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.

Fatty foods sometimes go right through me, and I have a slight allergy to refined wheat products.

I ate a piece of veggie pie yesterday and my poo is still slightly explosive. If I eat white bread/baked goods I get an itchy anus. Nice! So I try to avoid these things, but sometimes I really fancy a pizza.

go to the doctors and get a celiacs test.

I did eat a few slices of sourdough toast weeks ago and no issues.

Just dont tend to eat bread as not much of a fan. I do like fat though - cheese, olives, nuts, etc and dont have issues with that thank god.

Whatever i ate yesterday has caused some moderately painful inflammation. If i touch any part of my git area or torso it feels like ive been kicked by a small horse It isnt a huge deal, but would prefer to find out and avoid it in future!

gut area haha

Yes, I'm ok with sourdough also.

A lengthy break from things like wheat or dairy can be a bit like kill or cure. Sometimes it gives the gut time to repair and on reintroduction all is fine but often the opposite occurs and it can be a total no no. Sourdough made with a traditional starter is different to regular bread and why that might have been fine in moderation over the time when you had basically cut out most wheat.

Thanks.
Im also safe with ryvita. Eat it every few days with cream cheese, egg and avocado, delicious!
I think that's just rye flour though.

Other than that a usual meal for me is either fried sea bass with lemon butter, broccoli and asparagus. Or baked chicken with my own pesto or harissa, with veg, sometimes a few seasoned small potatoes. For snacks i eat cheese, nuts, etc.
I eat garlic a lot, most it does is give me hilarious wind.

I have had the inflammation in the past quite a bit and put it down to booze or stress. Perhaps it was wheat? Not had it like this for a long time even though i still enjoy my occasional tipple of single malt.

Part of me would love to do this experiment.
But then I think life is too short.

I did start eating meat again after many years without (like.... 5 yrs without) -- zero side effects.

completely quit processed food
OP: how did you define "processed food" and how hard did you find that? I am greatly curious.
Were pasta, tomato puree, olive oil, cheese, yogurt, roasted nuts, bagged spinach, bread made outside your home -- all too processed for you? What was left?

wait... you eat cream cheese? Do you make your own ?
Coz it's definitely processed food if you don't make your own, and maybe even if you do make your own.

These ryvita?
those are processed.

cheese & olives are definitely processed foods

Slightly processed food is ok, it's highly processed food which is the one to avoid/ eat only occasionally.

Fortunately my gut hates highly processed carbs, and provides a reminder if I have them.

@ConfusedParticle

Shop pizza does the same to me, take away even more (homemade is fine and the posh wood fired ones from the pub are fine go figure) I think it's to do with the yeast myself. Shop French bread also has the same effect but I can eat sourdough, wholemeal or rye

@ofwarren

Food processing aids is basically stuff that is not good but alters the food often in order for it to be the correct constancy to be processed in bulk. There’s loads of them and they don’t need to be linked by law although they are in food. There’s other categories of things in our food that eat without knowing, such as additives that are in an ingredient if processed food don’t need to be listed if they don’t ‘technically’ alter the final product.

Here’s some official definitions:

Food Enzyme [taken from Article 3(2)(a) of Regulation 1332/2008]

‘Food enzyme’ means a product obtained from plants, animals or micro-organisms or products thereof including a product obtained by a fermentation process using micro-organisms:

(i) containing one or more enzymes capable of catalyzing a specific biochemical reaction; and
(ii) added to food for a technological purpose at any stage of the manufacturing, processing, preparation, treatment, packaging, transport or storage of foods.

Processing Aid [taken from Article 3(2)(b) of Regulation 1333/2008]

‘Processing aid’ shall mean any substance which:

(i) is not consumed as a food by itself;
(ii) is intentionally used in the processing of raw materials, foods or their ingredients, to fulfil a certain technological purpose during treatment or processing; and
(iii) may result in the unintentional but technically unavoidable presence in the final product of residues of the substance or its derivatives provided they do not present any health risk and do not have any technological effect on the final product.

Carrier [taken from Point 5 of Annex 1 of Regulation 1333/2008]

‘Carriers’ are substances used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or a flavouring, food enzyme, nutrient and/or other substance added for nutritional or physiological purposes to a food without altering its function (and without exerting any technological effect themselves) in order to facilitate its handling, application or use.

And I wouldn't count processed meat, breakfast cereal, white bread and pastries in the same category as cheese or milk.

Cheese and milk are daily/several times a week in moderation for me.

White bread, breakfast cereal, pastries, processed meat - once in a blue moon.

There's a difference between processed and ultra processed.

My money is on the yeast.

This is a bit better I think:
www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/what_is_ultra-processed_food

Could have been the yeast or the wheat. Less likely to be the rapeseed oil but it's always possible.

But more likely to be the combination. There's something about processed food and the combination of fats with carbs that doesn't happen 'in the wild'. That's why we get so fat on them.

Or, did you eat very quickly?

I cannot eat conventional wheat products. I can eat organic spelt, & organic "normal" style wheat products such as organic bread flour, pasta, bulgar wheat etc. If I eat normal wheat bread, pasta, couscous, cereal etc, it takes me up to a month before I'm free of pain, wind, bloating, toilet urgency etc. I've had several negative coeliac tests over the last 25 years.

I did the FODMAP exclusion diet last year & my only trigger foods were wheat (non organic) & figs. When I reintroduced the wheat my reaction was much worse than the symptoms I'd been having before I cut it out. I suspect if you're living with constant low level of inflammation or discomfort, your body gets used to it but you can't cope with a sudden shock to the system.

TBH I do also try to avoid processed foods as much as possible these days - partly due to the IBS issue & partly because I suffer from chronic migraines. Both have improved somewhat since I've sorted my diet out.

I'd say it was by far mostly likely to be the wheat. The other ingredients are absolutely normal - but the sort of bread in commercial pizzas is more likely to trigger a reaction, especially if you've only had the occasional sourdough type for months.

OP my diet is similar to yours, even the Ryvita (with Oats & pumpkin seed) except I don’t eat meat or fish or cream cheese.

I was having such bad Gastro problems I quit most processed foods. What I didn’t realise is how much better I felt until after I made a few more processed choices. Then I felt bad again and realised how much better overall I was feeling.

I didn’t want to give up pizza so have been having it one time per week - it leaves me feeling just as you describe, tender gut and painful cramping. I take digestive enzymes with it as well just to try to help the symptoms, they do help it not feel like a lump of concrete in my stomach but don’t help the sluggishness and pains. This week I’ve given up on the pizza, just not worth it. I don’t know what is in the pizza that is so awful but it isn’t in any of my other meals.

I too think it could be psychosomatic so decided “I am going to persist because this is a mental problem!” Hasn’t worked for me sadly.

It's probably the wheat but large amounts of fat can cause bloating as it slows down digestion so it could be that.

I'd say at least partly psychosomatic. Like that guy in Supersize Me getting all distressed by eating a Big Mac.

Another vote for wheat giving you problems. I stopped all wheat and gluten containing foods for a few years due to autoimmunity. I can't eat wheat now without feeling bloated, getting hot flushes, feeling a bit dizzy. It's an indication not to eat it! Also I no longer enjoy the taste of processed foods, having cut them out long ago. Tastes do change!

My vote is for the wheat, at least as far as the way it has been processed goes. I'm fine with bread I've made myself in the breadmaker and with most "bakery" bread and sourdough. Packet sliced bread often gives me gut cramps, bloating and the general fuzzy headed feeling that I'm about to descend into a migraine, though.

It'll be just because you've cut it out for so long.

I don't eat meat, though not veggie. At most I'm pescatarian I guess. Through choice as I don't really like the taste and texture. I don't like some very meaty fish for the same reason. So there isn't really any ethical decision behind it - as I say I like a lot of fish and also shellfish.

I have had a little bit of meat 'by accident' not that long ago. It was supposed to be a plant based meal and they gave me the wrong one. I didn't eat it all, only a small amount before we all realised.

Very quickly my stomach felt really odd. It was like my body couldn't process it or other richness of the meat. Took a good day or two to feel 'normal' after it.

My body just isn't used to it and so rejected it. Not because it was bad for me or because it was overly processed (it wasn't) but because it was a type of food I've rejected for so long.