What's the best way to get rid of abdominal discomfort that feels like a lot of pressure under the breast bone? I experienced intense pain after a large meal and it's been days and still hasn't left.  The pain isn't there now but the discomfortig pressure is.

I thought it was stomach lining irritation but now I'm not so sure?

Thanks for your input.

Club soda.

Debra

For the short term, go for some nice long walk, ideally up and down hills.  
Lie on your back and do this:
Clasp your hands around your right knee and pull it as close to your stomach as you comfortably can.  Hold it there while you breathe deeply, especially breathing out deeply.
Then lower that leg back down and repeat with the left leg, making sure that when you exhale, you breathe out completely.  This massages your insides.
Then do the whole thing again with both legs held together.
If you want to, you can repeat the process.
Then roll over on your right side for a minute, and roll over to your left side for a minute.
Then get on hands and knees and relax, so that your internal organs can hang loose.

If you have a rebounder (mini-trampoline), bouncing on that for a few minutes will move things along.

A cup of strong peppermint tea may help.

Roasted Dandelion root tea will stimulate your bile production, and help your digestion.

For the long term, are you eating gluten or sugar, or anything else that may not be compatible with your digestion?  Cows milk?  Avoids?

There has been an intestinal "bug" going around, and I'm just getting over it.  That could be what is going on with your belly.

Thanks for your reply Victoria.  I was hoping you would respond since your advice comes from experience.

I have been eating cow's milk yogurt and sheep feta for the past 6 months.  My naturopath told me to get off the yogurt and not to eat protiens with starches and eat fruit alone.

Also, she took me off the enzymes I was on and hopes to heal my gut through food combining.

I will try your breathing excerises.  Thanks.

Also I do want to go back on plant enzymes since this seemed to help me in the past but my Naturopath doesn't seem to think it's necessary if I stay away from gluten and dairy.

She also has me on Saccharomyces Bouliardi and I took one pill last night and my stomach tightened up from the gas I guess.  Anyway, none of that at night.  I then had a bit of oatmeal to soothe my stomach and I was able to go to sleep.

My digestion flares up occasionally do to large food amounts, too much fat or inproper food combining.  

I really just wish I were not so sensitive.

Ginger might give some relieve [powder or tea].

Helps me with indigestion.

My B husband has trouble with fats.  Maybe if you eat a large meal you could watch the amount of fat that's on your meat.  My husband has to trim all the visible fat off, he doesn't eat any type of gravy that I make, and he goes light on nuts.  Makes him feel sluggish if he has too much.

Are you sure it's induced by a large meal, or is there something in that meal in particular that bothers you?

Digestive sensitivity seems to be worse in B nonnies than in B secretors!

My approach to the dairy was different that yours.  I cut out the sheeps feta just because bacteria in cheeses can make IBS worse.  Even though it's the cheese that I WILL eat if I'm going to eat it at all, I do much better with no cheese.  Feta has become an occasional treat instead of a regular staple.

Cow yogurt left my diet many months ago, and it proved to be a very important move.  I think the cow dairy is not something that I have any business eating.  Goat yogurt, on the other hand, is a daily staple, and does great things for my gut.  So I have not given up yogurt.  

I don't eat oats because they seem to give me an acidic condition.  The only grains I eat are soft millet a few times a month, and one toasted rice cake each day.

I also have felt much better since I cut down on oils and fats.

I'm curious Victoria, how do I put on weight?  I have lost a lot since doing this B eating lifestyle and since my stomach has been inflamed, it's even worse.  

My Naturopath told me to cut out all dairy and as for oats, I can't eat much of that either.  What do the grains do to you if you eat too much? I love rice and my cereal for breakfast.

it your stomach is inflamed then yes I would cut out dairy till it gets better...if it hurts after large meals I would incorporate some organic apple cider vinegar with warm water twenty minutes before a meal.

if you tend to eat fast, trying slowing down and chew a bit more before swallowing

try starting breakfast off as your largest meal of the day and taper down from there where dinner is your smallest

Thanks Mike for your advice.  I have had a few flare-ups like this in the past but hate feeling drained by it.  I guess dairy and I have to part ways.

Luana

Quoted from luanaflacco

Thanks Mike for your advice.  I have had a few flare-ups like this in the past but hate feeling drained by it.  I guess dairy and I have to part ways.

Luana

for now...no reason you could go back...yogurt is where you would start

Quoted from luanaflacco

I'm curious Victoria, how do I put on weight?  I have lost a lot since doing this B eating lifestyle and since my stomach has been inflamed, it's even worse.  

My Naturopath told me to cut out all dairy and as for oats, I can't eat much of that either.  What do the grains do to you if you eat too much? I love rice and my cereal for breakfast.

Are your digestive problems chronic?  If you are not digesting well, you won't be assimilating nutrients efficiently and this could be causing the weight loss.  If this is true for you, then healing your gut will be the first step.  

Increasing the amount of ghee that you eat would help you gain weight and heal your gut at the same time.

How compliant are you with the nonnie program?

Victoria,  I would consider myself pretty compliant for the past year.  Once I found out 5 months ago that I was a non-secretor, I have paid more attention to my protien requirements.  However, I have a difficult time cutting down on the grain part because I need the bulk and lots of fiber to stay regular.  As soon as I cut it down, I get constipated.

I have cut dairy milk out of my diet this summer but not cow yogurt.  I tried the goat yogurt but hated it.  What is the best way for me to get my calcium now other than in a bottle.

I stopped the ghee after I threw up a few weeks ago from too much oil in my meal.  This started the inflammation proccess in my digestive tract.  I was pretty good before except for some mild colitis.  I tried almond butter the other day and almost threw up so I am still inflamed.  

I am presently taking Polyflora B in the morning and my NPath wants me to take Saccharomyces Boulardii, which I take 1 a day with a meal so it won't irritate my stomach.  She wants me to increase it gradually.

I am instructed to drink lots of slippery elm and marshmallow root tea.  Also, do 30 minutes a day of Castor Oil packs on my stomach.  

I do have ghee in the fridge - is that considered a dairy?  

Thanks Victoria,

Luana

luana,

Do you have the Blood Type Encyclopedia?  If you don't have it, you really should get it.  In so many ways, it really is possibly the most important health book ever written, in my humble opinion.

Anyhow, according to the BTE, the following dairy foods are actually avoids for B's:

1) American cheese,
2) blue cheese,
3) camembert cheese,
4) emmenthal cheese (whatever that is),
5) ice cream (a big one!),
6) jarlsberg cheese,
7) monterey jack cheese,
muenster cheese,
9) provolone cheese,
10) string cheese, and
11) swiss cheese.

So, that's a lot of avoids for B-nonnies like yourself.  I would suspect that the reason they're avoids is that they're either high in carbs, or prone to extra microbial contamination and/or spoilage, which stresses out the already-overstressed immune system of nonnies anyway.  For certain, the extra blue mold or whatever in blue cheese would support that theory.

luana,

I also have found great, great success with drinking one or two tablespoons of walnut oil a day.  It really energizes my body quite a lot.  You might try that, and see if it doesn't cause you any GI upset.

calcium content
Calcium: 1249.56 mg
* Salmon
  * Tofu
  * Rhubarb
  * Sardines
  * Collard Greens
  * Spinach
  * Turnip Greens
  * Okra
  * White Beans
  * Baked Beans
  * Broccoli
  * Peas
  * Brussels Sprouts
  * Sesame Seeds
  * Bock Choy
  * Almonds  
Calcium is better absorbed with the consumption of protein, since protein will stimulate the release of IAP and IAP helps absorb calcium
it is needed more for overnight process in the body
just check which are compliant for you.

Thanks Lola!  I appreciate the list you gave me and will make sure to incorporate the foods for my type on a regular basis.

The support from this site has been wonderful and I thank you all.

Gotta love this site!!!

Quoted from luanaflacco

Victoria,  I would consider myself pretty compliant for the past year.  Once I found out 5 months ago that I was a non-secretor, I have paid more attention to my protien requirements.  However, I have a difficult time cutting down on the grain part because I need the bulk and lots of fiber to stay regular.  As soon as I cut it down, I get constipated.

I have cut dairy milk out of my diet this summer but not cow yogurt.  I tried the goat yogurt but hated it.  What is the best way for me to get my calcium now other than in a bottle.

I stopped the ghee after I threw up a few weeks ago from too much oil in my meal.  This started the inflammation proccess in my digestive tract.  I was pretty good before except for some mild colitis.  I tried almond butter the other day and almost threw up so I am still inflamed.  

I am presently taking Polyflora B in the morning and my NPath wants me to take Saccharomyces Boulardii, which I take 1 a day with a meal so it won't irritate my stomach.  She wants me to increase it gradually.

I do have ghee in the fridge - is that considered a dairy?  

Luana,
My experience is that while grains provide good fiber, more than a very small amount keeps my gut in a constant state of inflammation.  Then it leads to a cascade of rescue attempts such as sacc. b., slippery elm and marshmallow root.  What has helped me is increasing my intake of vegetables.  I eat a hefty amount of steamed or stir-fried veggies, plus a glass of fresh vegetable juice with a lot of the pulp left in.  Without those, I may become constipated.

If you do ok with the cow yogurt, you may not need to give it up.

I recommend ghee, but that doesn't mean huge amounts of fats.  It's better to start out small and work up to a few tsp/day.  It is dairy, but is a pure butter oil and is not a source of lactose or casein.  I would say keep your fat intake on the low side, but when you do eat it, stick with the beneficial ones, such as ghee for cooking and raw olive oil as a condiment.

I love polyflora B.  Make sure you take it on an empy stomach.  I have taken the sacc. b. at times in my life, but not since being on the nonnie diet for a while.  It can be helpful as a temporary measure when dealing with intestinal candida.

NAP has a fantastic calcium supplment made from a seaweed.  I take this even though I do eat yogurt everyday.

Thanks Victoria.  These are points I will consider.  

I'm a little late on this thread, but I find peppermint essential oil works wonders when rubbed on your abdomen.

You may consider pure oats or gluten free oats, if you start eating oats again.  They have no wheat in them, like all regular brands of oats do.  Cream Hill Estates and Gluten Free Oats are two brands for those, if I remember correctly.

I second the suggestion of NAP's seaweed based calcium, it really works and agrees with my digestion.  I get symptoms when I'm not absorbing calcium, and all other types I've tried don't get absorbed well for me.

Mineral water is great too, some of it has quite a bit of calcium and magnesium.