Get Rid of Stomach Pain after Eating Once and for All

No doubt we have all had stomach pain after eating at some point in our lives.  However, if you are one of the unfortunate ones that deals with stomach pain after eating routinely, you are ready for relief.  The impending feeling that your stomach is going to start hurting soon after eating creates worry and distress.  The sense that as soon as you consume a morsel of food, all those annoying sensations start returning again.  And to add insult to your discomfort, your doctor examines you and follows up with, “Nothing is wrong.  Try this antacid.”  You know something is wrong.  Stomach pain has not been present all of your life, so something has changed.

There are many causes for stomach pain, many of which are named diseases.  Ulcers, gall stones, and reactions to foods such as gluten and lactose in dairy top the list.  While these can be causes of stomach pain after eating, there is another reason you want to consider first.

The Most Prevalent Reason You Have Stomach Pain After Eating

Ingestion of food should not be followed by bloating and pain.  However if you are dealing with stomach pain after eating, especially if there is bloating, constipation or diarrhea, an overgrowth of bacteria in your small intestine should be your first consideration.  This is conveniently named, SIBO, meaning Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth.  Most of us think negatively when it comes to bacteria, however, this is not a situation where you have too much “bad” bacteria.  Rather, a SIBO infection is too much of the bacteria that we should have.  The problem is that they are located in the wrong area.  They should be further along in the gastrointestinal tract in the large intestine.  Dr. Allison Siebecker, ND of www.siboinfo.com, accurately states the problem by saying,“The infection is of bacteria that normally live in the gastrointestinal tract but have abnormally overgrown in a location not meant for so many bacteria.“

The presence of the wrong types of bacteria can lead to several imbalances that change the way we digest food.  As a result of the intestinal environment being out of balance, symptoms manifest and ultimately pain can manifest.

Follow these Steps to Stop the Pain

Stomach pain after eating is annoying and takes the pleasure out of eating.  If you been feeling hopeless about getting your gut back under control and being able to eat normally again, don’t give up.  Here is the plan that I have refined and use with my patients.

Step 1: Go Paleo

The standard American Diet is contaminated with items that are often difficult to even call food.  The ingredient labels often mimic more of a science experiment list than what one should be eating.  Therefore, the first thing that I have my patients do is clean up their diet.  If you want stomach pain after eating to end, you have to change what you are eating.  Of course the stomach hurts.  It is attempting to digest “foods” that are at the same time poisoning it.  You cannot eat the same things and expect your stomach to react differently.  Your best bet at getting away from the numerous problems with the standard American Diet is to follow the Paleo diet.  This ancestral approach on modern eating eliminates many of the problems with today’s food.

Step 2: Remove the FODMAPs

Not all healthy food is good for you, well at least sometimes.  What I mean is when your stomach and small intestines are dysfunctional with too much bacteria, even foods that are otherwise good for you can cause symptoms.  For example, foods such as onion, garlic, avocados or cherries, cause stomach pain after eating them.  But aren’t these simply fruits and vegetables?  They are, and most of the time they would be highly recommended as part of a healthy diet.  However, when too much bacteria exists in the small intestines, you have to avoid these foods.  If these foods are not avoided, the bacteria ferment them and cause symptoms.  Once the bacterial overgrowth is alleviated, many are able to reintroduce the FODMAP category of foods with little problem.  Stanford University Medical Center offers a list of FODMAPs.

Step 3: Treat the SIBO

Once unheard of, probiotics are now a common word.  They are promoted on television and in health food stores just as much as vitamins.  Yet, these beneficial bacteria are not such a good thing when they populate the wrong area of the gut.  In the case of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, or SIBO, bacteria begins to take over the small intestine.  This is not normal.  Most of the bacteria of the colon should be in the large intestine.  As a result of the overgrowth and wrong types of bacteria being located where they should not be, the digestion of food is affected.  The process of fermentation and gas formation takes place as can fat malabsorption, all of which can lead to stomach pain after eating.

The key to managing SIBO is reducing the bacteria.  Several options are available, including antibiotics, both natural and pharmaceutical.  The best pharmaceutical choice is Rifaximin.  Natural options include oil of oregano and garlic extracts.  However, ending SIBO permanently is dependent on replacing what is missing.

Step 4: Replace What’s Missing

If you don’t replace what’s missing, you have little hope of avoiding SIBO and ending stomach pain after eating for good.  So what exactly is missing you might ask.  There are 2 things that when absent increase the risk of SIBO.  The absence of these 2 digestive components also even increase the risk for non-SIBO stomach pain after eating.  They are acid in your stomach and bile from the liver and gall bladder.  These are first line defenses that we have to reduce bacteria and other organisms from entering our body.  With the reduction of bacteria, the overgrowth of SIBO does not take place.  However, when you have low acid and bile production, you are not going to immediately start making it again.  Therefore, taking a digestive enzyme that includes both of these is necessary.  It also helps re-establish your first line defense system and prevent the return of SIBO.