So I know a lot of people that refuse to enjoy a single plum or cherry because they are worried about getting bloating, indigestion, gas, wind, farts, etc. I assume from a past event where they have eaten a handful or more in one sitting and ended up with pain. I would like to be able to eat more in a sitting than I often do and I know more people in the same situation.
I have looked into some solutions but not found anything that is significant enough to share or rely on, so far the best I have found is fennel seed but it has a strong flavor. I suspect digestive enzymes that relate to sorbitol could help, or possibly probiotics of certain strains although I suspect wrong ones could worsen bloating. I find ripeness to have a minor impact, but some mainly with cherries.
Are there varieties of stone or pome fruits bred for better digestibility? Seems to me that more people would buy more fruit, higher sales etc, and research would go into this topic. Does anyone have experience with more or less gaseous varieties of the worst offenders?
My worst offenders:
Plums
Cherries
Asian Pear
Euro Pear
There’s a lot of good discussion going on about the gut biome, and I think it’s very worthwhile.
You gut is more or less populated by various beneficial bacteria that do a lot of the work of digestion. But those bugs aren’t universal to every human; they have been selected, and probably evolved, to feast on the diet they’re used to getting. As long as you don’t change your diet they’re relatively happy and cause you no grief.
But lay something different on them, especially something with lots of fiber and different sugars (I think) and they don’t know how to handle it. Bloat and poot are the result.
Evidently it’s helpful to gradually switch to new stuff, and it’s also helpful to eat foods that are rich in probiotics and bacterial activity. So yoghurt, kimchee, fermented veggies of all kinds like sauerkraut and so on will help.
Which reminds of the fellow that bragged to his doctor that even though he passed a lot of gas he was OK because it was silent and didn’t smell bad. He just thought he should tell the doc in case it meant something.
Doctor told him he’d check it out, but first he was going to take a look at his nose and schedule a hearing test …
Some humans are very sensitive to the various types of sugars… including frutose. Many that have IBS can get help via the FODMAP diet.
It helps you figure out exactly which ones bother you. You may be able to tollerate some fruits well when others cause you issues like gas bloating diarrhea.
Apples high in frutose… a Fodmap no-no for many…
Strawberries on the other hand have no detectable Fodmaps.
After 31 days eating meat only… strawberries were the first fruit I reintroduced.
Google or Youtube Fodmap… lots of info out there.
Many people have a limited ability to metabolize fructose. So eating a lot of any fruit or maybe even a moderately high amount of a high fructose fruit would cause intestinal gas in those people.
It’s not a fruit, but in my experience the worst offender is Jerusalem artichoke. People have trouble digesting inulin.
I can attest to the Jerusalem Artichokes. Up to a point I’m okay, like 2, but after that I am always feeling in eminent danger of turning inside-out. When we ferment them and make a kimchi out of them, (which is absolutely delicious), they don’t seem to have that effect. That’s my new favorite way of eating them .
I always get some GI distress when Asian pear season first starts, but it calms down after about a week of eating half a pear a couple times a day. Then I can eat 3-4 pears daily without such consequences.
My advice never eat jerusalem artichoke and onions together or you may not be as popular with the people who normally love you. There will be some gastrointestinal activity. They are both delicious but dont overdue it Jerusalem artichoke: A healthier alternative – HealthifyMe
that’s a great idea. never thought of that. i love kimchi and have a large patch of J.A. i have 2 jars i made of turnip kimchi. its awesome. growing Korean radish (mu) in my grow room to use for kimchi as well.
I think it is a question of overall volume, have you ever eaten a kilo or more of the worst offenders in one meal? I know many people think 1 or 2 fruits are filling… I don’t have much issue until a larger volume which I do test my limit every year. IE: 12-15 pears of medium size, 2 kilos of ripe cherries, or maybe half a kilo (1lb) of plums. Do you know your limits?
I appreciate the tips like with putting Jerusalem artichoke in kimchi, and the FODMAP. @TNHunter@EliindaUP
I think there is a lot for us to learn and benefit from with gut biome @marknmt I’d like to imagine in the future a enzyme/probiotic pill people could take at the start of fruit season to help kickstart their digestion. Maybe a kimchi or some ferment with that specific fruit in it would do the trick also.
From what i have read Sorbitol is a main cause for gas from fruits with people that don’t have any other digestive issues like IBS.
I could plant a Topstar as i have Haganta already and do a trial to see if one causes more or less gas, Hence the sorbitol levels correlate with gas I’d conlcude.
If you want to fart less then use your teeth wisely and all of their purposes… for mastication. And let the enzymes that are in your saliva break down carbohydrates and fats, cell walls etc.
If you want to fart more…then send the food down the hole faster. Bite a few times then swallow.
Antibiotics kill gut biome and after taking antibiotics you will fart more.
If you want to fart more…chew with your mouth open…allowing more air into your swallowing of food.
So if you want to fart less…take your time, chew your food, let the enzymes do their job. Chew with your mouth closed and enjoy.
If you want to win a farting contest do the opposite.
Your question changed the discussion scope. On your initial post, you were talking about eat hand of fruits. If you want to find out the limit that is a different discussion. Unless it is for competition, why a normal person want to find the limit? Do you find how the Max. limit of how much water you can drink a day? Do you find how many pound of bread to eat a day? Do you find how many heads of lettuce you can eat a day… Normal people let the body tell them how much food is enough for a sitting and not focus on how many pounds of the food they can eat.
The discomfort gas/pain could cause by food allergy. Certain people allergic to certain food for sure, but tolerance level can change along the age, body conditions etc. Some people develope more allergic reaction toward otherwise none-allergy cause food while aging, some do the opposite.
Discomfort can cause by lack of certain enzymes in digest system, or something else.
Any food eat in large Qty can cause discomfort. let your body tell you what to eat, when to eat , and how much to eat.
I like your focus for staying on topic in a thread, I don’t mind so much being fluid and restarting in new threads or editing the main post if too many comments are somewhat pointless or off topic. Sure people don’t think in pounds or kilos and daily consumption… I am just trying to clarify with numbers and share that info while also sharing that I think you are not so different. I think anyone that enjoys a fruit will eat it in abundance when there is abundance esp. if they taste good and then that is how they listen to their body and find a upper limit. I like to find the limit because i like to grow a lot and eat a lot of homegrown food so i can avoid pesticides etc from purchased foods. Tree fruit is a relatively easy and sustainable source of human nutrition except when that results in indigestion.
I think I could summarize my thread goals in this statement to help you not focus on possible misdirecting of the thread… : Increasing the amount of fruits that one can eat before experiencing gas or discomfort. This can be through various methods, i think finding cultivars that are less prone to causing issues would be ideal, influence gut biome also good but not as easy.
Developing allergic reactions with age is a new point you have brought to my attention, I will look into that.
One thing people should know about pears is that they are high in sorbitol.
If you are restricting your sugar intake, consult your doctor or nutritionist before binging on pears. But sorbitol is used as a sweetner in sugar-restricted diets because it isn’t digested the same as fruit or cane sugar.
Pears are too expensive at the store for most people to experience this, but those of us growing our own pears eat a lot of pears and experience this.
Pears can be a strong laxative. Prune plums must also be a laxative – forget must, they are, and I experience this in peak plum season.
Another fruit affecting digestive health is quince. I grow Russian Quince in Zone 4, and they never ripen enough to eat them raw although I have shared them with a work colleague with family members from Central America, and they eat them raw. I bake them into a custardy sweet-tart goodness. Without getting graphic, pectin is good for “digestive health” but in a different way than pears and plums, and quince are rich in pectin, which is a gelling agent used in making jams and jellies from other fruits.
Let’s say that quince “promotes your natural regularity” in the same way that eating a lot of whole-grain fiber does.
