me problems. I love my veggies too, and I am very glad I had the surgery.

Some people who've had VSG can have a reaction to high-sugar foods. From what I understand, it's like a milder version of the dumping syndrome that people who've had RNY can get. I have only eaten high-sugar foods perhaps 2 or 3 times, and I didn't have any side effects beyond feeling... it's hard to describe... not queasy, just that I wished I hadn't eaten it. Which is a good thing.

Thank you for clarifying. Your post didn't scare me but I would be lost without my vegetables. I am a big fan of roasted vegs and that tends to dry the out I know but I will keep in mind putting a bit more fat into the mix I also do not roast vegs like carrots because they take on a sweet taste when cooked. I don't like sweet in my veg dishes. Again thank you for all your input it is very helpful.

My guts hate some veggies. But I still eat some of them. Not only added fat, but freezing can make it easier to digest the vegetables. I can some veggies raw, some steamed, and most well cooked. I only eat some veggies with out the fat. Most i have to have fat to be able to eat them.