Fiber Intolerance

[DaveFoster]

A main staple of my diet is dates.

I soak and peel the dates, which removes most of the fiber.

I mix the peeled dates with mix and blend; I drink the mixture.

Milk doesn't cause digestion problems, but the mixture does, as do dates on their own, so it's the dates. Vegetables are bad; starch is absolutely horrible (full-blown panic attacks).

What can I do to fix this fiber intolerance? It gets really bad when I eat freshly squeezed orange juice with the pulp. I already do the carrot salad.

Symptoms: bloat, chest pain, GERD, heartburn, mood swings after eating, anxiety, hair loss, acne/rosacea

Anyone have any experiences with getting rid of these symptoms? Antibiotics, activated charcoal? I'm requesting a comprehensive stool analysis tomorrow with my doctor.

 

[James_001]

I am trying cascara sagrada that I bought from Italy

Will try penicillin if this does not work....

 

[Jayfish]

Why not stop eating fiber? Eat meat, eggs, dairy and sugar.

 

[lvysaur]

Try eating oysters + meat within a 10 minute window of each other

 

[CarbAppreciator]

How does lettuce fair? Or psyillium if you've tried it?
To me its either SIBO or something wrong with handling sugar, maybe high ROS.

 

[DaveFoster]

I am trying cascara sagrada that I bought from Italy

Will try penicillin if this does not work....

Let me know how it goes.

Why not stop eating fiber? Eat meat, eggs, dairy and sugar.

I don't feel good doing so; I tried. I need the nutrients from fruit, or I get aggressive (blood sugar issues).

Try eating oysters + meat within a 10 minute window of each other

What will this do? I'll do it tomorrow. I eat eggs, meat, and cottage cheese with some salsa for breakfast. I do perfectly fine on this.

How does lettuce fair? Or psyillium if you've tried it?
To me its either SIBO or something wrong with handling sugar, maybe high ROS.

I take almost all of haidut's supplements, along with plenty of aspirin, A from liver, D, E, and K, so I'm not sure if its problems with glucose metabolism. I'll ask to get my liver checked if its fatty.

I haven't tried either lettuce of psyillium, but famotidine (Pepcid), takes away the GERD and chest pain. Zofran (ondanesetron) takes away the nausea and makes me feel fine, so it's definitely something with serotonin release in the gut (SIBO probably is correct.)

I'll also add that I get that I get lower abdominal grumbling and flatulence in addition to the previous symptoms.

 

[lvysaur]

What will this do? I'll do it tomorrow. I eat eggs, meat, and cottage cheese with some salsa for breakfast. I do perfectly fine on this.

It gives me progesterone symptoms, and I suspect it increases progesterone. I'm able to eat fibers without issues while in this state.

 

[CarbAppreciator]

FWIW I've found D3 supps give me immunodeficiency symptoms which is an effect that is consistent with some studies on pubmed.

Specifically, high d3 gave me serious spleen pain. I'll probably never use it again

Unfortunately, I couldn't decipher the mechanism (help me smart ppl!) but it is an effect only associated with supplemental d3.

Maybe it is a factor in your problem.

 

[DaveFoster]

It gives me progesterone symptoms, and I suspect it increases progesterone. I'm able to eat fibers without issues while in this state.

I'll give it a shot.

FWIW I've found D3 supps give me immunodeficiency symptoms which is an effect that is consistent with some studies on pubmed.

Specifically, high d3 gave me serious spleen pain. I'll probably never use it again

Unfortunately, I couldn't decipher the mechanism (help me smart ppl!) but it is an effect only associated with supplemental d3.

Maybe it is a factor in your problem.

Sorry about that, Rob. I'm only taking 10,000 IU topical, which should translate to 2,000 IU absorbed, but I'll try cutting it out and see if that's part of the problem.

I do think it's SIBO.

 

[jaywills]

In your recovery here, your food selection is not as important as is resolving your digestive system which is not functioning correctly. Depends where the breakdown is but sound like you are low in Digestive Enzymes, do you pass solid foods intact?

Try: increase zinc consumption though beef and or oysters not supplements

Take a digestive emzyme and see if this improves your sitiation

Drink warm or carbonated water with a whole lemon squeezed in a half hour before eating a meal.

Keep fibre low for now to keep irritation low and guts less inflamed

Take taurine if not already

Increase fat in diet and dont do low fat if this is your current set up

 

[DaveFoster]

In your recovery here, your food selection is not as important as is resolving your digestive system which is not functioning correctly. Depends where the breakdown is but sound like you are low in Digestive Enzymes, do you pass solid foods intact?

Try: increase zinc consumption though beef and or oysters not supplements

Take a digestive emzyme and see if this improves your sitiation

Drink warm or carbonated water with a whole lemon squeezed in a half hour before eating a meal.

Keep fibre low for now to keep irritation low and guts less inflamed

Take taurine if not already

Increase fat in diet and dont do low fat if this is your current set up

My digestion is fine. Stools are well-formed.

Zinc is high, as are all nutrients.

Milk and sugar does not trigger any symptoms, just fiber. I digest milk, meat, eggs, fish, shellfish, and sugar just fine.

I'll add in taurine; my diet is fairly low-fat (60-80 grams/day).

Again, the problem is the fiber; it's a direct reaction by my gut.

 

[jaywills]

Ok that sounds positive. Looking back at your symptoms there could be some correlation to your date consumption. Sounds like you are eating them quite excessively as the bulk of your calories. Dates are high in serotonin ( could cause mood swings and anxiety - I actually have noticed that after eating bananas my mood deteriorates around 30 mins after. Its odd but rather amusing. Could be a similar thing here).

The bloat may be a natural result of eating. Your not supposed to have a flat stomach all day round and the abdomen region does expand and is a natural part of digestion. Could also be muscle imbalance based with your core causing your stomach to protrude, but it might just become more noticable post eating. Whats your posture like, do you spend much time seating. If so how do you sit?

Chest pain could be unrelated or perhaps with the Gerd this is a reaction to chemicals or additives on the dates. Are you eating organic? Alternatively you may be promoting an overly acidic environment in the body and may need to alkalise somewhat. Perhaps am anticid may help

Acne rosacea - whats your vitamin A status like. Are you eating liver or supplementing with vitamin A?

 

[YuraCZ]

Dates are high in histamine. Dried fruits can be problematic for people who are not in 100% health. Everything in moderation..

 

[DaveFoster]

Ok that sounds positive. Looking back at your symptoms there could be some correlation to your date consumption. Sounds like you are eating them quite excessively as the bulk of your calories. Dates are high in serotonin ( could cause mood swings and anxiety - I actually have noticed that after eating bananas my mood deteriorates around 30 mins after. Its odd but rather amusing. Could be a similar thing here).

The bloat may be a natural result of eating. Your not supposed to have a flat stomach all day round and the abdomen region does expand and is a natural part of digestion. Could also be muscle imbalance based with your core causing your stomach to protrude, but it might just become more noticable post eating. Whats your posture like, do you spend much time seating. If so how do you sit?

Chest pain could be unrelated or perhaps with the Gerd this is a reaction to chemicals or additives on the dates. Are you eating organic? Alternatively you may be promoting an overly acidic environment in the body and may need to alkalise somewhat. Perhaps am anticid may help

Acne rosacea - whats your vitamin A status like. Are you eating liver or supplementing with vitamin A?

Wow, maybe it is the serotonin. Thanks for the quick reply, by the way.

When I say bloat, I mean systemic inflammation and water retention, accompanied by chest pain, side pains, and random abdominal pains on occasion.

I do slouch when I sit, but my posture is great when standing. It's not just stomach protrusion.

An antacid does help (famotidine). I have the same problem with OJ pulp (but it's much worse.) Now that I think about it, I had leftover liver with the OJ as well, so it might be histamine related, or at least that's a factor.

Vitamin A status is good (10,000 IU/day via liver), but I do use red light all day.

I have all the symptoms of SIBO, the bloating, chest pain, acne, mood swings. Don't know.

Dates are high in histamine. Dried fruits can be problematic for people who are not in 100% health. Everything in moderation..

It might actually be the histamine. Hmm.

But I have the same problems with commercial OJ, which leads me to believe it's the pectin; this points to a problem with gut irritation.

 

[michael94]

"high serotonin", lol

Sounds like a stomach infection and the early stages of an ulcer ( stomach damage ). The antacids probably help alleviate acid irritating the existing tissue damage but contribute to the source of the problem. Bacteria and fungi tend go wild when the stomach pH is messed up, not to mention the downstream effects like SIBO/SIFO, terrible digestion and impaired immune function.

 

[Ewelina]

I have a similar problem. When I started peating I jumped on the fruit bandwagon like there's no tomorrow. At first it was fine, but slowly my digestion started getting worse. The worst thing was that I didn't have any reaction at the beginning (almost a year) and when I started noticing problems it was already too late. Now my gut is seriously compromised. I have to be very careful with what I eat and most fibrous foods are out of the question. It's slowly getting better but the process is painstakingly laborious. I guess there is no other option but excluding troublesome foods from the diet and letting the gut heal. I agree with YuraCZ that histamine can be a problem too, at least it is in my case, and histamine usually goes hand in hand with serotonin, endotoxins, estrogen and lovely prolactin.

 

[EIRE24]

I have a similar problem. When I started peating I jumped on the fruit bandwagon like there's no tomorrow. At first it was fine, but slowly my digestion started getting worse. The worst thing was that I didn't have any reaction at the beginning (almost a year) and when I started noticing problems it was already too late. Now my gut is seriously compromised. I have to be very careful with what I eat and most fibrous foods are out of the question. It's slowly getting better but the process is painstakingly laborious. I guess there is no other option but excluding troublesome foods from the diet and letting the gut heal. I agree with YuraCZ that histamine can be a problem too, at least it is in my case, and histamine usually goes hand in hand with serotonin, endotoxins, estrogen and lovely prolactin.

Exact same thing happened to me I'm pretty sure. Now I'm stuck with acne and other health problems. Not sure if it's reverseable

 

[BobbyDukes]

I would just drop dates altogether. Sounds like you react to them as badly as I do. They're sexy on paper. High in nutrients (magnesium etc), dry, high in sugar, portable, calorie dense..... Just perfect. But without doubt, the worst food out of everything for my body to tolerate. Along with bananas, give me the most profound dip in mood, and puts my gut into turmoil.

The only fibres I seem to tolerate well are carrot and bamboo shoot. Which I will now not be deviating from.

With another fibrous food, I am currently at the point of giving up mushroom now. It definitely gives me a bad stomach/gut ache (and I've tested all parameters I can possible think of.. Cooking times, trying every type of mushroom, eating organic, eaten with low/higher amounts of fat, trying different food combinations, etc). A real shame. Gonna miss mushrooms/cheese (that was becoming a real favourite, but the physical effects hours later aren't fun).

A simple diet of animal products + sugar may be your safest option.

Even after 2.5 years of PUFA restriction, I'm still in the same boat as you (my gut gives me hell with fruits, starches, etc). But like many here, on the rare occasions I eat a slice of simple white bread = effortless digestion. I would agree it's definitely the fibre. A happy gut, for me, does make a big difference to a number of things (mood, energy, libido, etc).

Do you do dairy everyday? I've often thought it might be the dairy that is making many here so intolerant to things. Pretty sure my gut was way stronger than this, pre-Dairy (which I have done everyday for the last 2.5 years). Maybe a sensitive gut is a sign of health. It's hard to go dairy free though, when you have such low faith in starches and fruits (I've completely lost confidence in them).

 

[Ewelina]

Exact same thing happened to me I'm pretty sure. Now I'm stuck with acne and other health problems. Not sure if it's reverseable

I truly believe it's reverseable! My acne also got much worse when I started binging on fruit. I couldn't figure it out. Now my skin is fine, only some minor issues. Digestion is also improving, so not everything is lost! It just takes time and effort to figure everything out but it's possible. So take heart!

 

[EIRE24]

I would just drop dates altogether. Sounds like you react to them as badly as I do. They're sexy on paper. High in nutrients (magnesium etc), dry, high in sugar, portable, calorie dense..... Just perfect. But without doubt, the worst food out of everything for my body to tolerate. Along with bananas, give me the most profound dip in mood, and puts my gut into turmoil.

The only fibres I seem to tolerate well are carrot and bamboo shoot. Which I will now not be deviating from.

With another fibrous food, I am currently at the point of giving up mushroom now. It definitely gives me a bad stomach/gut ache (and I've tested all parameters I can possible think of.. Cooking times, trying every type of mushroom, eating organic, eaten with low/higher amounts of fat, trying different food combinations, etc). A real shame. Gonna miss mushrooms/cheese (that was becoming a real favourite, but the physical effects hours later aren't fun).

A simple diet of animal products + sugar may be your safest option.

Even after 2.5 years of PUFA restriction, I'm still in the same boat as you (my gut gives me hell with fruits, starches, etc). But like many here, on the rare occasions I eat a slice of simple white bread = effortless digestion. I would agree it's definitely the fibre. A happy gut, for me, does make a big difference to a number of things (mood, energy, libido, etc).

Do you do dairy everyday? I've often thought it might be the dairy that is making many here so intolerant to things. Pretty sure my gut was way stronger than this, pre-Dairy (which I have done everyday for the last 2.5 years). Maybe a sensitive gut is a sign of health. It's hard to go dairy free though, when you have such low faith in starches and fruits (I've completely lost confidence in them).

I agree drop the dates. Pronto! I actually saw a massive dip in health and skin especially when I began a fruit kick and it was massively high in dates. I still have acne now and I'm 100% certain its from the messed up gut due to them. I obviously don't have an answer on how to fix that as I myself still suffer from acne and gut problems