Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I starved myself almost the whole day because I was working with an uncle of mine all day yesterday and our only food options were Wendy's and/or Burger King, so I refused to eat until I got home. That being said, I got home around 8pm and gobbled down about 10 ounces of fatty conventional meat (nothing else was defrosted) braised in Chardonnay, with lots of asparagus, carrots and onions. I also added about 10 tablespoons of coconut oil to make up for lost calories, which was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I woke up at about 12am sweating, with intense stomach pressure, nausea and bouts of dizziness. I stumbled over to the toilet and sat there for 2 hours (no joke) with interval bouts of diarrhea. I thought I was really going to die. It wasn't until I decided to take a probiotic that things began to calm down. I don't know if it was food poisoning or severe steatorrhea, but it wasn't pleasant at all. It seemed like the coconut oil passed right through me.

Have any of you had terrible experiences due to the food you ate? ex. food poisoning, vomiting, or anything related to the consumption of food, specifically paleo food.

flag	asked Apr 28 2011 at 17:30 ROB 785●5●14

Dave S. · Answer 1 · 2011-04-28 17:46:51Z UTC

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This is a known problem with coconut oil. I have never had this problem, but I never consume more than a tablespoon at a time. Kids on keto diets using MCT or coconut oil have to ramp up slowly to avoid vomiting/diarrhea.

answered Apr 28 2011 at 17:46

Dave S.
20.9k●1●11●65

Yup, I was going to say: coconut fats definitely have that effect on some people! :) – familygrokumentarian Apr 28 2011 at 17:55

Chris Sturdy · Answer 2 · 2011-04-28 18:02:42Z UTC

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Coconut oil OD I would say. The most I've had at once is 2 tbsp and that alone is abot 28g fat! You had about 140g which is also about 1200 fat calories all atonce!

answered Apr 28 2011 at 18:02

Chris Sturdy
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Wow that really puts things into perspective. – ROB Apr 28 2011 at 18:04

pamipoi · Answer 3 · 2011-04-28 17:54:38Z UTC

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It's possible you experienced a Herxheimer reaction to the large amount of coconut oil you consumed. As a strong antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial substance the coconut oil may have caused your symptoms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herxheimer_reaction

answered Apr 28 2011 at 17:54

pamipoi
931●4●7

It could be. But I have been consuming coconut oil for a while now with no problems, but I have never consumed as much as I did yesterday in one sitting. – ROB Apr 28 2011 at 18:05

Phocion_Timon · Answer 4 · 2011-04-28 18:54:41Z UTC

I cannot speak of an overdose of coconut oil but as it happens I experimented with some berries a lot of heavy cream last night. (Almost a half-pint of berries in about a pint of the cream.)

I slept poorly last night due to a complaining stomach. It has now been 20 hours since that meal and I'm not even close to being hungry. I've had light heartburn most of the day. Every time I think of heavy cream my stomach does a flip.

I am a believer of a high-fat diet but like they say: "Moderation in all things."

David Moss · Answer 5 · 2011-04-28 18:21:22Z UTC

Yes, I had this problem precisly with coconut. My normal breakfast for about a year was 100g of ground dessicated coconut (with boiling water poured over it, to turn it into something vaguely akin to coconut milk) and then another bowl or two later on, quite often. Anyway, I then went hiking, carrying all my own food with me, including a couple of kilograms of ground coconut. The first morning of hiking I spooned out roughly a bowl of the stuff and had it with some boiled water. Soon enough I was violently sick, felt horrifically nausous and eventually had diarrhea too. This shouldn't happen with any normal, long-chain fats, since they're digested differently (much slower).

Have any of you had any terrible experiences with food, specifically fat overload?

5 Answers