Gransnet forums

Health

Anyone else problem with digesting fruit or veg skins ?

(8 Posts)
kittypaws49 Tue 13-Jul-21 13:53:20

I've had this problem since I was young, but with digestion not getting any better with age it seems to have worsened.
When I eat certain foods with skin, eg tomatoes, peppers, apples especially, I often feel really nauseous immediately afterwards. It doesn't make any difference if they are raw or cooked. The other day we had stuffed peppers and tomatoes and it was all I could do to keep it down. Not a very pleasant topic, and not a very pleasant feeling either.
Anyone else have this problem, or know why it happens ? I can eat pretty much anything else without any trouble.

nadateturbe Tue 13-Jul-21 15:03:41

I think its the fibre. I get nausea or bloating/pains with certain skins and other foods. I rarely try anything new and peel my pears. Boring but better to stick with foods that work.

Welshy Tue 13-Jul-21 20:55:46

I was only reading about this a few weeks back. I cut out red bell peppers to see if it would make a difference to my wind problem hmm and it has. I was eating half of one daily.

"The skin of bell peppers is hard to break down because the outer skin is tough and fibrous," says Dr. Sonpal. "This can make it hard for the body to break down, particularly if it is consumed raw. The remnants of it often end up in the stool, causing gas."

But you say it's the same even if cooked.

It seems the healthier I eat the more stomach problems I have.

JackyB Wed 14-Jul-21 07:56:31

I remember my cousin saying decades ago that the skin of a tomato will stick to the insides of your gut. I, too, have problems with these foods. I remember my father having it, too.

I don't actually feel nauseous but I do get terrible wind. As with pulses, it would seem that the skins trap air and bloat the stomach. (not a professional hypothesis, just seems logical to me).

Apples you can peel, tomatoes you can use tinned or strained, and red peppers (which I have never really liked anyway) can easily be peeled if charred under the grill or you can get jars of puree (called "avjar" here, the Turkish name). Pulses : avoid or at least puree very very fine.

Tea3 Wed 14-Jul-21 08:02:49

I’m having ‘trouble’ with more and more fruit and vegetables as I get older, the whole thing not just the skins. It’s sad because they made up the bulk of my diet for decades.

BlueSky Wed 14-Jul-21 08:37:12

Same here the healthier I try to eat the more issues I have. It’s now a joke as I’m a strict vegetarian (no milk or eggs) low fat low sugar low salt etc! People who eat anything are fine. Is it ageing?

DillytheGardener Wed 14-Jul-21 08:43:08

My friend has a non anaphylactic allergy to bell pepper. She won’t die from it, but has been hospitalised a few times from eating it when restaurants/cafes haven’t been transparent in their food labelling.

Franbern Wed 14-Jul-21 09:05:14

Since I had my ileostomy (back in 1990) I have had to peel apples, pears, etc. and leave the lovelyj Jacket of jacket potatoes on my plate. (Alwayjs have to apologise for this if I am being hosted by someone else who serves this to me).

Over the thirty years I have learned (sometimes the very hard way), of what foods I can and cannot eat. The outer areas of fruit with hard skins often causes me painful and debilitating blockages. I have learned to take my time eating anything like salad (which I love and eat daily), but ensure I chew everythingwith care.

Like others I have found, to my cost, that it is healthy type foods that are the most problematical. Unhealthy eating rarely causes me any problems (escept obesity!!) - have been on a calorie controlled diet since January. I have learned to recognise the very early signs of a blockage and to manage that in my own way.
It is sad when we seem to be 'punished' for eating healthily - but with care, can train our digestive systems and to work with them.