To be mystified by this pizza?

[ConfusedParticle]

Was a special day yesterday, so we did something a bit different and got a 'large, luxury pizza' from the supermarket. Their own brand, have had in past and previously thought delicious when my own toppings are added.

Now, for over 6 months we completely quit processed food, just to see what happened. We actually really enjoyed making stuff from scratch (sauces, dressings, everything!) so kept with it. During that time we did lose a bit of weight as a consequence and my IBS calmed a lot. It's often triggered by stress though so never 100% sure.

So we had this pizza, it seemed innocent enough, the only things in it that we would not normally see in our diet were rapeseed oil, Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin], acidity regulator (?), mozzarella, semolina and yeast

Within about 20 mins of eating it my gut felt like it turned to concrete and it was hard to bend, i felt sluggish and a bit achy for the rest of the evening. So did DP but in a lesser way. Certainly not unwell, but a marked difference to usual, as if digestive system was utterly insulted .
Today still a bit bloaty and stiff in the torso, like my soft tissue in this area is inflamed!

Nothing more to it, so din't think anything was down to allergy, but neither of us has eaten anything remotely like that for a long while. We had half each of 450g.
We always eat cheese, tomato, and the other toppings, so not sure it was that, but the thing was drenched in rapeseed oil as far as i can tell. Usually i use butter or extra virgin for cooking.

Could this be a reaction to the ingredients and this is how my gut always used to feel when eating processed stuff? Im quite surprised. But i havent eaten anything with wheat for so long now i guess i can't say.

Rapeseed is a pretty standard oil, I'd be surprised if anyone reacted to that!

More likely the wheat flour if you normally don't eat it. Are you generally low on carbs?

I'd probably be looking at these more than the oil:

Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin], acidity regulator (?), semolina and yeast

@JustWonderingIfYou

Rapeseed is a pretty standard oil, I'd be surprised if anyone reacted to that!

More likely the wheat flour if you normally don't eat it. Are you generally low on carbs?

As a result of how we cook now, yes - our carbs tend to come from veg. We tend to eat protein and veg mostly, losts of healthy fats like nuts, olives, avocado....the only bread i ever ate that i liked was sourdough but not had that for ages either.

Closest i have done is ryvita. We dont eat crackers or crisps or anything, but do occasionally enjoy miniature potatoes.

It might be that there are some psychosomatic factors at play. You've been purposely avoiding processed foods for several months so perhaps expected an adverse reaction before you'd even eaten the pizza.

@Classica

It might be that there are some psychosomatic factors at play. You've been purposely avoiding processed foods for several months so perhaps expected an adverse reaction before you'd even eaten the pizza.

interesting! Having had this very pizza in the past, i cant say i was expecting a reaction. i do believe these things happen though!

Food processing aids aren’t listed in the ingredients as they’re not food (and food companies argue they undergo chemical changes during processing which means they don’t need to be listed ) but we eat them.

If your body hasn't had processed foods for 6 months then it's gotten used to your new way of eating and it's basically gone 'wtf' after you've eaten the pizza:
(wtf and no thanks!)

I suppose i believed processed food was ok in moderation, i dont like to go too heavy on rules in that sense.

We went over to cooking from scratch purely because we liked it, rather than a health decision. It was a combined challenge and we weirdly managed to save some money.

Im quite shocked at the way i felt after, which i could accept might be psychosomatic, but we really weren't convinced this pizza was bad! I think i am possibly just affected by something in it, personally.

I used to feel this bloated and sore a lot in the past and always thought it was either booze or stress. Would never have thought it could have been my diet.

@CrystalCoco

If your body hasn't had processed foods for 6 months then it's gotten used to your new way of eating and it's basically gone 'wtf' after you've eaten the pizza: (wtf and no thanks!)

This. Best of continuing what you have been doing for the last 6 months. There is a lot to be said for cooking from scratch.

I’d say it’s possibly an intolerance to wheat.

And your system has now gone Wtf and no thanks as @CrystalCoco says.

My friend is currently writing a book about what she learnt changing her diet to help with a degenerative liver disease. It's absolutely scary what they get away putting in food and how they get away with it as @Franklyfrost mentioned above. She doesn't touch processed food now, and is far healthier for it.

Could it be the sheer volume of food?

Have you been cutting out bread or baking your own?

When I go from low carb to eating bread, my stomach gets very bloated.

I eat very few ultra processed foods. When I do I feel SO rough afterwards, exactly as you describe. A 'treat' is no longer a treat I bought an M&S posh pizza last week and was really looking forward to it, but felt sluggish, lethargic and like my whole digestive system had slowed after eating it.

It is probably the flour. By stripping out the bran and the wheatgerm, then grinding the remainder to a fine powder, your body processes it very differently to a whole grain (eg. boiled brown rice)

People shouldn't be scared by the "long words" in the ingredients though. Niacin is just vitamin B3, thiamin is vitamin B1. They legally have to add those (and the calcium and iron) back in to compensate for what is lost when they convert it from wholewheat to white.

But yeah, whole foods are much better for us so if you're used to those, probably best to stick to them. Maybe search "wfpb" for sites with suggestions for indulgent celebration meals which your body won't object to.

The dough was likely much more processed than making it yourself, as was the cheese for preservation.

Thiamine and Niacin are both B Vitamins. Calcium carbonate is a supplement for those who don't take I enough Calcium and it also can be used as an antacid and it can be Baking soda I use an antacid that is Calcium carbonate.
Iron is iron and Yeast is yeast. The only part I can't eat is the wheat and Semolina (gluten) But if that is all the ingredients then that was a pizza with a lot less in it than many. I bet it was a psychosomatic reaction.

prob the wheat and your body isnt used to processing it anymore

Thanks, possibly true about the wheat.
I would not have guessed though as i didnt think i had any food intolerances.

It is quite obvious though, that something effected a reaction yesterday. It's true that after eating it, it didnt feel like a treat. It's funny how much our perceptions can alter.
And yes we are continuing to eat unprocessed as usual, we do much prefer it now and are not trying to be holier than thou or anything.

As for portion size, we had 225g each, so 2 large-ish slices. Not exactly excess.

I've heard a few times that the reason so many people seem to have gluten intolerances is the way that they process the gluten nowadays - cheaper and easier methods I suppose. The same people go and eat bread made with more traditional flour made in a more traditional way are totally fine.
I wonder if you are just eating 'nicer' bread and doughs and this was a very over processed one?

I would just think it’s because it’s heavy bread / carb which your body has been without for a period of time.

Cooking from scratch is great (it’s what we do) but we still have carbs with rice / pasta / homemade pizza and bread. We have processed food every now and again because everything is fine in moderation but I can see why your body would react badly if you’ve been having zero processed food and carbs in your diet for a prolonged period

My friend gave up processed bread and gluten when she was pregnant as it was bringing her out in a rash. Tried to reintroduce and has ended up basically celiac. She can have spelt bread but generally the more processed it is the more she suffers. I do think bodies change once you cut something out. Another was breastfeeding a baby with milk intolerance so gave up too, and had to do the milk ladder to wean back on it.

I think it could be the combination of the high carbs and the wheat. Your body got adapted to not having it and it was a like when drug addicts go cold turkey off drugs - it doesn't take much for them to OD if they have the drug again.

Your body is tell you to not eat that, so listen to it. As if I do.

@FranklyFrost
What's a processing aid?
I've not eaten any processed food since Christmas to try and cure a flare up of chronic gastritis.

Give me the pizza instead, ta.