Eating Out and Digestive Upset

[stephanier.1765]

I'm so tired of being sick any time we go out to eat. It's so bad that we almost don't go out any more. Tonight we went out for Mexican and now I feel awful. We eat Mexican food all the time so it's not as if I can't handle spicy foods and it's not limited to those types of restaurants. I just can't figure it out and the doctor doesn't have any suggestions for me.

 

I really want to get off this digestive merry-go-round. :tongue_smilie:

[BeckyFL]

I'm still REALLY enjoying our decision to eat at home every night. I never get sick on my own food.

[joannqn]

I figured out that I have the same problem with Red Robin's menu. It's my kids' favorite restaurant. Fortunately, between talking about the need to stop spending and the fact that they figured out homemade hamburgers taste tons better, they don't ask to go all the time anymore. My tummy is much happier these days.

[Tutor]

I noticed that I would often feel sick after eating out, but I was fine if I ate take-away at home from the same restaurants. I am pretty sure it is something in the restaurant environment that makes me ill - the lighting, cleaners, air filters, something. I am quickly learning which places I can eat in and which I can't.

 

ETA: I also used to drink soda whenever we ate out, and since removing HFCS from my diet I have found that the number of places I can eat out at has increased. Apparently, the HFCS was making me ill, too. (Although I am pretty sure there are other factors in some restaurants.)

[Jean in Newcastle]

It could be an allergy to an ingredient - perhaps a secret ingredient that they use that you don't when you make Mexican food at home. . .

 

It could be the richness of the food. If so, it could be your gallbladder can't handle the fat content since often restaurant food is higher in fat than what we make at home. . .

 

It could be something in the environment as a PP mentioned. . .

 

It is such a pain to figure out, isn't it.:grouphug:

[Laurie]

Upper or lower digestive upsets?

 

If it's lower, check out this website about Irritable Bowel Syndrome:

http://www.helpforibs.com/footer/ibs.asp#symptoms

 

My dd has IBS and fats/oils are a big trigger for her. She might not be able to eat the same dishes at a restaurant that she can eat at home because I intentionally make a lower fat version.

[rootsnwings]

sGMSG is a main ingredient for most restaurant food and most people don't cook with it at home. If your body is accustomed to eating at home there is no real tolerance built up for it and it can make some people really sick. My husband refuses to eat restaurant or fast food for the same reason.

[Sasharowan]

I have that same problem. I stopped drinking sodas and drink ice tea usually when we go out and that helped some. Some places still have that effect even without the soda.

[stephanier.1765]

You all made me feel much better just knowing I'm not alone. Sometimes, no a lot of times, it seems as if it's just my body that does these weird things.

 

I had thought there must be some bacteria in the ice or in the kitchen that affects me so quickly. It had never occurred to me there might be an ingredient or a higher fat content causing it. Good to know because I would really love to figure this out. Going out is really more about the socializing than about the eating so I don't want to have to give it up altogether.

 

Thanks for your help!

[stephanier.1765]

Upper or lower digestive upsets?

 

If it's lower, check out this website about Irritable Bowel Syndrome:

http://www.helpforibs.com/footer/ibs.asp#symptoms

 

My dd has IBS and fats/oils are a big trigger for her. She might not be able to eat the same dishes at a restaurant that she can eat at home because I intentionally make a lower fat version.

 

Yes, it's lower and after reading the info at the link you may be on to something. Thank you.

[abbeyej]

Is it at all possible that being in a restaurant / eating in front of strangers causes you *any* level of stress or anxiety? I went for years (worst in my early teens, though it happened occasionally well into adulthood) where eating around other people (even in very positive environments) frequently lead to severe stomach pain. My pain also came on in other stressful situations, but it was by far at its worst any time that I ate in social situations. We did think for a long time that it might be some food or other (but never pinned one down). It was only later that we were truly able to pinpoint the reason. It sounds crazy, lol, and I promise I'm (relatively) sane (despite my excessive use of parentheses ;)), but the pain was very real. I used to eat Tums by the handful just to get by... Sigh. ... I'm so glad that I'm almost entirely past that now. (Though I'm still somewhat careful in certain circumstances -- say a faculty reception I need to attend with dh...)

[Cinder]

Dh has some eating out related digestive issues. We're pretty sure it's MSG related. Do you eat seafood or fast-food fried chicken? These very likely have MSG, and dh has had bad reactions to these.

 

I second a pp's thought on restaurants having higher fat content, too. When I went off to college I had major stomach upset after every dining hall meal for the first few weeks of school.

 

Hope you can find a solution. I'd hate to have to give up my eat-outs. :D

 

Cinder

[Catwoman]

Dh has some eating out related digestive issues. We're pretty sure it's MSG related. Do you eat seafood or fast-food fried chicken? These very likely have MSG, and dh has had bad reactions to these.

 

 

I was just going to mention MSG. I'm very sensitive to it, and am constantly amazed at how many prepared foods (and spice mixes and sauces and the list goes on and on....) contain MSG.

 

High-fat foods bother my dh, because he has gallstones (and is soon going to have his gall bladder removed.) He will think a certain item on the menu will be fine for him, because he eats it at home and it agrees with him, but the restaurant version will give him nasty indigestion -- and I always have to remind him that our "home" version is a lot lower in fat.

 

Cat

[justasque]

I have a hard time eating out. For me, it's fat and to some extent dairy. Things like cream sauces, ice cream, butter sauces, cheese sauces, anything with a high fat content - all of the things I love. If I eat grilled fish, potatoes without butter or sour cream, pasta with the sauce on the side, etc. I can eat out without problems. Sushi restaurants are wonderful as there is nothing I can't eat there! Chain restaurants are the worst; they use fat to make people think the food is good. If I cook at home without the high fat/high dairy, I can eat without problems.

 

Consider thinking about the foods you choose when you eat out, and the places you go to. You may find a common link.

[Ellie]

:grouphug:

 

A friend of mine is not only has celiac disease but is allergic--deathly allergic--to dairy and tropical oils. Eating out for her was not only exceedingly painful but potentially life-threatening until she figured it all out. She knows which local restaurants are safe for her, and when she goes to a new one, she had to interview the servers and management in great detail before she can even eat french fries (were they cooked in vegetable oil? can she see the label on the can? the package the fries came in? was anything else, such as battered foods, also cooked in the oil?).

 

Have you considered celiac disease?

[stephanier.1765]

Have you considered celiac disease?

 

I hadn't so I googled it. If I do, it sure would explain the myriad of other health problems I have. I'll ask my doctor about it the next time I go. Considering how many times I've mentioned those symptoms to her I'm surprised she didn't think of it herself. Thank you for the suggestion.

[PiCO]

I'm so tired of being sick any time we go out to eat. It's so bad that we almost don't go out any more. Tonight we went out for Mexican and now I feel awful. We eat Mexican food all the time so it's not as if I can't handle spicy foods and it's not limited to those types of restaurants. I just can't figure it out and the doctor doesn't have any suggestions for me.

 

I really want to get off this digestive merry-go-round. :tongue_smilie:

 

I feel your pain!

 

I usually get the runs after eating at faster-food places (like Noodles & Co.), but not at locally-owned sit-down type places.