It's common to feel sleepy/dizzy and heavy after a eating a high-carb meal, specially anything bought prepared (mac n cheese for example!). We naturally love carbs and so food compaines load their dishes with lots and lots of carbs to make them taste good, slipping in sugar and refined flours whenever they can, a lot more than most traditional cuisines would have in one meal usually. This doesn't hurt in the short run but in the long run your body's insulin mechanism is stressed dealing with sudden high influx of carbs, sort of like a yo-yo thrown too hard, it bounces back, but is weakened over time. This could lead to type 2 diabetes.
In addition high carb meals are also frequently high fat (fried chicken(fat) and mashed potatoes(carb), mac(carb) and cheese sauce(fat), sandwich (carbs) and fries(fat and carbs). The body is already dealing with fats from the meal and so takes longer to process the carbs into being stored as fat, leading to high carb levels in the blood for longer.
Solution? break up carb intake over the day. balance meals with protein, and fiber filled veggies. Don't pair pasta with bread, chose one or the other for each meal; don't pair carb-based meals(pizza for example) with sweet drinks like cola, fruit juice or milk. Remember milk has loads of lactose which is a carb. Have fries OR bread in one meal, not both, or, have them in moderation. Cut the portion in half and eat the second half two to three hours later. Don't let yourself get extremely hungry before you eat so that the carb level in the blood stays fairly stable. Eat at the same time everyday, so your body is prepared and ready for the food.
In short, it's nothing to be alarmed about in the short term (especially since you have seen the doctor for it already); but it does indicate too much carb too suddenly in the previous meal, and over the long term constantly eating this way could be harmful.
In addition high carb meals are also frequently high fat (fried chicken(fat) and mashed potatoes(carb), mac(carb) and cheese sauce(fat), sandwich (carbs) and fries(fat and carbs). The body is already dealing with fats from the meal and so takes longer to process the carbs into being stored as fat, leading to high carb levels in the blood for longer.
Solution? break up carb intake over the day. balance meals with protein, and fiber filled veggies. Don't pair pasta with bread, chose one or the other for each meal; don't pair carb-based meals(pizza for example) with sweet drinks like cola, fruit juice or milk. Remember milk has loads of lactose which is a carb. Have fries OR bread in one meal, not both, or, have them in moderation. Cut the portion in half and eat the second half two to three hours later. Don't let yourself get extremely hungry before you eat so that the carb level in the blood stays fairly stable. Eat at the same time everyday, so your body is prepared and ready for the food.
In short, it's nothing to be alarmed about in the short term (especially since you have seen the doctor for it already); but it does indicate too much carb too suddenly in the previous meal, and over the long term constantly eating this way could be harmful.
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4 weeks on prilosec fixed most of my problems with this. It helps your body to heal. Could be a minor ulcer or other disruption in your system. It really did wonders for me!
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really? so eating healthy is pushing "snake oil"? keep eating your Big Macs and we'll talk later
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Hi DeeAnna,
My name is Beth. When did you start developing odd symptoms? I was extremely healthy with no stomach issues at all until one day I ate an undercooked sausage. That night and the next day, I threw up continuously. After that, I couldn't eat anything but yogurt, bananas, bread and soup....for 2 weeks. Then, I started to feel better, so I had a thick rice noodle soup- well that did me in. After I finished it, i had to be rushed to the hospital because my stomach was in so much pain. Three days later and after x-ray, ultrasound and CT scans were done, the doctors were still perplexed and sent me home. I slowly gained strength back by forcing myself to eat a variety of foods, but my stomach has never been the same....it cramps, I get odd pains and I get a lot of gas. What do you think I should do? Do you think that I could have developed crohn's disease?
My name is Beth. When did you start developing odd symptoms? I was extremely healthy with no stomach issues at all until one day I ate an undercooked sausage. That night and the next day, I threw up continuously. After that, I couldn't eat anything but yogurt, bananas, bread and soup....for 2 weeks. Then, I started to feel better, so I had a thick rice noodle soup- well that did me in. After I finished it, i had to be rushed to the hospital because my stomach was in so much pain. Three days later and after x-ray, ultrasound and CT scans were done, the doctors were still perplexed and sent me home. I slowly gained strength back by forcing myself to eat a variety of foods, but my stomach has never been the same....it cramps, I get odd pains and I get a lot of gas. What do you think I should do? Do you think that I could have developed crohn's disease?
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Hey Tone,
I noticed that you had gone through glucose intolerance testing; did they also check your blood draws for your insulin levels? Several years ago i went through the exact same symptoms, i went through all of the glucose (sugar) checks as well; and my results were perfect. As i continued on my symptoms started to increase to other body systems, and i was going to be scheduled for a complete hysterectomy. I went to another doctor for a second opinion, because at the time i was under the age of 30 and needed it for insurance. The new doctor took one look at me and scheduled a fasting glucose tolerance series with insulin levels. She had said that unless it is specifically requested they will not check the insulin levels. My glucose was perfect, however, my insulin levels were 7 times higher than normal. Which causes your body to react as though you have low blood sugar.
The other thing i might ask is have you ever gone to a chiropractor? Most doctors will steer you away from them; however, when you have even a minor accident it can cause a rib or a vertebrae to get out of alignment and push on your central nervous system; which, depending on where in your spine it's pushing can cause every symptom you have had and sometimes even more... good luck with your search. If you have any comments or questions you can email me at ***this post is edited by moderator *** *** private e-mails not allowed **
Please read our Terms of Use
I noticed that you had gone through glucose intolerance testing; did they also check your blood draws for your insulin levels? Several years ago i went through the exact same symptoms, i went through all of the glucose (sugar) checks as well; and my results were perfect. As i continued on my symptoms started to increase to other body systems, and i was going to be scheduled for a complete hysterectomy. I went to another doctor for a second opinion, because at the time i was under the age of 30 and needed it for insurance. The new doctor took one look at me and scheduled a fasting glucose tolerance series with insulin levels. She had said that unless it is specifically requested they will not check the insulin levels. My glucose was perfect, however, my insulin levels were 7 times higher than normal. Which causes your body to react as though you have low blood sugar.
The other thing i might ask is have you ever gone to a chiropractor? Most doctors will steer you away from them; however, when you have even a minor accident it can cause a rib or a vertebrae to get out of alignment and push on your central nervous system; which, depending on where in your spine it's pushing can cause every symptom you have had and sometimes even more... good luck with your search. If you have any comments or questions you can email me at ***this post is edited by moderator *** *** private e-mails not allowed **
Please read our Terms of Use
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Tone,
I have had many of the same symptoms that you have - palpitations, fatigue and light headedness after eating sugary or high starchy carbohydrate foods, especially in the morning. I also have chronic fatigue. Prior to January this symptom was so bad that I thought it might be diabetes, or reactive hypoglycemia, or some other health issue. But blood tests came back indicating I didn't have any of these problems, and had vitamin D deficiency (so common today because of the use of sun screens). So, I eliminated all sources of sugar from my diet. In January, I found a great clinic in the Washington DC area that is treating my fatigue through the use of chinese herbal medicine and allopathic (western medicine). A very large source of my symptoms (palpitations, fatigue and light headedness), according to the MD, is food allergies and food sensitivities. I took a food and substance allergy test called ALCAT and discovered from the test that I was allergic to about 50-60 very common foods in my diet including - chicken, pork, turkey, soy, wheat, eggs, several vegetables, ibuprofen and others. These were very common foods in my diet prior to January. Since I eliminated those foods from my diet, my symptoms are getting much better (but are brought back when I am under significant stress). I even tried baking home made muffins using all kinds of grains and starches including sorghum, amaranth, millet, tapioca, arrowroot, potato, etc. The ALCAT test did not pick up my sensitivity to grains however. That is, I removed all of the allergens from my diet and still had the light headedness after eating foods with grains. So, recently I removed all grains from my diet and have experienced significant improvement in my symptoms of light headedness.
Note that one of the results of food allergies could be something called "leaky gut syndrome" whereby the intestinal walls become inflamed (maybe because certain foods aren't digested well or because significant amounts of stress might changes our body chemistry) and then tiny, tiny holes form. These holes seem to let certain food particles through the intestinal wall and they can get into the blood stream. Then your body will create antibodies to the food particles. From what I have read, this may be what causes food allergies or sensitivities. From what my MD and chinese medical doctor have said, the food allergies are a large contributor to the fatigue, in addition to stress.
I've had these symptoms for over 10 years and had been to at least 4 family medicine MDs who could diagnose it. I'm convinced that western medical doctors aren't trained in knowing much about the underlying source of my issues. If you want any chance of recovery, you'll need to locate practitioners who practice "integrative medicine" which from articles I have read on the internet for years might include clinics that have MDs, acupuncturists, chinese herbal medicine practitioners, chiropractors, and other practitioners who treat the whole body rather than the symptoms (which seems to be common in western medicine).
My recovery has been slow but at least it is going in the right direction. I agree with one of the other respondents to your email that it takes a lot of dedication, perseverance and time to get to know your body and its response to substances you put in your mouth.
Good luck!
Allergic Kim
I have had many of the same symptoms that you have - palpitations, fatigue and light headedness after eating sugary or high starchy carbohydrate foods, especially in the morning. I also have chronic fatigue. Prior to January this symptom was so bad that I thought it might be diabetes, or reactive hypoglycemia, or some other health issue. But blood tests came back indicating I didn't have any of these problems, and had vitamin D deficiency (so common today because of the use of sun screens). So, I eliminated all sources of sugar from my diet. In January, I found a great clinic in the Washington DC area that is treating my fatigue through the use of chinese herbal medicine and allopathic (western medicine). A very large source of my symptoms (palpitations, fatigue and light headedness), according to the MD, is food allergies and food sensitivities. I took a food and substance allergy test called ALCAT and discovered from the test that I was allergic to about 50-60 very common foods in my diet including - chicken, pork, turkey, soy, wheat, eggs, several vegetables, ibuprofen and others. These were very common foods in my diet prior to January. Since I eliminated those foods from my diet, my symptoms are getting much better (but are brought back when I am under significant stress). I even tried baking home made muffins using all kinds of grains and starches including sorghum, amaranth, millet, tapioca, arrowroot, potato, etc. The ALCAT test did not pick up my sensitivity to grains however. That is, I removed all of the allergens from my diet and still had the light headedness after eating foods with grains. So, recently I removed all grains from my diet and have experienced significant improvement in my symptoms of light headedness.
Note that one of the results of food allergies could be something called "leaky gut syndrome" whereby the intestinal walls become inflamed (maybe because certain foods aren't digested well or because significant amounts of stress might changes our body chemistry) and then tiny, tiny holes form. These holes seem to let certain food particles through the intestinal wall and they can get into the blood stream. Then your body will create antibodies to the food particles. From what I have read, this may be what causes food allergies or sensitivities. From what my MD and chinese medical doctor have said, the food allergies are a large contributor to the fatigue, in addition to stress.
I've had these symptoms for over 10 years and had been to at least 4 family medicine MDs who could diagnose it. I'm convinced that western medical doctors aren't trained in knowing much about the underlying source of my issues. If you want any chance of recovery, you'll need to locate practitioners who practice "integrative medicine" which from articles I have read on the internet for years might include clinics that have MDs, acupuncturists, chinese herbal medicine practitioners, chiropractors, and other practitioners who treat the whole body rather than the symptoms (which seems to be common in western medicine).
My recovery has been slow but at least it is going in the right direction. I agree with one of the other respondents to your email that it takes a lot of dedication, perseverance and time to get to know your body and its response to substances you put in your mouth.
Good luck!
Allergic Kim
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Hi, it sounds like you may have an imbalance of the flora in your gut. Candida albicans is a fungus responsible for yeast infections and thrush in people with compromised immune systems. Often, when individuals have abnormal immune systems due to things like allergies, autoimmune disease, smoking, or poor nutrient absorption, the immune system can't keep up with the growth of this organism in their digestive system. Also, antibiotics kill all the bacteria in your system that are responsible for controlling the overgrowth of Candida. It is quite common for those with Candidiasis to experience gas, indigestion, and general malaise after eating because the fungus consumes sugars and excretes carbon dioxide. When you eat carbohydrates of any form, your body injects enzymes into your gut to break them down into sugar that feeds the Candida and can cause lightheadedness or dizziness or a general feeling of malaise after eating because your blood does not receive the sugar that your pancreas prepared it for. Try cutting carbs and dairy, use acidophilus and oil of oregano supplements several times a day. Eat raw garlic and drink chamomile/pepppermint tea..lots of it. Drink rediculous amounts of water between meals. Do not drink coffee or caffinated tea (even without sweetener). You might also try fiber supplements which will tighten your GI tract and promote peristalsis. You may experience diarrhea at first, that is your body ridding its self of the dead fungus. Hope this helps.
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I'm on a gluten free diet and also had a food intolerance test done and I'm intolerant to dairy, eggs, legumes, almonds, sesame seeds, and a few other things...but I still get dizzy after I eat starchy foods, such as rice (brown), potatoes, quinoa, tapioca... anything like that, and those are all foods that I'm supposedly not allergic or intolerant to! I also had a really bad reaction to sunflower seeds last night... felt like my stomach was on fire about an hour after I ate them... lasted the whole night and most of the day, and I feel nauseous.
Anyhow... so what the hell do I eat?!
All I can eat, without getting dizzy, is chicken and dark leafy greens or zucchini. How long is this going to last!?
Do I have to eat chicken and zucchini for the rest of my life???? :'(
Anyhow... so what the hell do I eat?!
All I can eat, without getting dizzy, is chicken and dark leafy greens or zucchini. How long is this going to last!?
Do I have to eat chicken and zucchini for the rest of my life???? :'(
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I also have these symptoms...and have had it for 2 years. I had all kinds of tests...abdominal ultrasound, abdominal cat scan, blood tests, endoscopy, etc.. They never found anything wrong. I find that when I eat fatty food I get a pain in upper right side, dizzyness and weakness. I think that when you have a problem in the gut, eating causes more blood to rush to that area than normal and you get dizzy and weak.
Mine has slowly gotten a little better through diet change....but when I slip up *bang* it comes right back. I have to remain vigilant in eating a low fat, small meal diet and getting exercise ( particularly after eating ). If I eat and sit down, I'll have problems. Eat small meals and take a walk after each one.
Mine has slowly gotten a little better through diet change....but when I slip up *bang* it comes right back. I have to remain vigilant in eating a low fat, small meal diet and getting exercise ( particularly after eating ). If I eat and sit down, I'll have problems. Eat small meals and take a walk after each one.
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I am a 24 Male as well. I have been having almost all of the same symptoms as "tone" posted on his 10/07/0 post except i get really bad headaches and ear fullness/congestion in the ear pain. The headaches are in the same spot every time located at the back of my head right where your neck meets the back of your skull. The ear fullness is only in the right ear. I have been having the same problem of doctors not sure what the problem is and continue to think its a neck muscle related issue as i have a lot of stress on my neck from my job. The dizziness(light headedness), headaches, ear fullness/pain similar to congestion in the ear and weakness/fatigue usually occur after i eat a big meal or fruits(felt after eating Cantaloupe in the morning) and pasta high in carbs or sugar.
For dinner one night all I ate was a bunch of raspberries, the next morning i woke up very dizzy. I took the morning to chill out and get some food in me. It later passed by mid afternoon. So scared it was a sign of diabetes I purchased a blood sugar monitor and continued to test my blood sugar levels several times a day for a month. All results were normal. Just today I had no breakfast and then ate a pita sandwich and a bowl of pasta for lunch and an hour later i felt very light headed and slightly dizzy. My mother just recently had one side of her thyroid removed. She had an overactive thyroid and the doctors had her drink some radioactive iodine to slow it down. The doctors then found some calcium build up on her thyroid and decided the remove it as it may be cancerous. I will be having my blood tested for possible thyroid problems and blood sugar levels. A lot of the symptoms i have are very much like an overactive thyroid or diabetes. Any other suggestions? This is getting very scary as I too feel as if i have some terminal illness, like a brain tumour, and may die or become disabled in some way out of no where. Please any help is greatly appreciated!
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I want to share my experience. I have similar type of problem
.All this started about 4 years ago. As soon I reach to my office I start
feeling Pain in my shoulders. dizziness.
Almost every day
when I wakeup I feel on top of world . All well and fit to do any wonders . But
when I reached to my office I start feeling Lightheadness, weakness, sometime
even standing will be difficult due to dizziness. Strange feelings, fast heartbeat
This was become a routine. Only difference was, some time Intensity would be low and tolerable and some
time beyond tolerance and than I had to take rest or off from work. At a stage
I started feeling that I have some mental weakness, may be I can not tolerate stress of work. Since I was not affected on
weekends. But later I found It was not the truth.
Initially it was related with low bone density, and I
was suspected a case of Cervical. According to doctors There are some nerves
which gets pressed some time if cervical bone is low in density. Which can
cause lightheadness, nausea, dizziness. I took Medicine for Bone density and calcium
supplement for a year. My problem still did
not gone. After 2-3 months it comes back and again keep me disturbed for a
month or so. Later on I realized my problem was not regular. It was getting off
and on. And it has no relation with Cervical. Since i was not getting the problem,Some time I get Panic attack, Feeling like I'm about to die with any unknown problem and no one can help me. But all this feelings was wrong.
I went through complete medical test. Including ECG,
Stress Echo, Ultrasound abdominal, Chest x-ray, Complete blood test , Urine
test, ENT. But found I’m completely fit.
I continued with this
problem(with off and on) Till about three months ago, when my problem came back
and this time it was more aggressive and intolerable. This time I stated self
assessment and search on internet. I found this Blog. Which gave me idea to
check my food habit. I noticed that I used to belch after eating, but not all
the time. So I stopped taking some suspected
food like Milk and milk products, eggs completely. And rice too. I noticed
immediate difference and improvement. I continued this for a month I had no
problem at all. Then I started taking rice again . there was no problem with
rice. I tried yoghurt , It was ok , but smaller quantity. I tried milk cream. It
make me worse and all those problems was back. So now I keep my self away from
Milk fat/ cream. After 4 years I am free man, Now I don’t have any problem.
And if it happens to me I know I have eaten a pastry/cake with cream or some
other thing which contain milk fat ( some time I can’t stop myself to take my
favorite dessert, although later feels I should have stopped myself)
I was used to take milk
product in my breakfast on working days only. So as soon I was reaching to my
work after breakfast , I was having problem. Since i was not taking any milk product
on weekend, It gave me a wrong conclusion of low stress tolerance. Now I am
back on track and working with my full strength.
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Were there any updates to this issue? I have been having the same symptoms of late - feel like I am going to pass out after eating, chest pains, palpitations - all the heart tests and blood work came back normal! Has anyone had success with a Naturopath?
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I've had some success with a naturopath! Not 100%, but pretty darn close.
She told me that what I have sounded like hyper-reactive hypoglycemia and that in order to control it you have to eat frequent meals of protein and complex carbs. - I pretty much cut out all carbs for the first few months (rice, bread, pasta, anything sweet, juices, fruits). Slowly I've been able to incorporate rice and beans again, but I can't eat to many carbs without a healthy helping of some form of meat.
She also has me on liquid chromium which really helped a lot. I take 1 drop in a small amount of water after each meal and I find that it balances my blood sugar pretty quickly. Acupuncture has also been VERY helpful in helping with the symptoms as well. Definitely worth trying.
She told me that what I have sounded like hyper-reactive hypoglycemia and that in order to control it you have to eat frequent meals of protein and complex carbs. - I pretty much cut out all carbs for the first few months (rice, bread, pasta, anything sweet, juices, fruits). Slowly I've been able to incorporate rice and beans again, but I can't eat to many carbs without a healthy helping of some form of meat.
She also has me on liquid chromium which really helped a lot. I take 1 drop in a small amount of water after each meal and I find that it balances my blood sugar pretty quickly. Acupuncture has also been VERY helpful in helping with the symptoms as well. Definitely worth trying.
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Hello Tone,
I believe it could be due to some food intolerance. You really need to find out which types of food your stomach is sensitive to. Good luck!
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I don't have the intestinal issues, but eating sometimes make me pass out, or at least get very faint and disoriented. I think it has something to do with starches or basic sugars, but it is not consistant. Does anyone know of anything that would make the reaction so severe. Or any food combinations I may be overlooking. thanks
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