Discussion Board

Hello,
After watching some of your videos I'm convinced I should try a vegan diet to see if it helps my Crohn's disease. However, recently I've read a few articles online saying that grains and legumes (even grains such as Quinoa that do not contain gluten) are the real cause of problems in the gut. Apparently they contain some things called Lectins, Saponins and Phytates which they said cause damage to the GI track and can lead to things such as "Leaky gut" and Crohn's disease. Is there any truth to this? If so and I have to avoid grains, is a vegan diet still possible?
Thank you,
Dan Smith

I don't know whether or not you'll have to avoid grains, but a starch-based (and vegan) diet is certainly still possible. You can choose squashes or potatoes or taro or yam for your starch staples. Whatever works for you. Dr. McDougall lists starch staples here:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/free_4b.html

I'm not really eating grains, but focusing on the softer starches like potatoes, sweet potatoes and winter squashes, and I'm thriving and doing great. Disclaimer- I eat a fruit breakfast, so I'm not strictly doing the McDougall plan but pretty close. Let us know how you progress with it all.

There is an excellent resource on YouTube called the Primative Nutrition series that debunks alot of the paleo nonsense about grains and lectins you come across on the internet. Two videos in the series you'll want to watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtMYysQO ... plpp_video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJxEZp-b ... plpp_video

I recommend the whole 71 part series for anyone wanting to educate and arm themselves against the low-carbers, paleos and Westin Pricers.

What Katy said! If you have celiac, then gluten containing grains are horrible for you. The gluten free ones are absolutely fine and good for you. The only exception is if of course you have some other digestive issue with them, but most people do not.

I have been struggling with hereditory ulcerative colitis which seems to return randomly when I get run down.
Since I have been on this diet it has stayed away. My last colonoscopy showed no sign of it.
I still take my preventative meds however I am eating brown rice, polenta, oatmeal etc and having no problems.
Still not willing to try corn on the cob. That used to give me terrible pain and I don't want to risk it.

Of course, any good Gastro MD will tell you that no specific food causes ulcerative colitis. There is no proven research (typical MD answer regarding any disease vs vegan diet). But when directly asked whether a vegan diet would help (20 years later), they will say ... of course, its been well known that a vegan diet will maintain a cleaner colon and fewer polyps and cancer. Read "The Enzyme Factor", by Dr Hiromi Shinya, a gastro MD who practiced 40 years in NY and Tokyo.

I have leaky gut syndrome. I got rid of all the inflammation problems that resulted from it, including colitis, which is similar apparently to Crohn's Disease. This is what I eat, a very low sulphur diet: http://anti-itisdiet.blogspot.com/2010/ ... i-eat.html

I eat no legumes and no grains.

Remember that the McDougall Program diets are not primarily "vegan." They are primarily healthy. Each of us needs to select a subset of foods within the extremely broad McDougall Program, the subset that works best for you as an individual.

I have suffered severe neurological issues from gluten and even though being off gluten and trying to reverse the damage, I have now found that I seem to have developed a Leaky Gut as all grains currently are causing problems. I am on a strict 30 day grain free diet and on day 3 am feeling somewhat better. I will never eat gluten again but I do wonder about the same issues that the original poster raised about saponins, lectins, etc as being problematic in grains and legumes and not sure I will ever eat these again either. This makes a vegan diet with these restrictions very narrow and difficult so I'm not sure how it will all play out for me.

Everbody's different. I have Celiac and don't eat grains containing gluten because when I do I get bloated and have bathroom issues really bad. I would even break out in a rash sometimes. However rice, corn, sorghum, quinoa, millet and buckwheat don't bother me at all. A lot of people go on what's called an "elimination diet" to see what does or does not bother them by eliminating one food at a time and then putting back what doesn't bother them.

Dr McDougall's book Digestive Tune Up can probably answer most of your questions.

http://drmcdougall.com/store_dt.html

At the end of 30 days I'll try one food, wait 3 days and if no reaction, try another. I'm sure hoping things like quinoa, lentils and beans won't be a problem once my gut heals. Gluten Ataxia is brutal and many people end up in a wheelchair among other things.

Thanks for the book suggestion, I'll check it out.