Diarrhea on Paleo - PaleoHacks.com

Diarrhea on Paleo

2011-08-02T11:31:52Z

Hi All,

The Wife and I have started Paleo about a month ago, cheating on Saturdays if we've done well. Last week she started having diarreah and she had a whole tin of black beans with her Dinner. This solved the problem temporarily but its since come back with a vengeance. She is now seeing snot like substance and once had some blood when wiping.

Typical response from others is eat BRAT, Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRAT_diet

We have booked a doctor appointment for next week, like most poeple we dont trust Doctors are on-par with research, and would just hand over antibiotics perscriptions. Not that I trust strangers on the internet but an opinion in a majority is usually right.

Here's what we're going to try; Probio 7 Advanced Formula http://www.boots.com/en/Prebio-7-Advanced-Formula-30-capsules_981352/ (notice their typo!) She came off antibiotics about 2 months ago for an insect bite, we're suspecting this is the cause. Taking these should tidy things up hopefully.

We'll be upping the more solid veggies she takes in and keeping the fluid intake high. Dropping the fruit lower to avoid it having a negative affect.

We're also going to buy some NOW Food Super Enzymes to keep it all ticking along nicely. But the soonest we could get these was next week so we're going with Probio first.

She has a history of constipation from before we started on Paleo so there are definately the usual female IBS symptoms (I hate oversimplifying to IBS! grr).

So my question to you all! Is there anything we're missing? Or doing wrong? A silver bullet solution? We want to avoid taking drugs and ideally keep it all natural.

Any help is appreciated.

Luke

Answer by familygrokumentarian for Diarrhea on Paleo

2011-08-02T11:57:25Z

Hi, Luke,

Good that you have a doctor's appointment, but blood and mucus in stool are major red flags. Perhaps your wife could see a doctor sooner than next week?

Once your doc sees you and rules out anything serious, come back here and click "edit" on your question to post a full day or two of your wife's diet for fellow PaleoHackers to analyze. It could be that she is overdoing it on fruits, or even also veggies. Meats, healthy fats eaten properly, and hard cheeses - in addition to cutting excess fiber from too much fruit and veggies - could help to slow things up a bit.

Good luck!

Answer by thevansleaving for Diarrhea on Paleo

2011-08-02T12:25:29Z

First some questions: What did you guys cheat with? If you don't mind me asking of course. Are you sure the black beans didn't mask the problem for just a bit? What did she eat along with the beans, anything? I agree with FamilyGrok though, Are you sure the doctor can't see her sooner? With Diarrhea it's harder to tell where the blood came from. I know with my little ones, one of them had blood on the outside of his poop, so it was easy to say it came from straining. I really hope your wife feels a lot better soon!

Answer by UncleLongHair for Diarrhea on Paleo

2011-08-02T13:48:36Z

In my experience, going strict Paleo but cheating once a week is a sure formula for disaster. The Paleo diet essentially makes me more sensitive to grains, sugars, beans, and other non-Paleo foods, so now when I have them, I usually have some kind of digestive problems, usually including diarrhea. A week is just long enough for me to get sensitive to them...

That said, eating consistently low-carb (as I prefer) can also be a bit rough on my system, even if I am strict Paleo. It seems that Paleo-friendly carbs are soothing to the digestive tract. I try to work in some of these (fruits and vegetables) and also yogurt on a regular basis.

I will take Culturelle (a probiotic) every now and then which really helps in restoring normal digestive function.

Answer by Meadow for Diarrhea on Paleo

2011-08-02T14:39:55Z

Did you add any supplements into the paleo regime? Any new foods she tried with paleo that she did not normally eat previously?

I know for example even though my father has gone primal, he still cannot eat big salads because too many leafy greens will send him rushing to the bathroom as well.

I would consider going to something very simple for a few days, meals with only a couple ingredients that she knows are 'safe', and see if things will slow down....then add ingredients back in and see if there are any triggers.

I also second the thoughts that she may have been sensitive to some grains or items before, but it was masked until you went paleo. So now on the cheat days she is having an extreme reaction. You might also research candida die off (can cause mucous), fructose intolerance (can cause constipation OR diarrhea) and see if any of those items sound similar.

Answer by Dean for Diarrhea on Paleo

2011-08-02T23:02:15Z

A history of constipation, antibiotic use and now diarrhea all hint at a compromised gut flora. This might be something to work on in the future. To stop the diarrhea I would try the GAPS introduction diet, google it. Definitely avoid fruit and raw veggies for now, focus on meat or fish stock. S. boulardii is sometimes used to treat diarrhea.

However, there's also the possibility of infection with pathogenic microbes or other conditions causing diarrhea, so yes, see a doctor to find out.