Just because you love it doesn’t mean it loves you back. If you’ve reached a certain age, you know what I mean. It’s the great irony of aging. As you get older and less picky about what you eat, your system denies you the freedom to indulge as you please.
We all have our foodie favorites that we enjoy in moderation because the price we pay is in tummy trouble (the kind that stays with you a lot longer than the moments of bliss). It all clicked for me when I read about how your digestive system gets less good at doing what it does as you age.
You see, I remember hearing my aunts talking about food and one declaring that she couldn’t eat such and such (I think it was onions) because it gave her horrible gas. As a child, I was confused by this idea because I could eat anything with no problem at all.
Well, now I know!
According to a study in Gastroenterology & Hepatology, there is a group of foods, called FODMAPs. They are poorly-absorbed, short-chained carbohydrates that are fermented by intestinal bacteria, which “can lead to excessive fluid and gas accumulation, resulting in bloating, abdominal pain and distention.” (Suma & Lembo, 2012)
As you may have already guessed, these are the foods we love as foodies. The list of high FODMAP foods includes asparagus, leeks, legumes, garlic, celery, apples, pears, peaches, dairy products, rye or wheat breads and alcohol! So basically, anything that makes food worth eating.
Good times, right?
What happens with food sensitivity is because your abdominal organs can be sensitive to certain foods, eating the culprit foods can trigger sudden, irregular tightening of the muscles. That’s how food allergies, intolerances or sensitivities can lead to painful abdominal cramps.
The good news is you don’t have to suffer for the food you love. Unlike other pain relievers, Buscopan® is meant for this exact type of pain. It is specifically designed to relax those tight, cramping muscles in the stomach, intestine and bowel thereby relieving the muscle spasms and the associated pain.
Buscopan® is available from your pharmacist without a prescription. To learn more, check out www.stomachcramping.ca or speak with your pharmacist.
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Buscopan®, but as always, the opinions shared are my own.
