stomach cramps sometimes after eating fruit. not acid or allergy.

[Clive_]

Hi,

I get a very bad stomach ache and stomach cramps sometimes after eating fruit. It comes on around 3-4 hours after eating it and then gets progressively worse until I am finally sick. It is usually around 9 or 10 hours in to it before I am sick. Once sick, the pains start to very slowly ease and I feel generally much better. I have had an allergy test and am not allergic to fruit. It does not happen all of the time either – if eating fruit every day, sometimes five or six weeks can pass before it happens again. Other times it comes on within a few days of the last episode. I only know this as I limit the amount of fruit I eat because of it, so sometimes just get away with a stomach ache. When it is bad though, I leave it several weeks before I dare eat any more fruit just in case as it is pretty horrible. By the next day, most of the pains will have gone and I will feel ok. Once I start eating though, the first few sets of food that pass through my system make it hurt again quite a lot – as if it is burned or swollen / raw. Despite this, I am pretty sure it is not simply the acid from the fruit as it does not happen all of the time and it is not dependant on an empty stomach.

I think that it is the chemicals that are used on some fruits. Once the fruit reaches the lower depths of my stomach, my own chemicals start to break down the insecticides or whatever has been added during the production process and new chemical are formed – I think it is those ‘new’ chemicals that I am allergic to. Testing such a thing would be very difficult I think and are only guessing with all of it. Washing fruit does not help. The first time it happened it was from a ready-to-eat fruit salad bowl from my local supermarket; plus I scrub and peel the fruit just in case.

Has anyone any suggestions, advice or similar symptoms that they have any additional information about please??

Thank you for your help,

Clive

[Vinovino]

I have the same problem but find that I usually don't get sick if I eat small small portions of fruit, or, I convert the fruit to a smoothy

[DRG525]

I also have the same problem. But it happens mostly when I eat food with an empty stomach. I eat the fruit and I feel well but after a few hours or when I eat the next meal the pain starts. Oranges and apples are the worst and I don't eat them anymore. I would like to know what is the source given that fruit is healthy. I also wonder if it has anything to do with stress.

[sewcakes]

Did you ever find out what causes this? Because I have the exact same problem as you. Not every time I eat fruit. Not even every 10 times, but when it does happen it's bad. I've had a colonoscopy and endoscopy and all is well. It feels like I am being stabbed in the abdomen and I don't feel like I need to throw up but if I do, it starts to get better. But it will last 12 to 15 hours usually.

[zajome]

I am allergic to latex . . . consequently there is a link between latex allergies and sensitivities to certain foods -- avocados, bananas, kiwi, etc.  Has something to do with the rubber tree and amazon type fruits.  I get very ill from eating avocados and bananas . . . bad stomach aches, sweats, vomiting.  It is not the fiber, it is not the fructose . . . it is a strong food sensitivity and I simply cannot eat them.  Not sure if you have a latex allergy, but if you do it is something to look into.

[BRizzle06]

I have the same issue. It started with Bananas a couple years ago, then went to Avocado, now I think Strawberries and Kiwi. The pain is very intense almost as if someone is stabbing me in the stomach. I just ate plantains and I'm currently riving in pain. Does anyone have an such remedy that could subdue the side effects? Thanks

[Jules1367]

Hi Clive I have the same problem ,started off with a banana now it's blueberry raspberry and advocado pear. But mine starts 30 mins after eating and won't stop until I am sick them I have to wait until the pain has stopped with could be a couple of hrs.i once went to doctors and she told me its was a stomach worm give me a course of tabs  and said I should be ok but it's come back so I am also at a lot :-(

[Clive_]

Hi,

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

Noup - fruit pie goes down ok just as the orange etc on triffle. May be being cooked makes a difference.

It is difficult to get to the bottom of because it does not happen every time and is over a range of fruits.

Also, it seems weird that it does not come on until 3 or so hours after the fruit has been eaten.  That alone rules out allergy doesn't it? (plus have been tested and are ok with fruit itself with regard to general allergy).

clive.

[geminigirl1963]

Does it happen also with canned or cooked fruit (such as like in a pie or cobbler?).

does seem strange that it happens that infrequently.

Sorry I'm not of more help.

[Clive_]

Yeah, only fruit and it doesnt happen every time - one in ten times I eat fruit I guess. Empty stomach or full stomach - seems to happen either way!

clive

[Clive_]

only happens with fruit though $'-(

[geminigirl1963]

Oops - sorry - I hit send before I finished what I wanted to ask.

Do you find that you have this problem with any other types of food - proteins, starches, etc?  or is it strictly the fruit?

have you ever seen a gastro doc about this?  I wonder if your digestive system isn't strong enough to break down the fruit and that's why you get the stomach pains and then the vomiting - of course if your body can't properly digest what you've eaten, it's bound to come back up.

Sorry - I'm just kind of grasping at straws here to give you some ideas of what might be going on.

[geminigirl1963]

I'm wondering if part of the problem could be related to the fiber in the fruit - maybe your system can't handle that extra fiber - especially if you're eating either a lot at one time or eating smaller amounts very often.

I have found that bananas give me HORRIBLE heartburn - I love them and do still eat them, but I do suffer afterward and have to keep tums or some other antacid nearby.

[Clive_]

Hi,

Hanks for your comment – I see what you are saying but are unsure if that is what is going on in this case. The stomach cramps get worse and then after about 9 hours I am sick and then it starts to ease. Any food that has gone down too far to be rejected by then keeps causing pain. The other thing is, the last time I had a problem was with a banana – first time with bananas. It was the first and only thing I ate. 3 or so hours after eating it, it started so then didn’t want to eat anything else.

Thank you for the suggestion though and if you or anyone else have any other ideas then please post!

Thanks again,

Clive.

[ggreg]

Yes, I think I can tell you what's going on.  If you eat fruit, say, with a meal, you will almost surely get gas.  Now, gas can double a person over in pain sometimes, it can get so bad.  But if you eat fruit all by itself as a snack, between meals, you may have a litte gas, but it won't hurt like it does with a meal.  I have a relative that chews on an apple in the afternoon between meals, and I like to eat blueberries with milk and sugar as my midmorning snack.

The insecticide that is on fruit is like a dust... just like they call it, when airplanes "dust" a field, they're known as "crop dusters."  Well, as long as you simply wash fruit, the dust comes right off, plus it's already prewashed before YOU get it, so by washing, you can eat fruit, skin and all, and the poison won't go into your system.  The truly harmful pesticides like DDT are no longer used.  But if you want to be SURE you don't get any poison from fruit, simply buy your fruit at an organically grown section in the health food store, they don't use any of that stuff.

Another way to eat fruit is, for example, let's say you love a melon with your breakfast.  Eat the melon FIRST, and THEN eat your breakfast.  This gives your digestive tract time to break down the fruit, before regular food gets in there and slows down the whole process.  Anyhow, try eating your fruit in between meals, see if you notice a difference with the gas thing.