Stomach cramps and diarrhea

[Shawni]

My husband and I are finishing day 4. My husband is having horrible cramps and intestinal distress. Is this normal at this point? I feel terrible because this was all my idea.

[ShannonM816]

No, this isn't normal. Maybe he's picked up a stomach bug of some kind.

If he needs something like Imodium it would be okay to take some. Other than that, make sure he gets plenty of water, and he might find either peppermint or ginger tea helpful for the nausea. If he feels like eating, try bland, easily digested foods like baked sweet potato, plain grilled chicken, broth, or scrambled eggs.

[jmcbn]

It could also be caused by something he's been eating - particularly if he's been eating anything new to him - or a lot of raw or cruciferous veg like broccoli for instance.

If you'd like to post what you've been eating over the past few days we may be able to help you troubleshoot.

[ultrarunnergirl]

My husband went through some very bad nausea Day 4 of his first Whole30. Make sure he is eating 3 template meals a day, and eating plenty of FAT.

 

And I second the others, please post what he's eaten in the last couple of days.

[Shawni]

Thanks for the responses. I don't think it was a bug. It seems to have been just that evening for a few hours that it was bad. Since then he says he feels kind of weird but not bad.

My best estimation of what he ate the day of the "incident" (I cook for him but don't always pay attention to how much he eats):

Breakfast: 3 eggs cooked in ghee, sweet potatoes and apples sautéed in coconut oil

Lunch: chicken breast with "tandoori sauce" (just spices and full fat canned coconut milk), roasted carrots, onions, and cabbage

I think he had an epic bar for a snack

Dinner: chicken soup with lots of chicken, potatoes, green onions, tomato, carrots, potatoes, etc and a baked apple stuffed with almonds and a tiny bit of dates, topped with coconut cream

[Shawni]

We usually eat a LOT more leafy greens (spinach, kale, romaine) but we were low on groceries that day.

[praxisproject]

Sweet potatoes, apples, onion, savoy cabbage, green onions and dates are all FODMAPs.
If the epic bar also had FODMAPs (such as dates), it might just be a very high FODMAP dose for this particular day (especially if this was an unusual day).

 

I generally do pretty well with FODMAPs, except for HFCS, agave nectar and insane amounts of onions (I once made an onion curry as it was the only vegetable I had left and the shops were all closed, not recommended ). Those three all give me stomach cramps.

[Shawni]

Hmm I hadn't thought of that. I'll have to pay more attention to FODMAP foods from here on out.

[Brewer5]

My favorite FODMAP chart is about halfway through this article:

 

http://www.thepaleomom.com/2012/08/modifying-paleo-for-fodmap-intolerance.html

 

Coconut milk is one that causes me problems, for sure.  

[praxisproject]

and for anyone paranoid about onions, that was nearly a whole bag of brown onions, I've learned that's just way too much, but I can easily cope with 2 onions in a meal, some people can't even do a tablespoon.

 

If you don't know much about FODMAPs, you might want to read this: http://shepherdworks.com.au/disease-information/low-fodmap-diet

Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols (see, that's why it has an acronym  )

 

My body is not a fan of the artificial Ps (eg. Maltitol) but I'm okay with natural ones in things like melon (much lower in volume).

[Brewer5]

I made an onion soup once, long ago, when I was sick... because I'd read about all the health benefits of onions.

...IT WASN'T PRETTY.