Almond milk + stomach ache?

aippolito1
aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I just started drinking almond milk on Saturday and everyday like clockwork, as soon as I get done with my cereal, I get this horrible stomach pain and then I have to go the bathroom right away. I don't know why I haven't been able to remember this every morning before I pour it in my bowl... but this makes me sad. I LOVE the taste of almond milk but it's obviously not agreeing with me, right?

Anyone have an explanation or have this problem? Guess I need to go buy some 2%. *sigh* :\

Replies

  • TropicalKitty
    TropicalKitty Posts: 2,298 Member
    Have you changed anything else? When I've changed some dietary stuff, my body will take a little bit to settle into it. But my digestive system has always been finicky. I've generally thought that if it was something I JUST ate, it'll come up, not down. So if it's an up thing, I'd ditch the almond milk.

    My body is really regular, so every morning same time, I'm heading in the same direction. Could be another explanation...
  • pamw22
    pamw22 Posts: 77
    I don't think you should continue to take it if it bothers your stomach :cry: Maybe you should go find another brand it may not give you any pain at all :bigsmile:
  • SHAMEKALACHELLE
    SHAMEKALACHELLE Posts: 25 Member
    Almond milk is a great alternative to regular milk, but it is still thick and you may have a problem with the concentrated amount of almonds. I tried it, then tried rice milk...I didn't think I would like it, but my 4 yr old and I love it and it's all we drink now. It's much more mild, not thick and the they also have vanilla flavored. Let me know if it works for you also. Soy milk isn't bad either. I get the chocolate to conquer a craving.
  • XFitMojoMom
    XFitMojoMom Posts: 3,255 Member
    Boo! what a shame - did you check the expiration date on it?
    My stomach is like that on soy - I simply cannot tolerate soy, I get the worst cramps and potty issues. Hope you find something that works for you.
  • kristi3238
    kristi3238 Posts: 9
    I just was reading May's issue of womens health magazine and they did an interview on Jillian from the biggest loser. she says to drink coconut milk. it is healthier than rice milk and has more calcium and vitamin D than regular dairy.

    just a suggestion if your looking for other alternatives. I havnt tried this myself yet. but would like to..


    kristi
  • bjerkins
    bjerkins Posts: 107 Member
    I decided to try Almond milk becasue I am lactose intolerant and the almond milk is also having the same effect on me. I do like it but may need to go back to Lactaid.
  • XFitMojoMom
    XFitMojoMom Posts: 3,255 Member
    I just was reading May's issue of womens health magazine and they did an interview on Jillian from the biggest loser. she says to drink coconut milk. it is healthier than rice milk and has more calcium and vitamin D than regular dairy.

    just a suggestion if your looking for other alternatives. I havnt tried this myself yet. but would like to..


    kristi

    My dietician recommended the same - to add some good fats to my diet. I haven't tried it yet, since I usually just cook with it, not sure how I'd like a big old glass of thick coconut milk!!
  • leavinglasvegas
    leavinglasvegas Posts: 1,495
    Coconut milk is Goooooooood!

    I actually like hemp milk on my cereal. Tempt makes a good unsweetened vanilla.

    If Almond milk is making you feel yucky afterwards, I'd just let it go. I'm really sorry too, because it is so good. Hopefully you can fall in love with another alternative. There are so many, so have fun experimenting.

    FYI- if you buy from Whole Foods and decide you don't like it, you can return it. Makes the experimentation process a little less stressful.
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    Thanks for all the tips, ladies!!! Mine is Silk brand and I just tried it out 'cause I'd heard so many great things about it. I love regular ol' cow milk and am not intolerant or allergic but was just wanting to try something new. :( I may try another brand ... maybe a smaller size!! ha
  • h_eloise86
    h_eloise86 Posts: 124
    That's how my stomach gets with regular milk.
    When I was pregnant everyone kept pushing me to drink milk, especially whole milk, and I would just get the worst stomach pains and then I would be in and out of the bathroom for the next hour. It was awful. Now ... I eat cereal dry (when I do have cereal) and I try to find other ways to get my calcium in. Haven't tried the alternatives yet. Hubby doesn't like the extra high price. Lol.
  • debbiel01
    debbiel01 Posts: 2
    I just started making my own almond milk from scratch with my vitamix blender, and it is sooo super yummy!~!! but yes, it does have simillar milk side effects and i'm not sure why. me and my friend get some sort of stomach cramping after. it's not terrible , but i'm not used to having digestion problems with my mostly "raw" diet, so it's strange.

    i wonder if it's because we let the almonds sprout for 12 hours first?
    or we also "hypothesized" if we should blanch the almonds and remove the peel first---if this would change the digestion issues?

    today, i had my fresh yummy almond milk blended in a smoothy and i didn't notice any side effects at all verses drinking it plain.

    i find almond milk to be really rich and creamy, seems like it would be great for ice creams.
  • debbiel01
    debbiel01 Posts: 2
    I also concur about the coconut milk, it's the only non-milk substitute i can enjoy with cereal or what have you. rice milk is watery- enough to substitute, but agreed as i've read that it offers very little nutritional value .
  • Deidrekates
    Deidrekates Posts: 1
    or it is. it is basically keeping you super regular. quite fast. cleaning you out good. what brand do u use/
  • sbrownallison
    sbrownallison Posts: 314 Member
    I,too, changed from skim milk to unsweetened almond milk about two weeks ago and have noticed some digestive distress. In just starting to look online, I see some people are thinking it might be the carrageenan rather than the almonds that cause it. This bears additional research.
  • Boomergurl
    Boomergurl Posts: 1
    I realize your post was 3 yrs ago but for anyone landing here in 2013 because they have stomach problems, I'm one of them too. I make a smoothie of unsweetened Vanilla flavored Almond Milk with a banana and ice cubes. It's delicious but within 30 minutes my stomach is cramping and I'm running to the bathroom. I'm not allergic to almonds or bananas and the only new things I've introduced to my stomach is the milk. Soy Milk did the same thing which is the reason I switched to Almond Milk. I love having the lower calories and good taste but my stomach says "no way".

    I don't have any alternatives to offer. Just wanted to share my experience, If the Rice milk is low cal and doesn't cost more than Silk or Almond, I may give it a try.

    I enjoyed reading all the answers. Thank you.
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
    I use a pumpkin seed protein powder that I am trying to train my stomach to accept because it's the first protein powder I actually like instead of tolerate. But it causes terrible, hours long burning in my stomach. From what I've been able to tell, seeds can cause this due to the high concentration of fatty acids. (I don't have any trouble with pumpkin seeds themselves, but concentrated, even in small doses, it's not working out for me.) I would guess almond milk could have the same problem.
  • Gyurme
    Gyurme Posts: 1
    I had similar experience with almond milk that I made from scratch. I would soak the almonds over night and then remove the skins before processing. My stomach couldn't handle it. But I don't want to give up on it. And keep wondering if there is something I can do to cut the effects. Maybe mix it with something else or blanch the almonds longer? Or is it hopeless?
    I've tried the Almond Coconut milk but I am beginning to think it makes me nauseous. Hemp seems to be the most creamy and most neutral alternative for me. But for cereal I think I still prefer rice though it hardly has any nutritional value. I never thought of trying to make rice milk myself. All the store bought alternative milks have so many additives.
  • meabeabea
    meabeabea Posts: 1
    I can not drink milk because it will give me a stomach ache but surprisingly I can tolerate all milk products like ice cream, cheese, sour cream etc. I have tried drinking soy, almond, and even RICE milk and they All upset my stomach pretty bad to where a few minutes later im running to the bathroom. I am allergic to gluten also. Have any of you that to this found a type of "milk" that you can tolerate?
  • Gymnast3355
    Gymnast3355 Posts: 1
    This exact thing happens to me!!! So glad I'm not alone!
  • sbrownallison
    sbrownallison Posts: 314 Member
    Here it is a year and a half later (from my last post on this topic), and I no longer have any stomach problems with the almond milk. So, for me, it was an issue for a few weeks only. I'm still using almond milk for cereal, coffee, tea, etc. Fun fact: If you use almond milk to make sugar-free/fat-free instant pudding, the mixture will not set up into pudding consistency. You'll basically have to drink the "pudding". My solution is to use dried fat-free milk, as I don't want to buy a whole half-gallon of cow's milk to make pudding...
  • SWGuru
    SWGuru Posts: 1
    I had to give up almond milk, also, due to GI problems. I'm lactose sensitive and had switched to almond milk as a non-dairy alternative. I was having a cup of almond milk each morning with cereal and almond-milk smoothies about twice a week at the gym.

    After a couple months of having almond milk daily, I started noticing GI problems were getting worse. I developed acid reflux, where I had horrible heart burn, followed by hours of projectile vomiting, and then dehydration. I went to urgent care, where they suspected a bladder infection (lab work was negative) and put me on antibiotics, twice.

    I started thinking about what I had eaten just before getting sick - I could not believe it would be almond milk, but the last time I became ill was just after downing an almond milk smoothie. I've not had any almond milk in the last three months and my GI problems are completely gone.

    I switched to Flax Milk, which I can find only at Whole Foods market.
  • annaofsmile
    annaofsmile Posts: 8 Member
    This is a pretty old thread, but so glad I found it, because I am thinking this Almond Milk is not working for me either. I wasn't sure what the exact cause was, and boy, do I like making it with a smoothie. I am going to miss it, but would rather miss it, than this stomach ache and "other" I've been dealing with the last few days.
  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
    cashewmilk perhaps?
  • kam26001
    kam26001 Posts: 2,794 Member
    annaofsmile wrote: »
    This is a pretty old thread, but so glad I found it, because I am thinking this Almond Milk is not working for me either. I wasn't sure what the exact cause was, and boy, do I like making it with a smoothie. I am going to miss it, but would rather miss it, than this stomach ache and "other" I've been dealing with the last few days.
    Try Rice Dream Original Classic. It's just rice, water, oil basically.

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