Stomach cramps with diarrhea and after eating | Stomach cramps with diarrhea

Stomach cramps with diarrhea and after eating

After eating, gastrointestinal complaints such as stomach cramps and diarrhoea often indicate that a component contained in the food is the cause. It may be that food contaminated with pathogens was consumed, which causes food poisoning. This must be contrasted with food intolerances or allergies, among which lactose intolerance or coeliac disease (gluten intolerance) is one of the most common manifestations.

In both cases, the symptoms appear with a certain delay, which can range from minutes to hours. However, not only food components are among the possible causes. If the symptoms occur after every food intake, regardless of the food contained, this rather speaks for a functional disturbance of the gastrointestinal motility.

Other rare but not harmless causes of food-related stomach cramps can be stomach ulcers or gallstones. In these cases, the symptoms occur immediately after eating, without delay. Stomach cramps caused by gallstones can be distinguished from pain caused by stomach ulcers, as they are located on the right side of the stomach rather than in the middle of the upper abdomen and occur particularly after eating fatty foods. Another cause of stomach complaints, especially in combination with flatulence, after eating can be irritable bowel syndrome, as described below.