indigestion/acid reflux

[gm20]

It is day 11 for me and the past two days I've been having issues with indigestion and a sort of acid reflux where I feel a tingling at the back of my throat after eating and as if I have a bubble trapped in my stomach. This happened to me last time I ate paleo and tried to do the whole30 - at the time I thought it was because I was eating lots of foods that I later discovered I had an intolerance to: coconut, eggs, all nuts, mustard. 

 

I'm wondering whether too much meat might be the issue. I make sure to cook all my vegetables, I have been avoiding peppers (as I know that can give me indigestion) and minimising onions etc. I've had quite a bit of garlic and ginger recently in my foods - could it be that?

 

Here is a typical day:

 

1: turkey mince with leeks (cooked in ghee), spinach and olive oil. A handful of blueberries. A cup of black coffee.

 

2: butternut squash noodles with chicken (brined and in a rub of: cumin, cayenne pepper, ground coriander, cinnamon and pepper) and braised fennel (cooked in ghee) and olive oil on top.

 

3: Slow roasted beef short ribs (plenty of fat in these! Cooked in slow cooker with a sauce of garlic, ginger, coriander, red boat fish sauce and leeks blitzed to make a sauce) with sweet potatoes, spinach and asparagus.

 

I drink water the rest of the day. Today I also tried not having any coffee to see if it would help but I've just eaten breakfast (of turkey mince, leeks, kale and sweet potato) and immediately feeling it and burping lots, which gives momentary relief but then it just returns. 

 

Another factor to take into account is I am quite stressed: I have an exam in 50 days that is very high pressure, my work is not intense but I am job hunting so that is also an added stressor. Each time I have tried to change my eating habits it seems to be around my exam time because it is easier to be strict when I do very little socialising anyway, so I can never 100% be sure whether it is the food change or the stress. I eat lots of meat and fish and vegetables usually - the main difference is not having oats for breakfast sometimes, or sourdough bread or rice with the meal which I guess are more bland - non-heartburny producing options. I try to minimise my stress with regular relaxation time (tv and reading breaks, going for walks), meditation occasionally (not everyday, but a few times a week) and yoga. I exercise 3x a week (yoga 2x, 1x circuits/weights) and I consider it medium-intensity, occasionally I'll go very low intensity on days I'm just not feeling like I have lots of energy. 

 

I'm trying to get a sense of whether I am doing something wrong food-wise, whether this way of eating is just not for my body or whether it's an adjustment phase that lots of people go through?  Or whether it is all stress-related...I'm on day 11 and don't want to stop as I have promised myself 30 days but it feels very uncomfortable.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice/thoughts!

[jmcbn]

Acid reflux is often a case of not enough acid rather than too much, meaning the stomach has to really work hard to pump what's available which sometimes causes a black flow... If this IS the case a spoonful of ACV after your meal, washed down with a glass of water can really help.

 

That said you're also eating a fair amount of leeks - these are really problematic for me personally, and they can be problematic for a number of people for a variety of reasons - FODMAPS, sulphur, cruciferous... So you might want to try cutting back on those.

If you think it's the animal protein then a digestive enzyme might be of help, and you could also look at including fermented foods like sauerkraut or kombucha.

 

Hope this helps.

[gm20]

Thank you for the response - I have a yeast intolerance as well so I'm never sure whether I should have ACV, but I'll try it out for a bit to see if it helps.

I'll cut back on the leeks as well and see if that makes any difference to me.

Thank you for the suggestions! I'll give them a go and see what happens!