bloated, gassy and irritable

F

fontanic

Cathlete
I have a question for all the experts out there. Can eating way too much air-popped popcorn in one sitting clog up your digestive system? I have been miserable the last few days. Throughout the day, there are time when I cant stand up straight due to the gas pain and bloating in my gut. I ate at least 8-cups of popcorn with DH the other night and I wonder if that irritated an ongoing digestive problem. Also, ever since the beginning of January, I have been experience the worst continuous gas problem, worse than when I was pregnant. This is disgusting and I need to do something about it. I eat a lot of fiber,protein, yoghurt and flax seed. I drink plenty of water, and I exercise 6 times a week, either a spin class or a Cathe video. I eat healthy, but I eat large quantities which I am trying to scale down. I also take magnesium supplements every a.m and p.m for constipation as well as Lysine and a multi-supplement.

Does anyone know what else I can try. I am begging for help on this one. I almost couldnt finish my spin class today due to gas pains.
 
I'm only going to be a small help here. Yes, popcorn will do that to you. Omitting dairy and taking it easy on fiber, and on sheer volume of food, helps.

Have you done a search on gluten sensitivity? A lot of people are sensitive to wheat if they eat too much of it.

Meanwhile gas-x is a friend. It's basically the same as soap, and you know what happens when you put a bar of soap in a bubble bath-- it breaks the bubbles.

Hope you find out what's causing it, good luck.

Bella
 
Bella,

thanks for your quick response. Do you think dairy could be a temporary solution, or a dietary concern? I actually thought my ongoing digestive problems might be due to dairy, so I cut it all out for many months, and drank soy milk, but it didnt solve my problem, so I went back to dairy. When I first reintroduced the dairy, I was gassy for a couple of weeks, but then stabilized. That was about a year ago. Is gluten mainly found just in bread, or many carbohydrates? I would hate to have to give up all carbs. I try to keep my sugars down, but I do eat a lot of whole grains and complex carbs.
Thanks for your help.
 
I think gluten is found in wheat products, not corn products like popcorn.

Other than that, I don't have any suggestions for you. If modifying your fiber and food volume intake doesn't do the trick, maybe you need to see a registered dietician to help you sort things out. It could be the gassiness is indeed due to some sort of low-grade food allergy, if not fullblown lactose intolerance.

A-Jock
 
Something is also going around.
I started out with a sore throat, then head congestion. Then i got really tired and sick to my stomache.
I have been cramped up and gassy and sick to my tummy for 4 days.
My gut felt like someone had a vise squeezing it.
I have been tempted to call the doc.
I am now on malox anti gas and imodion.
There is a bug out there or i ate something bad. But 4 days of this.
It is miserable.
I am going to try to workout today.
Maybe it will go away .
Anne
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=8227804&uid=3969941
 
I have irritable bowel syndrome and find if I eat a lot at one sitting the gas and bloating is much worse than normal. Popcorn can set me off, but I find if I eat just a little at a time without pop or soda (which always upsets my tummy... it's the carbonation), I'm okay. Try eating less of the popcorn and drink water (which helps me) and see how you feel.

HTH,

Becky
 
> I cut
>it all out for many months, and drank soy milk, but it didnt
>solve my problem, so I went back to dairy.

You could also have a sensitivity to soy. I find that I can only eat a certain amount of soy (and NO concentrates or isolates) or I will have digestive problems. I greatly reduced my gas production (!) when I went from a soy-based protein powder in my morning smoothie to a pea/rice based powder.

Try rice or almond milk instead of dairy or soy. The enriched versions have the equivalent calcium, vitamin D as dairy milk, but unlike soy, they are low in protein, so you might want to take that into consideration as well.
 
Don't hold me to this but my uncle developed diverticulitis and they told him it was partially due to eating so much popcorn! He loved the stuff and ate it every day!

Maybe you should look into that??
 
Nicole- I get this way when I eat alot of veggies. I love them and they are great carbs but as I get older(now 32) I have alot harder time digesting them. Now I have to eat them in small quantities. If I do eat alot at one sitting no amount of gas-x, beano etc will help :( .
 
Thanks for everyone's help. I actually bit the bullet and took some stimulant free laxatives. I don't like using lax because it messes with regularity, but it was getting extreme. I think now that I have a fresh start, I am going to watch my food portions, stay away from popcorn, and up my water intake and see if I can straigten it out. If that doesn't work, I will try cutting different foods from my diet and see if I have food sensitivities. It is disheartening to know that this is going to be a lifelong problem.
 
Hi Nicole,

I was having that same difficulty and finally went to see a naturopath. She had me do a 93 IGG food screen test for food sensitivities. The test showed that my major sensitivities I had to avoid are dairy, soy, wheat and a few others, even almonds came up as something I needed to avoid. I used to eat almonds everyday and now realize why some people say not to eat the same thing day after day.

I have been avoiding (trying my best) these foods for the last 2 months. In another month I go back to the naturopath and can start incorporating the foods one at a time to see what happens. I have felt a great deal better.

Maybe you should avoid dairy for awhile see if it helps.

Hope you get better.
Sham
 
I had the exact same thing and did what you did, Sham, with a naturopath. My food screen test showed that I am highly allergic to whey, among some other things. It's found in virtually every dairy product, as well as in some unexpected foods (like granola bars). You may have a similar problem, Nicole, but don't give up hope. I experiment and find that I don't have a problem with hard cheese, for example, but cannot tolerate 2T of sour cream. Your diet is probably a really good place to start.
 
Nicole-
I really don't think it's the popcorn. Popcorn has lots of fiber and is good for keeping you regular. I remember my Mom had the same complaints that you have and found out that she had a lactose intolerance. She stopped eating cheese and felt much better. It sounds like something you are eating is not agreeing with you, but IMHO popcorn is not the culprit. How much flax seed is "a lot"?

-Nancy
 
Sometimes a combination of foods can cause gas,,, I am that kind of person,, it can be anything, so I have my Gas-X... but pop corn is fiber, I dont know how much you ate thou, but lots of fiber at once can be gassy, I do have that problem,, sometimes I have to avoid too much fiber,, like multigrain pancake mixes,,, if I eat that I have trouble with bloating,, if it is too fiberish may be too heavy on your stomach,,,I hope you feel better, but pay attention to your body, now you know that maybe pop corn cause you gas,,, good luck.
 
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