What's Worse During The 1St Year: Fasting Or Overeating?

[Finally-45]

I'm about 6mo into gluten-free living. I noticed that if I'm on an empty stomach,and then ingest something that requires a little more work than average, then I have more abdominal pain. (not gluten-caused pain, just a discomfort.) However, if I haven't reached that fasting point, the discomfort is never there.

I searched on this forum and see there have been some discussions about fasting, but I can't find anything conclusive about the general nature of healing intestines and a correlation with the amount of food ingested.

Is there such a philosophy as avoiding a fast during the healing period? It would seem that it doesn't matter about the fast, but you certainly wouldn't want to be a glutton?

I can see how people might assume the intestines need a break, I'm not sure if that's a misconception in our case.

Any suggestions for literature is appreciated. Most of what I've read is on probiotics, which didn't address overall amounts of food taken in.

[sa1937]

I've never fasted so can't answer your question about it. But, have you ever thought perhaps you should eat smaller meals more frequently? There's nothing that says we have to eat 3 square meals a day.

A few of books you may like:

Living Gluten-Free for Dummies by Danna Korn

Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic by Dr. Peter Green

The First Year: Celiac Disease and Living Gluten-Free: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed by Jules Shepard

Hope this helps.

Edit: I do take a probiotic (Culturelle Digestive Health) and it has helped significantly.

[heidi g.]

I fast for my religion once in awhile and I noticed if I haven't eaten all day and then eat something heavy, my stomach gets crampy, bloated, and gassy. But that's even normal for people without celiacs disease. Now if you notice that when you haven't eaten and your stomach feels a slightly lunched associated with an empty burning feeling, then you need to eat small meals throughout the day. When you go to sleep that is all the rest your digestive system needs. If you want to give it a break eat rice or drink gluten free chicken broth.

[RuskitD]

A philosophy? I am not sure.

Fasting was preached to me for healing, after dx. But I felt I had already done that with my health 'crash'. I suffered "D" for 6 weeks straight, every half hour, whether I ate or not.

The first 4 weeks, I *gasp* nibbled crackers all day to put SOMETHING in my stomach, to absorb the acid I knew I suffered from.

Then I just quit eating altogether. Which was my saving grace!

My theory, never be a glutton. Your body doesn't want you to ever stress it. I am not sure whether a fast would stress the body or not. With our malnutrition state already, I feel feeding the body gently, and often, Limiting foods to nourishing easily digested choices is the best! How can a body fully heal, if its not getting the energy it needs to do so?

I have personally found my best resource is to feed my body a little bit, every few hours, and keep very accurate account of its response to the food and when it comes.

For me, my body will tell me exactly what to do NOT DO.

and I listen!

I hope you find your answers!