Coffee Enzymes and Acidity Can Cause Problems

I've given up coffee again. This time it's decaf, even the morning cup I had with breakfast.

Last week I had a cup of decaf in a local restaurant with lunch. About an hour later the pain hit me! It was in the upper abdomen and chest. I've had this reaction to restaurant coffee before, but it used to happen rarely and only last a few hours. Now it happens about a quarter of the time I drink restaurant coffee unless I stick to a tried-and-true eatery, and this time it lasted until bedtime and was so painful that when I got home, I went to bed and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon. The next day I still felt some residual pain.

I decided to give up all coffee for a while to see what happens. So far so good -- and I actually feel less fatigue.

The Help for IBS site has an article that helps explain why even decaf causes problems.

...just one cup of coffee is all it takes to completely disrupt the gut of most people with IBS. Coffee is a very powerful GI tract irritant - and it's NOT the caffeine that's the culprit. Caffeine is a stimulant, so it can aggravate IBS as well, but this just means that regular coffee has an awful double whammy.

Decaffeinated coffee is still practically guaranteed to trigger abdominal spasms, diarrhea, and a very unpleasant sense of urgency. Why? Because all coffee beans, decaf included, contain an enzyme that irritates the entire digestive tract.

...Coffee is also highly acidic, and acidic foods can aggravate IBS as well as upper GI disorders such as GERD.

Since I am allergic to tea, I really hate giving up coffee. I may go back to having an occasional cup of mild-brand decaf at home after cold weather moves in. But the risk of drinking it in restaurants is no longer worth taking. Chest pain is scary as well as uncomfortable, and enduring it for over nine hours is something that I won't forget anytime soon.

By the way, I have not been diagnosed with IBS, but I do have a sensitive digestive system and a low tolerance for acidic foods.

When Weight Loss is Toxic

Weight loss can increase the level of pollutants in the blood according to a study. That explains why I feel so bad when losing weight!

Ticks, Food Allergies, and an Antibody Assay

Okay, I must have missed the report saying that ticks can cause food allergies! It seems weird to me but allergies can be pretty strange anyway.

Read the story about the new test for IgE antibodies related to milk, meat and dander allergies that are caused by tick bites.

Dr. Galland on Leaky Gut

The Huffington Post ran an article on Leaky Gut Syndrome by Leo Galland. It may be useful to some readers, but I find the link to Dr. Galland's article Breaking the Vicious Cycle to be more helpful. I've bookmarked it because there's so much information to consider.

Three points that caught my eye are:

1. "Following exposure to allergenic foods, permeability sharply increases. Most of this increase can be averted by pre-treatment with sodium cromoglycate."
2. "Dietary supplementation with betaine hydrochloride is usually helpful but intermittent short courses of bismuth, citrus seed extract, artemisinin, colloidal silver and other natural antimicrobials are often needed."
3. "Quercetin and related flavonoids inhibit the release of histamine and inflammatory mediators. Taken before eating, they may block allergic reactions which increase permeability."

Carbocaine

I had minor foot surgery and the doctor used a local anesthetic called carbocaine. She said it was milder than some of the alternatives, which seemed like a good thing since I have had unpleasant reactions to novocaine. Well, I had the same reaction to the carbocaine injection. I got nauseous and light-headed. A nurse had to help me to the car. Fortunately my husband was with me and drove me home.