Carrot, gallbladder, loose stool

[Katty]

Not exactly asking for help... just trying to figure out what's going... but thought this might be the best place to post.
When I eat the shredded carrot regularly I seem to get diarrhea or loose stools.
The weird thing is, it's after this elimination of loose stool that my gallbladder (or maybe liver?) area starts to twitch a bit. Why would this happen after? I would think the gallbladder would start putting out bile a bit before the loose stool.
Can anyone explain what might be happening?

 

[charlie]

Carrot causes more bile to be made. Maybe things are just cleaning out, getting adjusted?

I posted a study in the study section about carrots and how they increase bile.

 

[Katty]

Ok, thanks Charlie, I'll check out the study. Just seems weird that it's after the stool... and I didn't eat the carrot today. The carrot came yesterday, loose stool 24 hours later, and then came gallbladder twitching.

 

[charlie]

I dunno I was just speculating. I know it will change up your gut flora, so maybe thats in play.

 

[Mittir]

I had mild diarrhea for about 2 weeks when i started raw carrot salad.
It did not happen after that. I have noticed stomach problem with certain type
carrot. I get the feeling there is some kind of chemical in those.
I only buy carrot from a particular store. Similar things happened
with cooked bamboo shoots too. It was much milder than carrot salad. But i did not experimented beyond 3 days. Similar experience with coconut oil too.
Diarrhea causes elctrolyte imbalance and it can easily worsens existing health issues.
It would be a good idea to slowly introduce these kind of problematic foods.
Instead of 1 carrot, starting with 1/4th carrot will be a smoother transition.

 

[Katty]

I had mild diarrhea for about 2 weeks when i started raw carrot salad.
It did not happen after that. I have noticed stomach problem with certain type
carrot. I get the feeling there is some kind of chemical in those.
I only buy carrot from a particular store. Similar things happened
with cooked bamboo shoots too. It was much milder than carrot salad. But i did not experimented beyond 3 days. Similar experience with coconut oil too.
Diarrhea causes elctrolyte imbalance and it can easily worsens existing health issues.
It would be a good idea to slowly introduce these kind of problematic foods.
Instead of 1 carrot, starting with 1/4th carrot will be a smoother transition.

Thanks, Mittir! Yes, I tend to get impatient so I want to go full force with everything... keep having to remind myself to go slowly and add one thing in at a time. I've tried bamboo as well-- definitely doesn't seem to be quite as potent, though maybe I just wasn't using it consistently enough like that carrot to know for sure.

 

[aguilaroja]

...I've tried bamboo as well-- definitely doesn't seem to be quite as potent, though maybe I just wasn't using it consistently enough like that carrot to know for sure.

If not done previously, you might consider either finely chopping or shredding cooked bamboo shoots. While carrots work somewhat better for me, bamboo shoots work fairly well.

The "fiber absorbing endotoxin" maneuver seems to be a function of surface area: that is, something grated or shredded works better than slices or chunks. While research abstracts suggest this, I am mainly reporting direct experience.

As Mittir's astutely points, there can be a lot of variation with carrots, even the same brand, or from the same farm-stand. Of course, if there is sensitivity, be especially thorough with washing them.

As an aside, as a completely subjective report, sometimes "heirloom" varieties of carrot in a grated carrot salad feel particularly supportive. I was mildly surprised, because some varieties look like they have more carotene (deeper yellows or oranges), which I was wary of, but feel good. Regrettably, I have not tracked the names of the different varieties. And it would be tricky to do this experiment "blinded". YMMV.

 

[Mittir]

I get better result from bamboo shoots than raw carrot.
I bought those canned bamboo shoots and boiled those in fresh water
for 15-20 minutes to remove bad taste. I think coconut oil plays a big
role in the result from carrot and bamboo shoots. RP mentioned that
if one choose to eat starch or fiber then adding some saturated fat
will make it safer by carrying saturated fat to the bacterias.
Saturated fat, particularly coconut oil has anti-bacterial property.
If i do not feel like eating carrot salad, i would simply eat some
fried potato, grapes, guava, apple etc with some coconut oil.
I do that in the after noon ,between meals. It works a
lot like carrot salad, a milder form but good enough for me.

 

[j.]

Talking about replacements for the carrot, one might not get an effect as potent, but pregnenolone and caffeine I think can also protect from endotoxin. Pregnenolone is a precursor to DHEA, which protects against endotoxin, and caffeine also protects from endotoxin in different ways, including in the brain.

 

[Katty]

Thanks for the tips, everyone!

I get better result from bamboo shoots than raw carrot.
I bought those canned bamboo shoots and boiled those in fresh water
for 15-20 minutes to remove bad taste. I think coconut oil plays a big
role in the result from carrot and bamboo shoots.

Are the bamboo shoots already boiled? I thought the canned ones were already boiled. You were just re-boiling to get rid of taste, right?

And aguilaroja, good idea about shredding the bamboo shoots as well-- I never thought of doing that.

I guess the gallbladder pains I had could be from a bad variety of carrot. I don't think my grocery offers many options, but I'll start cleaning them more thoroughly. Just out of curiosity, I still wish I could figure out why the pain happens after the loose stool.

 

[kiran]

Katty, I wonder if you might be running out of bile. Carrot can cause a fair bit of bile secretion iirc. Are you getting enough taurine?

 

[Katty]

Katty, I wonder if you might be running out of bile. Carrot can cause a fair bit of bile secretion iirc. Are you getting enough taurine?

I'm not sure. I eat white fish and occasional red meat, but I've never tried to calculate taurine intake. I've seen a couple recent posts on this forum where people note they are supplementing with taurine, so maybe it is something I should consider. Taurine helps increase bile production, correct? Would there be a reason that I am running out of bile... just low metabolic functioning generally, or something else as well?