A Host of Problems... page

[niiaba]

Hi all, I am new here

Anyway, I am confused in life because I am unsure of what to eat anymore. Since I was a child I have had problems eating meat.....it would make me sick. As I am getting older, I am getting more and more scared about this because it is getting worse. Typical symptoms after eating most meats is bloating, nausea, and TONS of gas. Sometimes even diarrhea. I also get the same symptoms after eating too much fat. Every time I eat something fried, all this crap happens, or when I eat something greasy or oily. I started to notice a pattern that it came mostly from animal fats. I tried having simple broth made from animals bones, but that made me have nausea as well. Sometimes I get so bloated and nauseated that I get hot and start to sweat....it feels as if the food is stuck there and my body is working way way overtime to get it through. My family has always eaten a healthy amount of fats, this isnt something new. I have been this way as long as I could remember. Even when I was a child and went to my cousins house....we got an all meat pizza. It was delicious. Within 30-45 minutes I was over the toilet barfing up all my yummy pizza. My father also has numerous stomach problems but has never been checked for them, because he doesnt even care. He pops tums quite a few times every single day. I told myself I would never be that way and I would just change my diet. But, it is not that simple. I went vegan for 6 months.....where I felt great. I loved it. Unfortunately, I couldnt do it for too long. In my diet most my protein came from things with high carbs. I tried to stay away from soy, so I got my protein mostly from legumes and grains. The issue with that is, I have hypoglycemia. Not only did eating these carbs make me just sink down and be tired, but my body would literally be starving within an hour after, as if I ate nothing. I am assuming it was from my blood sugar dropping rapidly. I didnt sleep well and kept waking up in the middle of the night because of it. To top all this off, most dairy makes my stomach go wild as well, especially yogurt. Yogurt DESTROYS my stomach. So, the things that pretty much never, ever hurt my stomach are vegetables and nuts. Most fruits as well I am fine with. What type of diet could come out of this? I am so confused and would love any help. I am the kind to not take pills or drugs to "fix" my problems, I would rather just eat what my body likes. Any suggestions? Anyone have the same problems?

Thanks for reading such a long paragraph!

[Sandra from NZ]

Why not just listen to your body and eat what feels right to you? Fruits, vegetables and nuts sounds like a good enough diet if that is what works for you. Certainly don't force yourself to eat anything that makes you ill, just because someone tells you that you MUST eat protein or fat or whatever. Stick to your diet for a while then you could try carefully introducing tiny amounts of things that have made you ill in the past and see what happens, if you get ill again then drop them. If they seem okay then slowly and carefully increase the amounts you can eat. Just listen to your body.

[Damiana]

I agree with what Sandra said. You shouldn't force your body to eat what is obviously making it sick. Go meat-free for awhile, perhaps try eggs or fish as a protein force, then reintroduce different types of meat into your diet, chicken, pork, the blander meats, then red meat. Maybe you should look into purely grass-fed and organic meats too. I know plenty of us feel fine eating grain and corn-fed meats that have been treated with growth hormones and such, but some people are more sensitive to these things.

[Ann1217]

Have you been tested for some kind of genetic disease that makes it difficult for you to break down protein? I know that sounds weird and vague, but as far as I know, most people digest meat relatively easily, so perhaps there is some sort of disorder at work here. Have you seen a GI?

[niiaba]

Thank you so much for all the suggestions. I probably should go get tested; it would be the smartest thing to do. I know for sure my father has had the same problems for ages.....and he is also very obese and always has been. Could it be his body's reaction on top of overeating? Because I eat a pretty good diet, I always have. I never really ate tons of sweets or over ate, but I am also somewhat overweight, by like 30 pounds. No matter how hard I work out, it barely even comes off as well.

Sandra, yes, this is what I have been thinking as well. I will try a plant based diet and slowly introduce things and see when my reactions happen. I have a feeling it will be with a lot of things...but at least this way I can keep a food diary and really see what the problem is.

Damiana, youre right. There is always this sense of wanting to be "normal" like everyone else, and eat what everyone else does. When I did go vegan people mocked me, even when I would explain that it was mostly for dietary reasons. It is hard to stay on a diet like this when your whole family and friends are eating different. Theres alot of weird assumptions from other people going on, haha. Gets kind of hard to deal with. But youre right. Obviously if my body doesnt like it then I shouldnt force it.

And Ann, I think I will get checked out. It might be some sort of intolerance or something....I am not sure.

Thanks everyone for the advice! It really supports me.