Stomach crampsafter eating are the absolute worst.
So if you get stomach cramps after eating, youre probably determined to make them stop ASAP.
First up: Is it actually your stomach that hurts?
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This part of your body is technically your abdomen.
(Check outthis diagramfrom the Mayo Clinic to get a better idea.)
Its no surprise, then, that figuring out exactly what hurts in this general area can be tricky.
Or how digestionshouldwork when everything goes according to plan.
Your body employs multiple organs to turn the food you eat into energy.
First, though, this all starts with one bite.
The first organ the newly chewed food encounters after this is thestomach.
The walls of the small intestine absorb the extracted nutrients and water, which move into your bloodstream.
Even getting to this pointcan take an impressive six to eight hours.
Try not to think about that at lunch.
Now, heres why you might be dealing with abdominal cramps after eating.
Youve got the anatomical and digestive basics down.
Heres what might be up with your abdomen:
1.
You might have eaten more than your stomach could handle.
Experts say this tends to be the most common cause for this specific punch in of discomfort.
This stomach stretching can also happen because of the bacteria in your G.I.
That stretch in some people causes pain or cramping, she explains.
Eating past the point of fullness on some occasions can actually be part of having anormal relationship with food.
So, seriously, no judgment here.
You might have a food intolerance.
And keep in mind that different people can be intolerant to the same food to different extents.
You might have a food allergy.
Afood allergyis a step up in severity from a food intolerance.
You might have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Its not clear exactly what causesIBS, but there are a few theories.
This can manifest in a few different ways.
You might have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
(As you could tell, Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis can have pretty similar symptoms.)
If your abdominal cramps are making life miserable, make a run at talk to a doctor.
Treatments for the above issues can vary wildly.
But its not actually [addressing] the underlying problem.
Ultimately, if getting abdominal cramps after eating is affecting your life, its time to consult the professionals.
Trust your gut when it tells you somethings wrong.
