Anyone else problem with digesting fruit or veg skins ?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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 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.

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.