Not Digesting Foods?!?

TriggerStorm1309
TriggerStorm1309 Posts: 82 Member
in Food and Nutrition
This may seem like TMI but i was wondering if there is anyone else out there that dont digest veggies, If i have a salad my next bowel movement "looks" like the salad i ate, for some reason my body isnt breaking down the lettuce carrot etc. Is this normal? Does anyone else have this issue? And since the veggies are coming back out looking like they did when they went in, am i getting any of the nutrition from them? Im sorry if this is TMI im just not sure if its normal or not.

Replies

  • DoItNowDammit
    DoItNowDammit Posts: 9
    Do you have problems with any other foods? When you eat a rather large meal can you press on your stomach and actually feel the lump? Do you ever feel nauseas after eating? If so you may have gastroparesis. If not you could just be having a day with more fiber intake. Plus some veggies just don't digest well like corn and tomato skins.
  • diddyk
    diddyk Posts: 269 Member
    I have a similar problem..carrots, peppers, lettuce & peas being the worst offenders. It is normal with corn as the exterior is non-digestible. I know the cause of mine. I have IBS and have a history of ulcers/GERD etc.

    Is it just with vegetables or do you have other digestive issues?

    I unfortunately don't know if the nutritional value is being absorbed.
  • vettle
    vettle Posts: 621 Member
    Does this always happen? Sometimes for me it's just tomatos (and corn of course) but it doesn't always happen.
  • ladykaisa
    ladykaisa Posts: 236 Member
    http://altmedicine.about.com/od/gettingdiagnosed/a/stools.htm

    For something like this, I'd suggest heading to a family doctor for guidance :)
  • carpar1
    carpar1 Posts: 211 Member
    Digestive enzymes may help you.
  • _CowgirlUp_
    _CowgirlUp_ Posts: 585 Member
    I worked for a Gastroenterologist for 5 years so it's not TMI for me!! LOL I talked all day about people' bowel movements so I'm kinda numb to anything most people would think is TMI...funny thing is I have the same issue...it's IBS in my case. Irritable Bowel Syndrom, Spastic Colon etc. It's referred to by several names.

    Here's a question...is the BM mostly diarrhea? (Sorry to any readers that are sqeemish) if so, a GI Dr. would more than likely tell you to avoid things that do this to you. You might find that it's mainly high fiber foods like lettuce, spinach, etc. and anything that has a skin on it...tomatoes, bell peppers, corn, grapes sometimes, you get the idea. For ME...most things that I want to eat, irritate my tummy but rather than eating breads, and other high carb stuff, I choose to go ahead and eat what I want to eat and have Immodium on hand ALWAYS. It's how I've learned to cope with this and it's working for me. BUT, I would highly recommend you see a Gastroenterologist to be sure it's not some other digestive issue.

    Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, but I do play one at home now and then. LOL
  • bethfartman
    bethfartman Posts: 363 Member
    I have weird gastrointestinal issues too. That used to happen to me quite frequently before I had a bowel resection surgery which removed a section of my large intestion several years ago, now it happens once in a while. You probably have some form of IBS, if it gets really bad it could be something like Crohns. If it worries you I would go to the doctor just to check it out. I don't think there's much they can give you for IBS, but I'm not sure. I would suggest eating less uncooked veggies, a light steam seems to break up alot of the insoluable fiber and makes it more comfortable for you intestines and stomach to break down. I love salads, so I don't follow that advice, but it might do the trick. Maybe try switching up the types of lettuce you use? Like use spinach instead of lettuce? It's likely something you'll just have to deal with or learn to work around.
  • TriggerStorm1309
    TriggerStorm1309 Posts: 82 Member
    I have really only noticed it with veggies all kinds, broccoli and cauliflower do the same thing, also if i eat a large meal usually im in the bathroom passing it before im even finished eating, like at christmas dinner i have to take "pit stops" in-between eating as it goes threw me so fast and i get really bad cramping before hand. I haven't had a hard bowel movement in years. im just worried that my body isn't observing the nutrients therefor would be pointless to be eating it.
  • diddyk
    diddyk Posts: 269 Member
    I have really only noticed it with veggies all kinds, broccoli and cauliflower do the same thing, also if i eat a large meal usually im in the bathroom passing it before im even finished eating, like at christmas dinner i have to take "pit stops" in-between eating as it goes threw me so fast and i get really bad cramping before hand. I haven't had a hard bowel movement in years. im just worried that my body isn't observing the nutrients therefor would be pointless to be eating it.

    Sounds like IBS-D. Immodium will be your best friend. Go see a doc. to make sure other things like Chron's and Colitis can be ruled out
  • ariant23
    ariant23 Posts: 161 Member
    an "easy" and natural help to the loose stools is the ABC diet Apples Bananas and Cereal (it's an old acronym, and cereal is mean to refer to white carbs). **Science section: Apples and Bananas contain significant amounts of pectin, it's the stuff that makes jelly "gel-ed", it's basically fruit gelatin. so it kinda jelly-fies your stool.

    Avoid things like pears and plums that significantly loosen stools.

    Keep the basic veggies.

    ETA: based on the last post by the OP, the "pit-stops", i'd see a family practitioner, and a GI if you can.
  • ccd27
    ccd27 Posts: 23
    My tummy hates lettuce. It wasn't always this way. It probably started about 2-3 years ago. Not sure what happened since I never had any problems with lettuce before. If the option is there, I choose spinach over lettuce and my tummy doesn't hate me.
  • TriggerStorm1309
    TriggerStorm1309 Posts: 82 Member
    an "easy" and natural help to the loose stools is the ABC diet Apples Bananas and Cereal (it's an old acronym, and cereal is mean to refer to white carbs). **Science section: Apples and Bananas contain significant amounts of pectin, it's the stuff that makes jelly "gel-ed", it's basically fruit gelatin. so it kinda jelly-fies your stool.

    Avoid things like pears and plums that significantly loosen stools.

    Keep the basic veggies.

    ETA: based on the last post by the OP, the "pit-stops", i'd see a family practitioner, and a GI if you can.

    it doesnt seem to make much of a difference for what i eat my bowel movements are pretty much the same every time.
  • TriggerStorm1309
    TriggerStorm1309 Posts: 82 Member
    My tummy hates lettuce. It wasn't always this way. It probably started about 2-3 years ago. Not sure what happened since I never had any problems with lettuce before. If the option is there, I choose spinach over lettuce and my tummy doesn't hate me.

    is it only lettuce that you have problems with? like if i have a salad i can see the carrots and lettuce in my BM clearly, its really weird
  • JenniferNoll
    JenniferNoll Posts: 367 Member
    I have had the same problem for years. In my case, it's caused by a severe form of crohn's disease. I really suggest you see a GI doctor ASAP. Some of these problems worsen with time, and if it's caught earlier, it's easier to treat.
  • TriggerStorm1309
    TriggerStorm1309 Posts: 82 Member
    I have had the same problem for years. In my case, it's caused by a severe form of crohn's disease. I really suggest you see a GI doctor ASAP. Some of these problems worsen with time, and if it's caught earlier, it's easier to treat.

    really? ive had the problem with food passing right threw me for a few years now, but this with the veggies is a new thing, and i find it really weird, I think i will bring it up with my doctor.
  • ccd27
    ccd27 Posts: 23
    My tummy hates lettuce. It wasn't always this way. It probably started about 2-3 years ago. Not sure what happened since I never had any problems with lettuce before. If the option is there, I choose spinach over lettuce and my tummy doesn't hate me.

    is it only lettuce that you have problems with? like if i have a salad i can see the carrots and lettuce in my BM clearly, its really weird



    For me, it is only lettuce. Iceberg is the worst
  • bcanela
    bcanela Posts: 2
    I have IBS and i have to stick with easy to digest foods, extremely low fat and low fiber. If i eat a salad i get Butter Lettuce, is the easiest to digest. If i eat bread, I eat sprouted grain bread - its easier to digest. I just had a bout with some grapefruit the other day coming out undigested so now i know that's off the table. I cant eat any sort of nuts or whole grains, so i stick to lean meats and cook my veggies to death. Its a bland diet but its working much better than before.
  • karliweese
    karliweese Posts: 1
    Digestive enzymes will be your friend. That helped me a ton with digesting veggies. I would get atrocious burps & gas as well as seeing it in the toilet. The Now Foods brand worked best. Also, garden of life makes some probiotic deal that has soil organisms in it & that helped TREMENDOUSLY w the loose stools & it made them come like clockwork! I've tried to go without taking them, but it seems to come back. Not as bad but still there. So I'm totally good with taking those for the rest of my life instead of prescriptions.
  • Scheezo
    Scheezo Posts: 13
    You definitely should see a doctor and probably a dietitian. If you're not digesting food then you're most certainly not absorbing the nutrition from it either. You're eating right and losing weight, you want to make sure you're benefiting from it as well :)

    Be well, my friend.
  • DringusDrungus
    DringusDrungus Posts: 12 Member
    I have the exact same problem. It has improved somewhat with my diet improvements- the cramping isn't as intense, and the fruits and veggies aren't recognizable every single time. But certain foods really really make it bad. Apples and pears, potatoes, lettuce. Never had a problem with melons, yet yesterday I ate some watermelon and it was like no digestion happened to it whatsoever. I tried probiotics, but I can't tell if they've made any difference.
  • GeorgiaJenn1181
    GeorgiaJenn1181 Posts: 8
    If none of your bowel movements would fall into the "normal" range, I'd seriously recommend seeing a specialist and get tested for Crohn's Disease. If this was only happening after eating certain things, I'd speculate some sort of IBS, but if your BMs are unpredictable, and abnormal despite dietary modifications, there may be something else going on. I know that, for me, my IBS-D is triggered only by certain foods. Usually things like peas and cruciferous veggies (broccoli really does me in) are triggers, but also overeating, or eating too fast on an empty stomach can trigger it as well. When you said oftentimes you're having to excuse yourself and have a bowel movement while still eating dinner, it really resonated with me, because that's what happens to me if I eat broccoli, so I've had to eliminate it from my diet.

    Anyway, I hope you can get a diagnosis soon so that you can enjoy eating and not be in so much pain.
  • cw106
    cw106 Posts: 952 Member
    i love the search function on this site.
    took me 3 weeks initially to suspect lettuce on my new diet strating july 1.
    skipped salads since then, tried a pasta salad. last week as ok.
    tried a store bought premixed salad with lettuce tonight. lay down for 1 hour, and the explosive D is back.
    doctors appointment booked now.
    how long does it take to recover normally?
    just as a t2 diabetic i have 2x daily meds to take with food. main meds with evening meal.

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