runner's trots and food intolerance advice

In my case it was caused by cereals, breads.(gluten issue?)

you will have to analyze what you eat the day before etc.

I think you have a severe case of it, I have practice at 3pm so i would wake up 8/9am and eat a huge breakfast. Then not eat until after practice, it may not be ideal to train like that but it cured me of having any food in my stomach. Then after practice I would have a huge dinner.

But how long do you have to eliminate a food before you know it's the problem? I've been off gluten for almost two weeks, but there's no improvement. The only thing that really improves things is not eating for 12 hours before running, and even then, I sometimes have issues.

I never had this issue even with eating, but most days I only eat dinner (or two dinners). So, eat at 21:00, run at 15:00. I usually have an 18 hour time gap. For races and workouts, I eat something very light (200-300 calories) 2-3 hours before and have tons of energy. Light meals like that should not cause you stomach problems.

Don't think you're screwed for training if you have to eat light or not at all for hours leading up to the run.

I'd say that if you've cut something out for 5 days, then you should have a good indication of whether that thing's a trigger.

Thing is, it doesn't really work to just cut one thing at a time -- if dairy AND gluten are both problems for you, then just cutting one at a time might not help. I'd try eliminating all of your possible triggers, and then adding back in.

FWIW, my problem foods are dairy, wheat products, dried fruits, and chocolate, as well as too much citrus. Eggs are another problem for others, but have never given me trouble.

When you went gluten free, did you eat oatmeal? In many cases, that has enough gluten to cause problems.

Runner's trots is not caused by food intolerance or IBS. It occurs because running has a stimulant effect on the nervous system that causes the bowels to move in some people. The only way to prevent it is to empty the bowels BEFORE you run by using a stimulant such as caffeine. Try drinking a cup of coffee an hour or two before you start your run- this should stimulate a bowel movement the same way that the act of running does. If you get it out before you run, you won't have to go during your run. I used to have this problem severely, to the point that every workout was ruined because I had to take a massive dump halfway through. But the forgoing strategy works for me with 100% success. Try it.

Read the original post. I ALWAYS use the bathroom before I run. It doesn't matter. It's as if my entire GI system empties itself when I run. This is often loose stool or diarrhea--not waste products that are ready to be evacuated if only I stimulated my bowels with coffee. Also, running-induced IBS (and IBS in general) has been linked to food intolerances. In fact, the medical community knows very little about what causes IBS and how it can best be managed. I actually don't have symptoms when I don't run, so it's not typical IBS. There is some evidence that some IBS may be a gut-level immune reaction that is triggered by stress and/or food. I've done quite a bit of research on the topic (reading peer-reviewed medical journals, etc.)

Now, I'm trying to find out what has worked for other people in terms of symptom management, including how people have gone about identifying possible food triggers and how long foods had to be eliminated before improvment in symptoms.

I have this issue. I'm a ~70 mpw runner. I always, always go before I run, but I still have to stop during my run more often than not. On a long run, sometimes more than once. I've tried eliminating dairy and caffeine, and it seemed to help by about 50%. Eating bread and pasta is easily worth a 5 minute delay in my run each day, so I haven't bothered trying that at all. I've also tried taking immodium an hour before running every day. That helped a lot for a month or so, but I seemed to acclimate to it, and it lost its effectiveness.

I worried about this a lot for a long time. I ended up not running for a year or so partly out of frustration about this. My solution ended up being mostly just to accept it for what it is and manage it. Everybody has different challenges with running. This is one of mine (and not nearly my biggest). I plan my regular home running routes to have access to public bathrooms every couple of miles. I always take toilet paper with me for the rare emergency (or in case the cruddy portapotty is out of tp). I'm always aware of common sense stuff (eat light the few hours before a workout, stay hydrated, watch the caffeine and sodas).

Now I find it mildly annoying, but the training effect of stopping a couple miles into most easy runs for five minutes is minimal. It's irritating to have to stop in the middle of a workout, but I don't think the end effect is that large. If I feel like it has compromised the workout, I just adjust by adding another interval or reducing rest or whatever.

Really, compared to a serious running problem like a chronic injury that stops you from running, it's not that big of a deal. The biggest problem is when I'm running while traveling or with others. But I just manage them (take tp, intuit from maps where possible pit stops are, have a sense of humor about it with running partners).

Hmmm...thanks for all of the input. I accepted the problem in the past and didn't race because of it, but I'm convinced that there has to be a solution. I may try to cut out dairy (in addition to gluten)for awhile. It that helps, I'll probably get a celiac disease test. I actually e-mailed Tim Noakes b/c he wrote to JAMA in the 80s about two runners who solved their problems by eliminating specific foods. These two runners had GI problems only while running. Anyway, Noakes told me to go on a strict elimination diet, but it's really difficult. I just started some really strong probiotics, so I'm waiting to see what happens there. Thanks for the input!

Just a couple of questions for the OP

1. Have you considered fructose intolerance? (might be worth searching for a nutritionist)

2. Do you have any of these symptoms when not running? Or is it only triggered by running?

3. Have you considered a well defined IBS issue, such as ulcerative colitis/chrons disease?

Have you tried racing? FWIW, I've run probably a few dozen races over the past ten years, including a marathon and a couple of half marathons, and I've only ever had the problem during a race once, in a 10k. I just go a couple or three times before the race (at least once before leaving home and once after warming up at the race), and that and something about the race energy has almost always made me good to go. That includes the marathon and half marathons, even though it's rare that I finish any run over 12 miles in training without having to stop.

For me it was chronically low iron. My blood test showed I wasn't getting enough iron in my diet but was still in the "healthy" range (it was pretty low for a runner, but I wasn't anemic and I think my hemoglobin(?) was fine).

My doctor said I would be safe taking a supplement as long as I didn't overdo it, so I started taking the daily recommended amount and it eliminated about 95% of the problem. I think mostly it was because it causes constipation, but I found it was much more controllable and I even made it through the majority of my runs without having to stop. Still have to watch it, but it's much less of a problem. And I feel like I'm getting more air, so it was clearly something that needed to happen.

I've read that one possible cause is lack of oxygen to your intestines and bowels when you're running. I tested this on myself by slowing down slightly on my easy runs and breathing deeper, and found that it helped control the urgency of the situation. Simply slowing down didn't help. The deeper breaths helped every time. This was just before I started on the iron.

Metamucil the night (like around 630 pm) before a hard workout or race has helped me with this same issue.

List what your normal daily meals are before going gluten free and afterwards?

Brown rice is suppose to be a grain that most people are not allergic to, but I have a horrible time with it as well. I have problems with quinoa and oats as well.

My main source of carbs are now soft corn tortilla, potatoes, figs, beans, lentils.

I don't have symptoms when I'm not running, but I went to the doctor thinking that maybe I do have some sort of inflammatory bowel disease that is symptomatic only when my body is stressed. I keep getting told that this is normal and that I have IBS. I eventually asked for a GI consult, and I was told the same thing. I've never had any tests run on me to check for problems. I saw the nutritionist at my university (I'm a grad student), and she first suggested a low fiber diet (my fiber intake was pretty high at the time), then the gluten free diet. I've thought about fructose, but I haven't tried eliminating it.

I know that large doses of lactose are especially bad for running the next day, but my 3 day lactose elimination diet didn't help much. I've thought about fructose but haven't tried eliminating it yet. Maybe I need to try a bare bones elimination diet.

In terms of iron, I'm told it's normal. I have been taking a multivitamin for a few months now, but not separate iron. Since going gluten free, I've been eating brown rice, white rice, lots of corn chips and tortillas, garbanzo beans, sweet potatoes, salads w/honey, olive oil and lemon juice, rice checks, Luna gluten free protein bars, eggs, rice checks, bananas, and gluten free crackers. I sometimes put cheese on my salads and potatoes, but I've been trying to use lactose free milk as much as possible. Also, I put cream in my decaf coffee. I've been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 15 years.

Sorry to bring up this old thread, but I'd like to know if you ever found a solution to this problem. You described exactly what is going on with me.

Hi,

I am really sorry to ask but could you tell me if you ever found an answer I am really struggling and like in the first comment I have tried everything. I go to the toilet several times before a run. I keep well hydrated and I have eliminated food out of my diet. I do have IBS and its problematic outside of running. I dont however want this issue to stop me from training and (fingers crossed) completing my first marathon.

All advice welcome...

Hi,

I am really sorry to ask but could you tell me if you ever found an answer I am really struggling and like in the first comment I have tried everything. I go to the toilet several times before a run. I keep well hydrated and I have eliminated food out of my diet. I do have IBS and its problematic outside of running. I dont however want this issue to stop me from training and (fingers crossed) completing my first marathon.

All advice welcome...

Have you tried meat? I've found that I can not handle eating beef or anything of the sorts. The only meat I can handle is plain chicken and even then I have to watch how much of it I eat.