Help! Gassy After Eating.....

[lavendaranne]

Hi, I am brand new to the gluten free eating, just a week now. I am finding immediately, after eating,

I am very bloated and then gassy. Gassy for a long time, and it is very uncomfortable feeling too.

I am wondering if I am doing something wrong, or am I missing something I should be doing. I did not

expect this effect and am hoping I can find an answer. Thanks, carol

[mushroom]

Hi Carol, and welcome to the boards.

You don't mention if gassiness was ever a symptom you had before. I ask this because for many of us this was one of our primary gluten symptoms--bloating and gas, and along with "certain" bowel issues, D or C. I have continued to have occasional gassiness since gluten free which I cannot attribute to any specific cause So I'm afraid I'm not a lot of help to you, except to say that other things besides gluten gave me gas, most specifically corn. For many of us, some of these other food intolerances show up after we eliminate gluten. Have you tried keeping track of what you eat, and associating it with anything, or is it associated with all food? Are you eating the alternative gluten-free grains, because sometimes an unhealed stomach can find these difficult to digest and they are best avoided at first in favor of whole, natural foods.

[lavendaranne]

Hi Carol, and welcome to the boards.

You don't mention if gassiness was ever a symptom you had before. I ask this because for many of us this was one of our primary gluten symptoms--bloating and gas, and along with "certain" bowel issues, D or C. I have continued to have occasional gassiness since gluten free which I cannot attribute to any specific cause So I'm afraid I'm not a lot of help to you, except to say that other things besides gluten gave me gas, most specifically corn. For many of us, some of these other food intolerances show up after we eliminate gluten. Have you tried keeping track of what you eat, and associating it with anything, or is it associated with all food? Are you eating the alternative gluten-free grains, because sometimes an unhealed stomach can find these difficult to digest and they are best avoided at first in favor of whole, natural foods.

[lavendaranne]

Yes, I have had abdominal pain and gas, after eating sugar especially, and wheat. For a very long time I had no idea as to what would be causing this. I also have a sensitivity to milk products. Since November, I have completely quit the sugar, and now the gluten. I made some bread using alternative flours a couple days ago, an the gas accompanied, soon after. I will definately track what I am eating now, to find the answer. Can you tell me, after time will this gassiness go away?

For now, it seems as if I shoud progress slower into the alternate grains. Thank-you for your help! carol

You don't mention if gassiness was ever a symptom you had before. I ask this because for many of us this was one of our primary gluten symptoms--bloating and gas, and along with "certain" bowel issues, D or C. I have continued to have occasional gassiness since gluten free which I cannot attribute to any specific cause So I'm afraid I'm not a lot of help to you, except to say that other things besides gluten gave me gas, most specifically corn. For many of us, some of these other food intolerances show up after we eliminate gluten. Have you tried keeping track of what you eat, and associating it with anything, or is it associated with all food? Are you eating the alternative gluten-free grains, because sometimes an unhealed stomach can find these difficult to digest and they are best avoided at first in favor of whole, natural foods.

[mushroom]

If sugar is bothersome to you, it is possible you might have a candida problem, small intestine bacterial overgrowth, otherwise known as SIBO. Candida is caused by the yeasts getting out of whack and running amok in the gut, and they feed on sugars and carbs (which are essentially sugars) and also yeasts in bread. So cutting out the starchy carbs and embracing the whole foods/paleo (hunter-gatherer) kind of diet would be especially helpful if this were the case. You can have stool sample testing to find out if you have a yeast or other bacterial problem in your intestine that is making you gassy, either through your doctor ordering it, or doing the testing through Enterolab (a google will find it). Sometimes, especially if we have had several courses of antibiotics, our intestinal bacteria become imbalanced and the bad guys win out over the good guys, which can cause all kinds of gassy problems. (I once had c. difficile and yeast overgrowth together, and it was horrible. I couldn't even eat carrot and celery sticks! Enterolab would also show you if your pancreas was working properly by measuring fecal fat,and if you had other food intolerances, like with soy or casein or eggs.

I know, I know, just when you think you have this food thing figured out you find it can be a whole lot more complex. I am just throwing out some ideas for you to test here, they might not apply to you, in fact I hope they don't, but they are avenues to explore if you don't get better.