Adverse reaction to a food: how does it work?

Hi all,

I am currently flaring mildly (symptoms are some mucus and a bit of blood) and although following the SCD had worked to control these symptoms before, I can't seem to shake them this time.

I have an appointment with a new GI doctor later in August and I will discuss med options with her then, but in the meantime I'm trying to figure out which foods I can tolerate and which I can't.

I had ruled out honey but had some yesterday and today against my better judgment -- I couldn't resist the fresh honeycomb we got from the beekeeper two houses down from where we're spending our vacation.

Anyway, today I've had two bouts of diarrhea like I haven't in weeks so clearly I'm not ready for honey (nothing else in my diet was risky).

But I like to understand things and I am unclear about the mechanics of such a reaction: Could someone help me understand what happens in the gut when we have this sort of adverse reaction to one food or another? What chain of events leads from spoonful of honeycomb to liquid stool?

Many thanks in advance, and best of health to you,
Camille.

Different foods have different timing of symptoms for me. Most create a BM reaction but some will cause constipation. It is not easy to figure certain foods out but very easy to figure others.

Easy (for me): caffeine, chocolate, milk products. These are common trigger foods and react in an hour or maybe longer depending on what else I ate first. Ice cream causes multiple BM's the next morning, not always immediately. Hard cheese is OK (soft cheese is not) but too much causes constipation.

Difficult to figure out: wheat/bread products, rice, other grains. Wheat took the longest time to figure out because my gut got really quiet and I thought it was fine. It's not, it just shut my gut down, caused constipation and bleeding. Rice I could not believe was a problem but multiple tests and it is, usually the next morning multiple BM's, weirdly my gluten-free flour mix which has rice flour is not a problem and Udi's White Bread is no problem.

Fiber-intensive food: Too much insoluble fiber causes constipation for my gut but can get away with a few almonds and pecans. Too much fiber=constipation.

Honey: I thought honey was OK for a long time but my gut got much better when I cut honey out and just use white sugar (that devil lol). Fructose is def. a problem for me and I was in denial about the honey/fructose issue.

Do I eat food that causes symptoms? Yes but at least I have a clue about what will happen and don't do it when I have a busy day the next day. Knowing which foods cause what has made me much more confident. The worst was when I had no clue and was afraid of everything (and I love food).

Resistant starch=good for me. My gut (and me) love potatoes of every kind and they are a real plus. I order McDonalds fries "no salt" at lunch time and a happy afternoon follows. Zero symptoms and zero hunger.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and experience.

FSLondon, this seems to be the reasoning behind SCD, and I was hoping that honey was ok since it's SCD-legal, but no such luck apparently!

imagardener, you have quite a list! Can you expand a little on what foods you avoid because of the fructose problem? I really rely on fruits to satisfy my need for something sweet/desert-y and I wonder if maybe I eat too much or the wrong kind...

Hey Gary, I have seen you mention histamine intolerance before, but this time I looked up high histamine foods, and it's generally foods I have to avoid. What kind of DAO supplement do you use? On a side note sauerkraut used to be one of my best secret weapons for this *#! disease, but I don't handle it well anymore, which is another reason I think I might be histamine intolerant. Thanks!

Hi, in my case I usually notice a reaction very quickly, within 30-60 mins of eating the food. It can be anything from mild to severe pain (you know how your colitis pain feels different to anything else), and sometimes diarrhoea and nausea.

If you have a bad reaction from the same food a few times, it may be a problem for you.

I am also intending to go for food intolerance testing, so you could try that too, but my doctors and nurses have said to wait until feeling better first.

Thanks imagardener! My thing with fruit is that I eat them daily and not in much moderation :) and I still have some symptoms I can't shake (a bit of mucus and blood) so I'm wondering if I should try no fruit for a week and see where that takes me. I'm hesitant to further restrict what is already a pretty restrictive diet, but like you said, a happy gut is worth some sacrifice...

Lucky you with that mulberry bush! :)

That's an interesting thought, Sick Puppy, thanks. I chewed the comb and spit out the excess wax but that's likely more residue than plain honey, however raw. It would explain the intense reaction for sure. And here I was thinking it was best to consume honey as close to its natal state as possible! :)