How to gain weight as a vegan?

[fakei]

One thing that came to mind is that while fatty foods have more calories, fat also tends to increase inflamation.

 

[David3]

Seeds should be OK, and they are high in calories. Sesame seed butter (tahini) can be used like peanut butter. Unshelled, unsalted sunflower seeds might also be good.
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[David3]

One thing that came to mind is that while fatty foods have more calories, fat also tends to increase inflamation.

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Plant foods that are rich in unsaturated fats are recommended by all mainstream health organizations.
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[fakei]

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Plant foods that are rich in unsaturated fats are recommended by all mainstream health organizations.
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They also recomend olive oil, but I can assure you that three tablespoons is more than enough to re-egnite dermatitis. Besides according to the info available deriving proteins from grains alone requires consuming them above caloric needs, fat on the other hand brings satiety and can complicate digestion and may make it more difficult to consume enough grains. High fat intake is associated with diabetes, and a high carb high fat diet doesn't look good in the long run. On the other hand a low fat diet is associated with more sensitiveness to insulin.

 

[David3]

They also recomend olive oil, but I can assure you that three tablespoons is more than enough to re-egnite dermatitis. Besides according to the info above deriving proteins from grains alone requires consuming them above caloric needs, fat on the other hand brings satiety and may make it more difficult to consume enough grains. And high fat intake is associated with diabetes, and a high carb high fat diet doesn't look good in the long run.

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Provide sources, with links.
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[David3]

Besides according to the info available deriving proteins from grains alone requires consuming them above caloric needs,

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Seeds also contribute protein: Seeds, sesame seeds, whole, roasted and toasted Nutrition Facts & Calories
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[David3]

They also recomend olive oil, but I can assure you that three tablespoons is more than enough to re-egnite dermatitis. Besides according to the info available deriving proteins from grains alone requires consuming them above caloric needs, fat on the other hand brings satiety and can complicate digestion and may make it more difficult to consume enough grains. High fat intake is associated with diabetes, and a high carb high fat diet doesn't look good in the long run.

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Goddammit fakei, stop scaring people away from eating seeds! Seeds are healthy!
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[Lou]

They also mention long stored nuts:

Foods that have been reported to have higher levels of histamine:

• Alcohol
• Eggplant
• Pickled or canned foods – sauerkrauts
• Matured cheeses
• Smoked meat products – salami, ham, sausages….
• Shellfish
• Beans and pulses – chickpeas, soy flour
• Long-stored nuts – e.g peanuts, cashew nuts, almonds, pistachio
• Chocolates and other cocoa based products
• Seitan
• Rice vinegar
• Ready meals
• Salty snacks, sweets with preservatives and artificial colourings

Oh. shoot. I didn't see that either.
Sheesh, it would be easier just to provide a shortlist of foods that are OK to eat.

 

[Lou]

I am pretty sure that I read olive oil is a no-no but sesame seed oil is ok.
and the OP did mention he was consuming sesame seed oil.

 

[fakei]

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Goddammit fakei, stop scaring people away from eating seeds! Seeds are healthy!
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Get real, nuts and seeds are not staple foods.

You want links provided and you don't even bother to read posts till the end or doing a proper research about the condition described in the OP.

 

[fakei]

About low fat diet and diabetes:

 

[Sproutskies]

How to gain weight as a vegan on a budget with histamine intolerance?

Hey you all,
I signed up because I need some help. I have been vegan for a year and a half now and I've been underweight my whole life and it actually never bothered me. I have histamine intolerance which means I am on a rather restrictive diet even without throwing veganism into the mix so I lost a lot of weight when I became vegan, simply because I either can't tolerate certain foods or can't afford them.

I can cook quite decently but I am having issues understanding nutrition and how to gain weight on a vegan diet. I desperately need to gain weight as soon as possible because I need to have an important surgery and can't be approved for it until I have a somewhat healthy BMI (it's currently around 13.9 and I have to get to 18). I have managed to put on 8 pounds in 2 months but I lost it all again by accident.

I have no idea how to put on the 35 pounds my doctor asked me to gain. I have tried adding sesame oil to everything but I just hate the texture of oily food and I don't like sweets either. Though I have pushed myself to eat more fruits since they have more calories than veggies and also to add oil and seeds and stuff like that, I got tired of it very soon cause I didn't like any of the food I was eating and then procrastinated on eating which ended up to me skipping meals here and there which is why I lost all the weight I gained again. I know that I have to push myself more and I am willing to do so.

But maybe someone here has suggestions for low histamine vegan dishes that can help me put on some weight? I'd be so grateful for that.
If I don't manage to put on the required weight they might force feed me dairy products in hospital and I really want to avoid that. I am very passionate about veganism and I don't want to give up on it just because I am too dumb to manage my health. Instead I'd rather learn and improve

Side Q. How do you manage the histamine intolerance outside of diet? Is it an internal problem or does it get caused by obvious triggers?

Curious because it seems like allergies are more common nowadays but never have heard anyone say "histamine intolerance".

 

[Lou]

Side Q. How do you manage the histamine intolerance outside of diet? Is it an internal problem or does it get caused by obvious triggers?

Curious because it seems like allergies are more common nowadays but never have heard anyone say "histamine intolerance".

just like you, Sproutskies, When I first heard of histamine intolerance the first thing I thought of was allergies.
I looked it up and it doesn't seem to have anything to do with allergies. In fact, I think it's misnamed. It's more likely that your body is just making too much histamine, or maybe not enough of the enzyme, DAO, that breaks down the histamine that the body produces.

In many ways, it reminds me of diabetes. treatment seems to involve diet and meds.

I am not sure what causes the thing in the first place. but it seems to be associated with leaky bowel syndrome, or IBS, or bacteria overgrowth in the intestines.

Maybe KNPR can tell us.

 

[fakei]

Personally never tried to go on a diet without legumes but if it is possible to derive all essential amino acids from grains or potatoes so long as one eats enough of them, and comparing it with the foods restrictions in this page it doesn't sound like an impossible diet, thoiugh it is important to consider also that micro-nutrients are covered. Kale and carrots for instance are not mentioned in that page and these are two important foods to include in a daily diet with kale being a good source of omega-3, being carefull to cook kale well because of the oxalates, but like said don't know if they are suitable or not for this condition.

And a low fat diet doesn't mean you can't be in your proper weight range. I'm on a low fat diet deriving from personal estimates between 5%-10% of calories from fat but also eating above caloric needs on a daily basis, although fasting once a week which may mitigate the excess calories, and 4 Kg above standard weight, which is not necessarily above the right weight for personal anatomic constitution. And so far only felt wellness and improvement in many things.

 

[fakei]

Other good news are that protein quality of buckwheat is high according to this study and according to Internet info is considered a complete protein:

The chemical composition and protein quality of two varieties of buckwheat were measured and compared with the values of wheat. The protein quality was based on amino acid composition and true protein digestibility, biological value, net protein utilization, and utilizable protein obtained in N-balance experiments with rats. The protein content in buckwheat was approximately 12% and thus very much the same as in wheat. The fat content in buckwheat was close to 3% whereas the crude fiber concentration was very high (12.7 and 17.8%, respectively, for two varieties). The high fiber content caused a low concentration of soluble carbohydrates with the lowest value of 48.7%. Both buckwheat varieties had a high tannin content (1.76 and 1.54%, respectively). The protein quality was very high, with biological values above 90%. This can be explained by a high concentration of most essential amino acids, especially lysine, threonine, tryptophan, and the sulphur-containing amino acids. However, due to the high contents of crude fiber and tannin, the true protein digestibility was slightly below 80%.

Chemical composition and protein quality of buckwheat ( Fagopyrum esculentum Moench )

I'm wondering if from the article one is supposed to conclude that after estimating the amount of protein for body weight it is better do add a safety margin of 20%?

 

[Lou]

I'm wondering if from the article one is supposed to conclude that after estimating the amount of protein for body weight it is better do add a safety margin of 20%?

I don't think so. There is also the factors of protein absorption and utilization. Both decrease when you increase the amount of protein digested. Although those factors probably don't play a big role in someone with a restrictive diet.

I also wonder if your reduced fat intake is optimum. We require fat for many metabolic functions. Including the absorption of protein. It is also very important for your brain when you sleep. It is also a really good supplier of energy. my understanding is that a diet that gets about 20% of its calories from fat is optimum.

 

[fakei]

I don't think so. There is also the factors of protein absorption and utilization. Both decrease when you increase the amount of protein digested. Although those factors probably don't play a big role in someone with a restrictive diet.

I also wonder if your reduced fat intake is optimum. We require fat for many metabolic functions. Including the absorption of protein. It is also very important for your brain when you sleep. It is also a really good supplier of energy. my understanding is that a diet that gets about 20% of its calories from fat is optimum.

You are right people are not all the same and what works for one may not necessarily work for others and is a good thing that you point that out. Also people have different lifestyles and goals and different diets are adequate for each.

However in Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease page 120 it is recommended in a plant based diet between 9 and 11 % calories be derived from fat and it mentions a study in page 115 where cravings for fat disapear in a diet below 15% of total calories. The China Study, in pg. 86 mentions that in rural China fat consumption ranged between 6% and 24%. It mentions benefits when it comes to breast cancer, for instance, in moving from 24% to 6%. Although it associates the detrimental effects of fat intake with animal fat.

Also reading about the history of pellagra there is one article that points out that the US government had difficulty convincing all farmers in affected regions to drink the milk they produced because not all could afford to keep it. If they sold the milk exactly what fatty food would they keep that they would not rather sell? And even that if they kept some how much fat would it add to the total amount? These outbreaks happened in communities that used maize but the ones unaffected because they had other staples would probably be in a similar economic and dietary situation when it came to fat intake both in the US and around the world. And it is the diet of different rural communities that was the target of several studies which inspired plant based nutrition.

 

[Lou]

Good stuff
I spent some time with google looking for the minimum amount of fat one should consume and could not find it but almost everybody recommends 20% to 35%

I think I remember that something like 14 grams of fat is required for basic metabolic functions. (but can't find those references anywhere.) But 14 grams would be about 6% of a typical 2000 calorie diet.

 

[fakei]

Good stuff
I spent some time with google looking for the minimum amount of fat one should consume and could not find it but almost everybody recommends 20% to 35%

I think I remember that something like 14 grams of fat is required for basic metabolic functions. (but can't find those references anywhere.) But 14 grams would be about 6% of a typical 2000 calorie diet.

I think 6% is what one gets from a diet of grains, legumes, vegetables, etc. At least it is the value I arrive for myself excluding fatty items. To reach higher levels you need to add fatty foods like nuts, seeds and oils.

 

[KPNR]

Excuse me for not replying for so long. I did read everything but somehow my phone wouldn't let me reply to anything and I didn't have access to a computer for some time now. I have been following your advice and made a lot of soups with potatoes and pumpkin and added pumpkin seeds and olive oil. I find that easier than eating just potatoes. I have also been following the directions I was given by the dietician concerning the nutrients and made sure I was getting enough of everything.
I think my main issue is being able to eat large quantities so I think it would be most helpful to eat food that isn't very dense or filling but has a lot of calories. I am not trying to be fancy and gain muscle and stuff like that, right now I am just focusing on improving my vitals and getting to a healthy weight so that I can have the surgery.

I really apprechiate you all helping me out and I am sorry for not being able to express my gratitude earlier. The link of the blog was very helpful as well and gave me a lot of new ideas.

For your question, I have been diagnosed with histamine intolerance a bit over a year ago and before I ate all the bad things (pickles, fermented stuff and so on) because that's just what Russian/ Central Asian cuisine is like, given the climate and all. So I would pass out a lot and get sick a lot and never knew why and it caused some damage to my stomach and also somewhat a fear of eating because most of my life eating made me feel terrible. I am very careful now to follow the guidelines. The meds for histamine intolerance are rather expensive and not covered by insurance cause theoretically you don't need them if you follow the correct diet. However, given my situation, my doctor is vouching for me and I may be able to get help from my insurance for that.