Anyone Else Unable To Eat Fruits And Veggies And A Whole Bunch Of Other Food?

[GFweightlifter]

I'm a self diagnosed gluten intolerant/ celiac. I've been having my symptoms for 3 years now- gas, bloating, acid reflux, diarrhea, bruising, and fatigue to name a few. I've been gluten free for about 8 weeks now and am feeling a lot better- my symptoms have decreased in severity a great deal.

However...

During those three years the types of foods I've been able to digest without having acid reflux, gas, bloating, and diarrhea have slowly decreased. The foods I can eat without issues are all meat, eggs, fish, fats (animal fats, oils EXCEPT coconut oil), white potatoes, white rice, low lactose/ lactose free dairy (like butter, heavy cream, and aged cheese), and wine. I cannot tolerate any vegetables, fruits, grains (especially wheat,oatmeal, and corn), legumes, nuts, seeds, and dairy with lactose.

At one time I thought maybe I had the FODMAPS thing but through elimination diets I have found that I cannot even digest FODMAPS free foods.

I've tried juicing because I thought maybe the fiber was bothering me but I can't even handle juice- even if I strain it. I have found that lacto- fermenting fruits and veggies makes them easier for me to digest and I can eat them in very small amounts (like 1/4 cup 3-4 times a day) with little to no symptoms.

Do you think if I were truly celiac and my small intestines were damaged enough it could be the reason for my inability to digest carbohydrates? Has any of you experienced this and were you able to digest more things after being gluten free for awhile?

It's just really frustrating because not only do I have to avoid gluten and bunch of gluten containing items, but I am so limited in the carbohydrate department and it's so hard to explain to people that I can't eat half of the gluten free stuff they want to feed me because I end up in pain. Everyone makes me salads

[Chad Sines]

i go through cycles of being intolerant of things. The things I never seem to tolerate are dairy, soy, fructose (fruits, sugar drinks, high fructose corn syrup). Steamed veggies are rough. Coconut oil decimates me even in small amounts.

I find that after a few days on the specific carbohydrate diet I really, really get normalized and feeling better although i have never felt completely normal.

I think it is just so personal what foods each of us tolerate except for some common things. Many of us are intolerant of multiple things which means we can eliminate one and have another that is bugging us so we think we are on the wrong track.

[tictax707]

I have colitis, and when it flares up I can't tolerate fruits or veggies. Sometimes lots of raw fruits/veggies can trigger a colitis flare up. I also can't handle stuff like flax or inulin. Beans are pretty much out, and I harbor an almost irrational fear of lentils. I can have wine sometimes, other times it messes me up BAD.

But ultimately for me, the celiac is one issue and that is focused on the small intestine. I can tell you that I went from being completely flat when I was diagnosed to being all back to normal as indicated by an endo last year. The colon is a whole other issue. I am no doctor but I might think your issues could be due to a sensitive colon, not the small intestine?

[woodnewt]

Do you think if I were truly celiac and my small intestines were damaged enough it could be the reason for my inability to digest carbohydrates? Has any of you experienced this and were you able to digest more things after being gluten free for awhile?

It's just really frustrating because not only do I have to avoid gluten and bunch of gluten containing items, but I am so limited in the carbohydrate department and it's so hard to explain to people that I can't eat half of the gluten free stuff they want to feed me because I end up in pain. Everyone makes me salads

Most definitely, yes - this is a strong possibility, especially if you are recently recovering, and in the past was very ill. Dysbiosis of gut flora can also cause digestive problems, in addition to inflammation and malabsorption.

I was basically living off of potatoes, meat and bananas when I was recovering a few years ago. I had to avoid vegetables for a while and even now my veggies are limited. My diet is low carb (no grains, pseudograins, legumes or beans), high fat and I stick to specifc vegetables I know I can tolerate. Mainly cooked kale, cooked zucchini, fermented cabbage, and raw salads with what I consider easily digestible vegetables. Other vegetables, like onions, I avoid completely, because they make me sick.

My diet is still very limited but has expanded quite a bit since what it was 3 years ago. The expansion has come slowly. I periodically add something new either successfully or not. Most recently dark chocolate and almonds were added successfully, but goat milk was not.

I cannot eat most fruit. I can eat bananas, papaya, and avocado. I also seem to be OK with a small amount of dried fruits (plums, raisins) but only if they have sulfites in them. I've tried different fresh fruits from kiwi, oranges, red and green apples, peaches, pears, plums, tomatoes, watermelon, berries, and others and all I cannot tolerate. Fruits I can't tolerate gives me digestive symptoms accompanied by severe rhinitis and a rash all over my abdomen. I highly suspect the symptoms are not an allergy and not from the fruit itself but probably a reaction to a mold specific to the environment here.

When I was in California 2 years ago, I was staying at a motel for several weeks and lived off of whatever I could buy at a couple of health food stores nearby. The motel had no stove so I had to make due with what was available. The Whole Foods had berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries) that were in season and extremely fresh. I remember pretty much gorging on those (including the little bugs that were crawling all over them) and had no significant issues. So once your gut heals, freshness could also play a part in tolerance.

[GFweightlifter]

Thanks for replying everyone. Although I wouldn't wish my health problems on anyone it feels good to know I'm not the only one out there like this!

Woodnewt- my problem sounds almost exactly like yours. I'm down to meat and taters. Bananas were one of the last things to go, so they might be one of the first I can eat again. Even now they only give me a bit of acid reflux and a little diarrhea which is much better than what the other fruits and veggies do. Hopefully with some more time I'll be able to eat a wider selection. Right now I'm doing what you do- eating a high fat animal- based diet and staying away from all grains. Basically "Primal" without the fruits and veggies.I've heard a LOT of people have had really good results overcoming autoimmune disorders with the primal diet.

[lcarter]

Since you are "self diagnosed", kind of like me, there are a couple of other possibilities you might want to check out that could explain some of the other food sensitivities you are noticing. A gluten free diet would make a significant difference in 2 other digestive disorders that I can think of:

[1] FRUCTOSE MALABSORPTION [and a more serious condition called Hereditary Fructose Intolerance] : Generally these are conditions where fructose [fruit sugar]is not digested properly. Wheat contains many components, one is a starch called a Fructan [made up of a long chain of fructose molecules, one after the other, with an glucose on the end]. So, FM or HFI folks eat a gluten free diet to avoid Fructans rather than the gluten. They are also sensitive to fruits and veggies, some types more so than others, depending on the amount of sugar in each one. All sweets [cakes, cookies, candies, sodas, etc] are problematic too because sucrose [white table sugar] is ½ fructose + ½ glucose. Also, FM is frequently seen along with any other digestive disorder. There is a breath test to diagnose FM, while HFI is diagnosed by liver biopsy or a sugar induction under medical supervision [both rather invasive procedures].

[2] INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE [iBD] which is made up of two main diseases, Crohn’s [CrD] and Ulcerative Colitis [uC]. Gluten, dairy, and sugars are frequently sighted as triggers that initiate “flares” [digestive symptoms similar to being “glutened” in celiac disease] – so dietary changes are often recommended, including a gluten free diet. IBD can be mild to sever, with many food triggers – sometimes raw fruits + veggies, sometimes other foods, and unknown non-food triggers. Flares can be episodic or continuous – there are many variations in presentation, and is somewhat difficult to diagnose because of this. Intestinal biopsies, sometimes along with other intestinal investigations, are necessary to diagnosis IBD. Associated conditions include vitamin deficiencies, osteoporosis, arthritis, peripheral neurologic problems, etc.

So…you can see how confusing it can get to find a diagnosis when you realize that a gluten free diet helps, but isn’t the whole answer. Also, to complicate things more, it is possible to have celiac disease or gluten intolerance along with either of the two diseases mentioned above.

[Skylark]

You might look into salicylate intolerance.

[Chad Sines]

I think the big take home message is in the early stages of getting better you could be jacked up with so many intolerances. It is rough trying to figure out what you have issues with now that you might not have had before and might not in a couple of weeks.

[frieze]

perhaps a probiotic? emphasizing the enzymes for carbs.