Some Questions About Food Intolerances.

[Lycopene]

Alrighty. I've taken gluten, dairy, casein, and soy out of my diet, yet I still feel bloated and gassy, which is terribly inconvenient seeing as I just moved to Georgia (I'm here now!) and live with my friend... sort of embarrassing being gassy. I honestly couldn't tell you what the problem is. I don't think it could be anything else and I don't really eat anything out of the ordinary.

I eat a lot of that Mac and Chreese stuff. Have any of you had that? I'm relatively short on cash right now so I mostly just brought stuff from Seattle to here with me and I'll be living off of that for a while until I get a job.

But my question is, what foods cause you to bloat and be gassy? I mean I CONSTANTLY have gas and feel bloated because of it. I don't know anyone (in person) who is like this. I'm constantly uncomfortable and embarrassed because I don't want to fart. Ahhh. Stupid gas!! It really makes me hate eating food.

What are common allergens that cause bloating/gas? I don't eat any gluten, dairy, casein, or soy. I don't know what else it could be. Almonds? I do drink almond milk...

I'm sorry, I just really have no idea what to do and I want this feeling to stop! I've been living with it my whole life, and while I don't get outrageously sick anymore because I took gluten out, the bloating and gas just won't leave me!

Oh yeah, another question. About how much is it to go get an allergy test without health insurance? Roughly, since I know prices will differ most places.

[Ahorsesoul]

What brand of Mac and cheese is gluten, dairy and soy free that you are eating?

[Korwyn]

  On 5/5/2010 at 5:16 PM, Lycopene said:

Alrighty. I've taken gluten, dairy, casein, and soy out of my diet, yet I still feel bloated and gassy, which is terribly inconvenient seeing as I just moved to Georgia (I'm here now!) and live with my friend... sort of embarrassing being gassy. I honestly couldn't tell you what the problem is. I don't think it could be anything else and I don't really eat anything out of the ordinary.

I eat a lot of that Mac and Chreese stuff. Have any of you had that? I'm relatively short on cash right now so I mostly just brought stuff from Seattle to here with me and I'll be living off of that for a while until I get a job.

But my question is, what foods cause you to bloat and be gassy? I mean I CONSTANTLY have gas and feel bloated because of it. I don't know anyone (in person) who is like this. I'm constantly uncomfortable and embarrassed because I don't want to fart. Ahhh. Stupid gas!! It really makes me hate eating food.

What are common allergens that cause bloating/gas? I don't eat any gluten, dairy, casein, or soy. I don't know what else it could be. Almonds? I do drink almond milk...

I'm sorry, I just really have no idea what to do and I want this feeling to stop! I've been living with it my whole life, and while I don't get outrageously sick anymore because I took gluten out, the bloating and gas just won't leave me!

Oh yeah, another question. About how much is it to go get an allergy test without health insurance? Roughly, since I know prices will differ most places.

You may have a problem with candidia or a carb intolerance in general. Have you tried eliminating or reducing the rice milk and mac and cheese? Refined carbs of almost any variety give me horrible gas and bloating as well.

[tictax707]

My system doesn't like the lentil flour in the gluten free versions mac & Chreese. At this point I would go back to really basic things (steamed rice, plain baked potato, bananas, etc) for a few days until you can at least get the gas to go away and then slowly start adding foods in one by one, and give yourself a few days betwen each food to see how your body reacts. I hope you can figure it out!!

[skigirlchar]

you could also be dealing and imbalance - have you found a pro-biotic to add to help balance out your system? i too had to eliminate the same foods as you and as i added in beans (though i avoid lentils like the plague) and rice i was hit w/ gas in a major way. and BLOAT!!! (can you say "state puff marshmallow girl?)

at first i was really skeptical but i have since added a pro-biotic to my diet. I get mine from Kirkman Labs (kirkmanlabs.com) - though there are MANY OTHERS OUT THERE. it's expensive, but i work w/ a lot of autism families who swear by them. they are also gluten-free/CF/SF/yeast free/ and free of like 5 other things.

i am not saying it's the way to go but it helped me. (i will also say that i was lucky enough to be warned to start off by NOT taking a full capsuel when i started but to use a little bit and work up to a full one so my system didn't go crazy the other way w/ die-off.)

regardless, good luck!

[Wolicki]

I did the probiotics and enzymes too, but I developed a lot of secondary food intolerances after going gluten free, as many people do. My list was long, but maybe there is something here that might be bothering you. Dairy, nuts, seeds, nighshades, all grains, cruciferous veggies, popcorn, corn, legumes.

The good news is that after about 5-6 months, I could have everything except for broccoli and popcorn.

I miss popcorn I never loved broccoli enough to try it again

I hope you figure it out. An elimination diet is your best bet!

[KateGrace]

Eating beans and fibrous vegetables could also contribute to the problem. For me personally, too much meat even causes this.

I agree, maybe you could just eat rice, fruit, juice, etc. until you're free of gas. Then add the Mac and cheese, for example, and then you'll know for sure.

[i-geek]

  On 5/5/2010 at 5:56 PM, Korwyn said:

You may have a problem with candidia or a carb intolerance in general. Have you tried eliminating or reducing the rice milk and mac and cheese? Refined carbs of almost any variety give me horrible gas and bloating as well.

This. Also, some people are rice-intolerant, and that's the main ingredient in the Mac-and-Chreese. It might be worth cutting back on rice to see if that's your problem.

[Lycopene]

The brand of "Mac and Chreese" that I eat is Road's End Organics.

I can definitely see that I need to do some form of elimination diet, including removing rice, but then what would I eat? Some meats. Salads? What do you guys do when you do this? Especially when your budget is limited. (It won't be for TOO long, but it is right now, and right now I'm having the problem).

Is there any way for a doctor to test to tell you EXACTLY what the problem is? If it's rice, lentil flour, etc.? I've never exactly had an allergy test like that and I don't know if they can test for "intolerances" versus "allergies."

Eh, this whole mess is confusing and annoying. I. Hate. Food.

[jenngolightly]

  On 5/5/2010 at 8:29 PM, Lycopene said:

Eh, this whole mess is confusing and annoying. I. Hate. Food.

I hear you!

I can't figure out what's making me sick, either. I went in for allergy testing and everything came back invalid with false-negatives. Long story so I won't get into it. Just wanted to tell you that there are tests for food allergies, they're very expensive (mine were around $5000), and they're not always accurate.

I'm planning on going on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet next Sunday. I'm waiting for a few supplies to get here first. It's a comprehensive elimination diet, and there's lots of info about it on this site.

Good luck.

[Jestgar]

I eat meat, fish, vegetables, and a little fruit. I add some wild rice mix to soup once in a while (about a cup of rice for a whole pot of soup) and I add beans to chili, but don't eat it every day. It's a rare treat to eat something from a package.

[Skylark]

My mom has fructose malabsorption, which causes gas and bloating. You might look that up. I don't now the whole diet but I know she has trouble with fruits, vegetables high in fuctans like onions or asparagus, and processed foods with fructose among others.

[GFinDC]

Nightshades, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, dairy, soy, gluten, garbanzo beans, sugar, etc etc.. Any food that your body doesn't handle well can cause gas and bloating. Enterlab can test for antibodies to some things, but not a very long list. An elimination diet is the cheapest way to go and worth a try.

[skigirlchar]

  On 5/5/2010 at 8:29 PM, Lycopene said:

"but then what would I eat? Some meats. Salads? What do you guys do when you do this? Especially when your budget is limited."

Is there any way for a doctor to test to tell you EXACTLY what the problem is? If it's rice, lentil flour, etc.? I've never exactly had an allergy test like that and I don't know if they can test for "intolerances" versus "allergies."

Eh, this whole mess is confusing and annoying. I. Hate. Food.

i eat a LOT of the few foods i can - lettuce has taken up residence in my fridge. it's a lot of trial and error. (and now that it's "allergy season" i have to eat even less of my allowed foods because, while i have allergies all year long, my food ones double now that the pollen is flying.)

as for the testing - some allergy tests are there for food allergies. but they don't test for "intolerances." however, i have also come up allergic on the tests for some foods that i have never had a reaction to when i eat them (yet.)

it's your body and you will figure it out as long as you take it a day at a time.

[dilettantesteph]

I haven't heard of the company that makes the mac and cheese. Does anyone think that it could be a CC problem? I know that I get gas and bloating from minor gluten contamination.

[skigirlchar]

oh - i just went back and saw in the initial post you asked about the cost of testing w/o insurance.... it's a lot. and the more they test for, the higher it gets.

even w/ many insurance plans you end up footing a lot of th bill

[T.H.]

Well....any food can cause bloating and gassiness, if you are intolerant to it. And there are only reliable medical tests to test for lactose intolerance and fructose intolerance. The rest? You get to keep a food journal, record every ingredient that enters your mouth, record your symptoms, and hope to find a pattern.

Allergies can do it, too, but it really sounds like an intolerance. And if you have more than one? It's harder to track down. What has worked best for me (I had to do this), is to not eat the same food every day, so your symptoms might spread out. Or cut your food way down to very few ingredients so it's more obvious.

And you'll need to check EVERYTHING. Baking powder has corn or potato starch added, iodized salt has anti-caking agents added (usually corn)...every ingredient can have others added, so it's a pain in the butt to figure out sometimes - or just to write them all down! :-P

I was down to single ingredient foods (carrots, sweet potatoes, plain meat or whole grains), and I was able to track it down - it was quite a number of foods, but the difference now that I'm staying away from them is amazing.

  On 5/5/2010 at 5:16 PM, Lycopene said:

Alrighty. I've taken gluten, dairy, casein, and soy out of my diet, yet I still feel bloated and gassy, which is terribly inconvenient seeing as I just moved to Georgia (I'm here now!) and live with my friend... sort of embarrassing being gassy. I honestly couldn't tell you what the problem is. I don't think it could be anything else and I don't really eat anything out of the ordinary.

I eat a lot of that Mac and Chreese stuff. Have any of you had that? I'm relatively short on cash right now so I mostly just brought stuff from Seattle to here with me and I'll be living off of that for a while until I get a job.

But my question is, what foods cause you to bloat and be gassy? I mean I CONSTANTLY have gas and feel bloated because of it. I don't know anyone (in person) who is like this. I'm constantly uncomfortable and embarrassed because I don't want to fart. Ahhh. Stupid gas!! It really makes me hate eating food.

What are common allergens that cause bloating/gas? I don't eat any gluten, dairy, casein, or soy. I don't know what else it could be. Almonds? I do drink almond milk...

I'm sorry, I just really have no idea what to do and I want this feeling to stop! I've been living with it my whole life, and while I don't get outrageously sick anymore because I took gluten out, the bloating and gas just won't leave me!

Oh yeah, another question. About how much is it to go get an allergy test without health insurance? Roughly, since I know prices will differ most places.