4 years vegan, diagnosed with endometriosis and craving eggs

[sunflower-girl]

Hi everyone, new here!


I've been vegetarian my whole life, and vegan for just over 4 years. I have never been tempted by eggs or dairy since I transitioned until now.

I've been suffering from horrific endometriosis pains, and am on heavy painkillers which have destroyed my appetite. Weirdly, the only thing I feel like is a scrambled egg. This is the first time since transitioning that I've even considered breaking my veganism. My friend has rescue ex-bat chickens which still lay eggs (more than she or her family and dogs can eat). Therefore, I believe I do have access to the most ethical eggs possible (still not perfect imo). I just don't know what to do. My body is suffering and it's the hardest it's ever been for me to cook and even just exist.

Any guidance about what to do, alternatives to eggs or an understanding of what nutrients my body must be craving to want eggs after so long would be much appreciated!

 

[nobody]

The Latest Vegan News - Vegan Food & Living

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That article says Just eggs will be available 4th quarter 2019, which it is now, so they should be available any day now, and it's very convincing.

 

[Emma JC]

So sorry to hear you are suffering in this way.

Have you tried tofu scramble? with the added black salt/Kala Namak? if you put the salt in, close to the end of the cooking time you will may be able to convince your brain that you have had eggs. If you add some great vegetables and greens to the scramble that will make it even healthier.

Endometriosis, I believe, is an inflammatory disease and that leads me to ask do you consume much oil? olive, coconut etc? oils contribute to inflammation as animal products do.

Sending healing thoughts, Emma JC

 

[Forest Nymph]

Try eating high protein vegan foods like tofu scramble or Just Eggs. Also make sure you're getting enough fat through coconut, avocado or nuts (the latter also has lots of protein).

Cravings for animal products are usually cravings for calories, fat, and/or protein. You could also be craving comfort food from childhood because you're in pain, which is a good reason to try Just Eggs with some vegan cheese of your choice.

Veganism isn't a magical cure for everything and veganism didn't cause your endometriosis. Women who eat a lot of animal products are actually more likely to have it. It could be from years of dairy products.

 

[Forest Nymph]

So sorry to hear you are suffering in this way.

Have you tried tofu scramble? with the added black salt/Kala Namak? if you put the salt in, close to the end of the cooking time you will may be able to convince your brain that you have had eggs. If you add some great vegetables and greens to the scramble that will make it even healthier.

Endometriosis, I believe, is an inflammatory disease and that leads me to ask do you consume much oil? olive, coconut etc? oils contribute to inflammation as animal products do.

Sending healing thoughts, Emma JC

There's theories that it's caused through retrograde menstruation, which could be triggered by chemically treated tampons, commercial douches, IUD, or hormones. The link to animal products is more likely from hormones.

 

[SapphireLightning]

If making a tofu scramble as suggested above, don't forget to add some Kala Namak (black salt from India). This is what is added to a lot of vegan "egg" products to make them smell and taste eggy. Basically kala namak is salt with iron sulfide that formed with it from volcanic activity, and has "that sulfer smell" aka "farty". You can find kala namak online rather cheaply.

Edit:
This is the brand I get: https://www.amazon.com/Spice-Lab-India-Namak-Black/dp/B0057IWQV6
I have gotten both the fine and coarse kala namak, the fine can be used as-is, but keep it air tight and in the fridge. The "farty smell" starts to fade after 6 months or so, so the coarse may be the better option. Coarse kala namak stores for longer, but needs to be ground up before use (use a salt grinder, or a mortar and pestle).

 

[sunflower-girl]

The Latest Vegan News - Vegan Food & Living

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That article says Just eggs will be available 4th quarter 2019, which it is now, so they should be available any day now, and it's very convincing.

thanks for sharing this, i'll keep an eye out!

 

[sunflower-girl]

There's theories that it's caused through retrograde menstruation, which could be triggered by chemically treated tampons, commercial douches, IUD, or hormones. The link to animal products is more likely from hormones.

It's genetic. But yes, I think i could be craving hormones, that's an interesting point.

 

[Lou]

The link to animal products is more likely from hormones.

Her own hormones? or the ones found in eggs?

 

[Forest Nymph]

Her own hormones? or the ones found in eggs?

Hormones from female farm animals. Also women who are overweight are more likely to suffer from endometriosis due to the probability of having high estrogen. It's specifically linked to higher estrogen. It's also been linked to lower than normal body weight, never having given birth, and excess alcohol use.

 

[Lou]

Maybe this is a stupid question but ....

Hormones are just complex proteins. Wouldn't they be too large to pass thru the intestinal wall without being digested into their component amino acids?

Now that I said that - I'm sure that is wrong. But maybe someone here knows something about that. Just curious.

I take melatonin to help me sleep. the oral ones seem to be almost useless but the sublingual ones seem to work pretty well. So I just thought that was the case. Although maybe dosages have something to do with it.

 

[Forest Nymph]

Maybe this is a stupid question but ....

Hormones are just complex proteins. Wouldn't they be too large to pass thru the intestinal wall without being digested into their component amino acids?

Now that I said that - I'm sure that is wrong. But maybe someone here knows something about that. Just curious.

I take melatonin to help me sleep. the oral ones seem to be almost useless but the sublingual ones seem to work pretty well. So I just thought that was the case. Although maybe dosages have something to do with it.

I don't know about melatonin, but women who don't eat meat tend to have lower estrogen levels and higher body fat is linked to higher estrogen levels.

https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/womens-health/does-eating-meat-make-pms-worse

 

[Lou]

I read the article. it helped.

Quick gleaning of some of the statements in the article

​

I was unable to find any evidence that the hormones in meat have any effect on a woman’s hormone levels.​

​

the amount of hormones you ingest when you eat meat is miniscule compared to the hormones produced by your own body.​

​

Vegetarians usually have lower estrogen levels than non-vegetarians,​

​

these diets also tend to be higher in fiber, which tends to reduce circulating estrogen.​

​

People who don’t eat meat are also very likely to include more soy in their diets, and we know that soy products affect hormone function, usually in beneficial ways. In fact, one study noted a connection between higher soy intake and reduced PMS!​

​

So, although the hormones in meat may not be a factor, there are still a variety of ways in which your dietary choices can affect your hormone profiles.​

​

​

​

 

[Sax]

Hormones are just complex proteins.

Hormones are only sometimes proteins and aren't particularly complex.

 

[Lou]

Thank you.

 

[SapphireLightning]

Hormones are only sometimes proteins and aren't particularly complex.

Ah yes, was going to comment on it as I take oral estradiol (the proper form of estrogen). It would be rather pointless if it didn't absorb as the complete molecule.. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't dairy consumption linked to male gynocomastia? As in it is the most common cause of it.

 

[Forest Nymph]

I read the article. it helped.

Quick gleaning of some of the statements in the article

​

I was unable to find any evidence that the hormones in meat have any effect on a woman’s hormone levels.​

​

the amount of hormones you ingest when you eat meat is miniscule compared to the hormones produced by your own body.​

​

Vegetarians usually have lower estrogen levels than non-vegetarians,​

​

these diets also tend to be higher in fiber, which tends to reduce circulating estrogen.​

​

People who don’t eat meat are also very likely to include more soy in their diets, and we know that soy products affect hormone function, usually in beneficial ways. In fact, one study noted a connection between higher soy intake and reduced PMS!​

​

So, although the hormones in meat may not be a factor, there are still a variety of ways in which your dietary choices can affect your hormone profiles.​

​

​

​

This study linked steroidal estrogen in dairy to cancer. I'm very cautious about accepting a single study or source which says animal products can't affect hormones. Of course people working in the industry would say that. At any rate, animal estrogen can affect humans.

Hormones in Dairy Foods and Their Impact on Public Health - A Narrative Review Article - PMC

The presence of hormones in milk and dairy foods was discussed decades ago but rather more concerns attended to that with respect to finding hormones as biomarkers in milk for diseases and pregnancy diagnosis. Moreover, considerable amount of ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov