Fruits And Vegetables

[radgirl]

Has anyone found that they have a harder time digesting/processing fruits and veggies? Does anyone find that they can eat certain foods, but not a lot of them because it will still cause their gut issues? I find this type of issue with fruits and veggies if I eat too many or go too many days in a row eating them. It is not a food allergy or intolerance since I can eat some, just not a lot. Anyone else?

[Cruiser Bob]

That sounds a lot like me. My gluten-free has finally started serving me smaller portions of vegi's. I was able to eat half a honeydew mellon the other day with no dire affects. Bob

[jerseyangel]

Yes, at the beginning, after starting the diet, I couldn't tolerate too many fruits and veggies--especially raw. They were just too much on my stomach.

After 2 years, I'm happy to report that I can eat most all (except legumes, which I'm intolerant to) fruits and veggies. I eat a salad every day, and even strawberries--which used to give me digestive problems, are fine now.

[radgirl]

Ok, so this comes with the territory then?

[ravenwoodglass]

Ok, so this comes with the territory then?

Yep, it takes some time for the gut to heal. I found cooking my fruits and making sure to peel stuff helped a great deal. I also found that for me lettuce is worthless and will rush any other salad stuff right out of me so now I make my salads with just the other veggies. You also may find that right now certain stuff just doesn't sit well. Drop it and try again in a month or two.

[radgirl]

Yep, it takes some time for the gut to heal. I found cooking my fruits and making sure to peel stuff helped a great deal. I also found that for me lettuce is worthless and will rush any other salad stuff right out of me so now I make my salads with just the other veggies. You also may find that right now certain stuff just doesn't sit well. Drop it and try again in a month or two.

Thank you very much. I never really thought of taking off the peel off some of my fruits. I guess I will just need to monitor and watch my intake and slow it down. I don't want to completely stop as my food is very limited since I cannot do dairy as well.

Does anyone find that canned veggies/fruits are a viable option for a food source and it won't irritate the gut?

[corinne]

I don't tolerate raw fruit yet (except for bananas) so canned fruit works well for me. Applesauce and canned peaches go down easy and have no peels/seeds. Some fruit that are fibrous ie pineapple can be hard for some people too. Cruciferous veggies ie cabbage, broccoli, etc. can be tough to digest.

[radgirl]

I created a separate thread, but does anyone find they have issues with too much fat in their diets? I'm not sure what would even constitute too much fat, but it's a though rolling through my head. It seems that although we have issues with the gluten, the gluten has caused our guts to be so out of whack, that a variety of things can cause some discomfort as well.

[SchnauzerMom]

I had a problem with eating fruit and raw veggies before I went gluten free. Since I've been gluten free I can eat any veggie or fruit raw or cooked. Seems to be the opposite of everyone else here.

[radgirl]

I had a problem with eating fruit and raw veggies before I went gluten free. Since I've been gluten free I can eat any veggie or fruit raw or cooked. Seems to be the opposite of everyone else here.

How long were you gluten-free before you noticed you no longer had the issues with fruits and veggies in any form?

[corinne]

Uggh - I've been gluten free for almost 3 years and can only eat bananas (raw), avocados (raw), canned apricots and well-cooked carrots, green beans, spinach and mushrooms. Mind you, I have a type of colitis, not celiac.

[grey]

I can't eat raw vegetables and some fruits. One of my doctors suggested juicing, which has been GREAT. My problem with a lot of raw stuff seems to have been the fiber. Juicing gives you the nutrients, but takes out much (most?) of the fiber with the pulp. (I can, it seems, eat fresh bananas, peaches and blueberries, but they're pretty digestible in general).

My favorite juice, suggested by the doc, is apple, carrot, kale, with parsley. Now, there's NO WAY I could eat these things raw unless they were juiced. Also, doing the juicing myself, I know I'm not adding perservatives or sugar or gluten. It's also cut down on my sweets craving. I use a juicer I bought at Wal-Mart for c. $30, not one of the fancy juicers and it's worked well so far.

There are some fruits and vegetables I can't have at all yet (I hope I will in the future) juiced or not - citrus & cantalope, tomatoes, and potatoes.

I was told by more experienced celiac (15 years gluten-free) to be careful of too much fat in the beginning while my gut's healing, and larger meals, and I think this is good advice.

[debmidge]

Has anyone found that they have a harder time digesting/processing fruits and veggies? Does anyone find that they can eat certain foods, but not a lot of them because it will still cause their gut issues? I find this type of issue with fruits and veggies if I eat too many or go too many days in a row eating them. It is not a food allergy or intolerance since I can eat some, just not a lot. Anyone else?

Radgirl:

Me too! I cannot have neither fresh nor cooked nor canned fruits/vegetables as they don't digest properly -- even soy and eggs give me stomach/intestine problems. It's so bad that I avoid them completely and have for decades.

Mike

[debmidge]

I can't eat raw vegetables and some fruits. One of my doctors suggested juicing, which has been GREAT. My problem with a lot of raw stuff seems to have been the fiber. Juicing gives you the nutrients, but takes out much (most?) of the fiber with the pulp. (I can, it seems, eat fresh bananas, peaches and blueberries, but they're pretty digestible in general).

My favorite juice, suggested by the doc, is apple, carrot, kale, with parsley. Now, there's NO WAY I could eat these things raw unless they were juiced. Also, doing the juicing myself, I know I'm not adding perservatives or sugar or gluten. It's also cut down on my sweets craving. I use a juicer I bought at Wal-Mart for c. $30, not one of the fancy juicers and it's worked well so far.

There are some fruits and vegetables I can't have at all yet (I hope I will in the future) juiced or not - citrus & cantalope, tomatoes, and potatoes.

I was told by more experienced celiac (15 years gluten-free) to be careful of too much fat in the beginning while my gut's healing, and larger meals, and I think this is good advice.

Grey

did you juice carrots too? and if you did were you passing the color of the carrots onto your stool? reason I am asking is because my husband had juicer and this happened to him BEFORE gluten-free and I was wonder if this would happen now that he's gluten-free....

D.

[darlindeb25]

Gluten free for 7 yrs here and I'm guessing my tummy will never tolerate much fats. I can't handle red meats, turkey, none of the brown meats of chicken, etc, no cruciferus veggies--I do eat green beans, peas, a few carrots--all cooked and some fruits--no melons, cucumbers, no nightshades--tomatoes make me very ill, mushrooms have made me ill for years-----my list of foods I can have is much easier that the list I can't have.

[jerseyangel]

Deb's husband, Mike!

I'm so glad you posted....I always identify with you, as I also went un-mis-diagnosed for so many years. I have residual problems from that, and I just wanted to say that I'm happy to "meet" you!

As I said, I can do most produce now (after 2 years) but coconut and legumes are still no-go's.

[ElenaDragon]

I just started the gluten-free diet, and I don't know if it will help me or not. Yesterday I ate something that didn't agree with me. It was either the avacado and cucumber sushi (no soy sauce), which I think unlikely... or the 7 big fresh strawberries. I'm betting it was the strawberries. I don't generally eat a lot of fresh fruit at once, so maybe my digestive system just can't handle it.

[alamaz]

ElenaDragon- I am 4 months gluten-free and I still can not tolerate avocados. They are really high in fat and oil so I'm assuming hard to digest.

[ElenaDragon]

Well, I have been eating the same sushi for lunch once a week for many weeks, and I don't think I have had a problem with it before. I will keep that in mind though.

[Woody]

Has anyone found that they have a harder time digesting/processing fruits and veggies? Does anyone find that they can eat certain foods, but not a lot of them because it will still cause their gut issues? I find this type of issue with fruits and veggies if I eat too many or go too many days in a row eating them. It is not a food allergy or intolerance since I can eat some, just not a lot. Anyone else?

radgirl

I was diagnosed with celiac three years ago. Atthat time my Dr. also did a stomach emptying

test. Which showed I had gastrparesis. This means it takes along time to digest raw veggies and

the skin of most fruits. You might want to check on this.

Woody

.

[darkangel]

A compromised digestive system has trouble breaking down the tough fiber matrix in raw or lightly cooked veggies and tough peelings. While you're healing, canned veggies, well-cooked are the easiest to digest. Canned or cooked fruits that are peeled are safe and well-ripened bananas.

[JamiD]

Thanks to some information that Corrine sent me (THANK YOU, CORRINE!) about how the high fructose to glucose ratio of some fruits can be harder to digest, I eliminated apples, peaches, and pears, of which I had been eating in abundance. The gas symptoms disappeared and I have been able to tolerate lower fructose containing fruits such as berries, bananas, and cantaloupe.

My diet is still limited to meat, salad, cooked green vegetables, avocados, olive oil, and the fruits listed above, but I have tried some nuts, sorbet (corn syrup), and even Snickers bars and haven't had any intolerable symptoms.