Digestion question! may be too much info for some.

Sometimes recently when I eat, I immediately have to use the bathroom. It feels like the food is going straight through me. I cant actually tell ofcourse if its the food I just ate or not, yet it makes it difficult for me to tell if I've properly digested the food or if it really did just go STRAIGHT through me. Is this possible? And if it is then am I consuming the calories in what I ate?
Obviously I will talk to my doctor about this problem because it isnt fun...but do any of you know the real science of digestion? How long does it take for the body to process food, and do some people digest food extremely rapidly? Its sort of throwing off my diet because after I eat I immediately become empty again and want to eat more but I'm not sure if that makes any sense. Also it doesnt seem to happen with any particular foods...I avoid dairy almost entirely and today It happened after eating dried apricots and almonds...which dont seem too irritating to the stomach. Any thoughts would be appreciated:)

Fri. Dec 1, 7:26pm

According to my colonic technician, a healthy system causes you to move your bowels about half an hour after eating a meal. The waste is actually food you ate about 18 hours before that though (again, this is for a system in perfect condition, which isn't terribly common). According to the technician, digested food starts to leave your stomach about 30 minutes after you eat, and that creates a push from the top of your small intestine that makes your body want to eliminate from other end. So no, it's not the food you just ate - it's last night's dinner gunning for the exit. Dried apricots and almonds? Sounds like a nice chunk of fiber you sent down the chute - it makes sense that you needed to go so soon afterwards, based on the above info.

Other tidbits gleaned from the holistic colon guru that affect rate of digestion... red meat takes ages apparently, like weeks or even months. Dairy and white flour products create mucus in your system, which can cause food to cling to the sides longer than normal. How well you chew your food and fire up your digestive enzymes also affect efficiency.

I haven't tried to verify the technician's info, so I'm afraid I don't have any links to post or anything like that. I hope this helps.

Friday, December 1, 2006, 8:02 PM

No, it is not the food you just ate coming out. Nor does what particular food you just ate matter.

When you swallow food, it sets off waves of smooth muscle contraction called peristalsis that moves food through your gut. Eating amplifies peristalsis that is already occurring on previous meals going through the system, so yes it is PERFECTLY normal to need to go soon after eating.

As a point of trivia, this is true of many mammals -- if you ever get a chance to see a tame bat eating you will see the result is near-instantaneous, which is fortuitous since the bat needs to fly off not weighted down by too much gut contents.

Neon

Friday, December 1, 2006, 8:22 PM

Bat guts and colonics all in one short thread ... god I love this board!

Friday, December 1, 2006, 8:33 PM

Hi, Although I'm not an expert I'm taking a Nutrition class right now and this is what I've learned. Your food can't go through you that fast. I'm guessing you may have a food allergy but you really should check with your doctor. Sorry this is WAY too much info but my family calls that rush to the bathroom "colon blow" and it's common for me and my sister. Mine is triggered if I eat a large high fat meal at breakfast (restaurant meal) but my sister struggled with Irritable Bowel Syndrome for years before she got it under control. Good luck to you.

Friday, December 1, 2006, 8:46 PM

i'm a little concerned because there seems to be a lot of threads here lately posted by someone either throwing up or having to use the toilet after they eat, and they seem to be interested in finding out how many calories they absorbed in the process. i'm not sure if you are the same person-but it sounds like you might be and this reeks of an eating disorder. please talk to someone and see a doctor if this is a common occurance. PT is here to help no matter what your struggles w/ food may be!

Friday, December 1, 2006, 11:49 PM

OP here. Thanks guys that was very informative:)
And to the 11:49 poster, no I am not the poster throwing up, and I think on such a large board its really nearly impossible to track whos posting what...but I dont think my problem really fits the label of any kind of eating disorder ( bowel disorder perhaps!). This being a website based around health a weightloss it seems normal to me that people such as myself, who are really trying to gain control of their weight would be concerned with calorie consumption. Eating disorders are a very serious issue, but there is a difference between concern with your weight and obsession with it. I'm sure your intentions are kind-hearted, but I wouldnt throw accusations around so loosely.

Saturday, December 2, 2006, 1:00 AM

I'm not the one who posted above about the eating disorder thing...but it has come up a few times in my groups that in the past few weeks, there have been quite a few threads about "replacing" eaten calories that were expelled one way or another. For most of us, it's the first time we've caught a glimpse of the dark side of dieting, and we don't like the idea that answering the thread might encourage the person in their growing problem.

Yes, this does sound like it might have come from that person... however, if it's the same person who posted about either diarrhea, laxatives, and vomiting a few weeks ago, they got their answers and wouldn't bother starting this thread. Either that or there's more than one person flirting with the dark side.

Saturday, December 2, 2006, 1:00 AM

IBS and Chinese Medicine

I occasionally have the same problem as the original poster. I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Through years of Chinese medicine it is now under control but will flare up occasionally. As a nurse I can tell you that the regimen for IBS w/Chinese medicine doesn't make sense...but , as they say, the proof is in the pudding.

In Chinese medicine, the stomach needs to be "warm" to aid in digestion. Therefore, anything that cools the stomach or increases heat too much will hamper digestion. Foods to avoid are: (I don't need to hear that this is baloney, I'm just saying it has worked for me):
raw foods (yes, that means salads...it was hard to wrap my mind around this one)
spicy foods
caffeine
alcohol
sweets
fried foods
dairy
beef
cold foods

I have now gotten to the point where I can occasionally have things from that list but get into trouble if I "double dip" so to speak (ice cream,,.sweet, dairy, cold). This has worked for me and I live by it. I can eat salads in the summer every day, avoid them in colder months. I eat some fruit now. Stress will definitely add to the problem so during times of stress I adhere to this pretty closely.

Good luck to you.

Saturday, December 2, 2006, 5:19 AM

I think I posted this answer in a prior thread, but my hubby used to have that problem as well (running to the bathroom immediately after bathroom because he was getting diarrhea... :-( ) He did not know why.... until 1 day, I brought up a suggenstion that my friend ave me--She had the same problem until she realized that her trigger was onions. (raw, cooked, powdered, it did not seem to matter). She had done some reading and read something about farms adding MSG to the onion crops to help them grow faster..... Recently, we've run into more and more people who seem to be allergic to onions... and we are wondering if what she read had some truth to it....

In the meantime, after my hubby started to avoid onions, the problem virtually stopped...

So, you might give that a try (avoiding certain foods and trying to pinpoint the affending trigger.) Perhaps that will help! ;-)

Sunday, December 3, 2006, 3:53 AM

Try Jello -- it will soothe your stomach

Hi, it sounds like your stomach is irritated from changes to your diet. I suggest eating little packs of sugar-free Jello, Jello is super easy to digest and calming to your stomach (that's why they always serve it in hospitals.) Also, bananas, rice and dry toast are the best diet for stopping diarrehea, so these foods would be good to add to your diet too.
I wish you the best of luck on your fitness quest. Remember, the end goal of a healthier you is worth all these little annoyances along he way.

Sunday, December 3, 2006, 5:03 PM

Original poster now you know you can't ask any questions concerning bodily functions here without someone being concerned you might have a eating disorder.lol. If i've been eating real healthy and eat restruant food or someone's cooking that is too greasy then the food will cause that to happen. My doctor has me drink vit c in high doses and to back it down when that happens because your body needs to adjust to it slowly and some people just can't tolerate alot of it.I would ask your doctor.

Monday, December 4, 2006, 1:59 AM

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