Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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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

edited Aug 2 2011 at 17:47

Paul
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asked Aug 2 2011 at 11:31

Luke
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	I don't have answers but can empathize- since mostly cutting grains about a year ago, I've made major improvements with my "IBS" but have been having that same issue for a couple months. I don't know where it came from; I haven't been on antibiotics, haven't traveled, haven't made any new dietary changes. I even got super strict for July and cut dairy and was more careful than usual about grains, but nothing has changed :( I finally went to the doc and got an IBS med (Levsin), but that's not the route I want to take. I hope your wife feels better soon! – Jules K Aug 2 2011 at 11:44
	Did she add any dairy in after being dairy-free for a while? – Annie Aug 2 2011 at 13:36
	Coconut oil can be a cause of diarrhea or upset stomach if you eat too much too fast. If your wife started adding coconut products after starting Paleo, like a lot of people do, ease back on them a bit. Start small, and slowly build your tolerance. – Pete Aug 2 2011 at 15:08
	On the last cheat day we had milkshakes. We also introduced Coconut oil for cooking, both of these have probably paid a part in this. Cheers for the answers :) – Luke Aug 4 2011 at 11:09

familygrokumentarian · Answer 1 · 2011-08-02 11:57:25Z UTC

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!

UncleLongHair · Answer 2 · 2011-08-02 13:48:36Z UTC

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.

thevansleaving · Answer 3 · 2011-08-02 12:25:29Z UTC

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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!

answered Aug 2 2011 at 12:25

thevansleaving
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	The black beans seemed to work as a clogger I guess. She had them with veggies and some chicken. We came to Paleo via the Tim Ferriss four hour body book, theres some science behind it, heres an interview; ttfatloss.com/fat-loss/cheat-meal We ate lots of chocolate, some KFC, curry, milkshakes and some chunky chips. Explore the link before judging me! :) We've since come around to the fact that the cheat DAY needs to be cheat MEAL and watching for knock-ons with Gluten and the like. – Luke Aug 4 2011 at 11:36
	LOL no judgements here! I still have cheat days even though I am on my journey to weightloss, the cheats keep me sane! I will have to check out that link! Thank you for replying. – thevansleaving Aug 5 2011 at 1:39

Meadow · Answer 4 · 2011-08-02 14:39:55Z UTC

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.

Dean · Answer 5 · 2011-08-02 23:02:15Z UTC

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.

Diarrhea on Paleo

5 Answers