Anyone develop a meat (or other food) aversion after getting CFS/ME?

[Basilico]

My husband and I were talking last night about how we both used to love eating meat, but in recent years we've both developed an aversion to eating meat, which is kind of weird. We realized that this change coincided with us getting sick, and we were wondering if this is a common occurrence for others.

We've tried every style of eating under the sun from vegetarian to low-fat Paleo to high-fat Primal to avoiding lectins, nightshades, gluten, soy, dairy, the Perfect Health Diet, Ray Peat, GAPS diet, etc.... We've never seen a change in how we feel related to how we eat.

Have you developed any kind of food aversions (or change in eating habits) after getting sick?

 

[Diwi9]

@Basilico - I was vegan before and a few years into my development of ME/CFS. But, I've had the opposite experience, where I began to crave meat. I began eating meat again a few years ago (~3), but it can gross me out at times. Satiety remains a problem in general, and no diet variation seems to help.

 

[Wishful]

Meat--or specifically the fatty acids meat is rich in--did worsen my symptoms unless I took some carnitine with the meal. I could tolerate more beef than chicken, since beef has a fair amount of carnitine, while chicken has only a trace. Does the type of meat affect your response to it? That's assuming that your aversion is a subconscious awareness that meat makes your symptoms worse.

 

[me/cfs 27931]

When I've tried to follow a specific diet protocol by restricting or eliminating foods, I've invariably done worse.

Frequent small meals and a wide variety of foods work best for me. My diet loosely follows a mediterranean diet, because that's what I like to eat and feel best eating.

 

[Basilico]

Does the type of meat affect your response to it? That's assuming that your aversion is a subconscious awareness that meat makes your symptoms worse.

Meat doesn't make symptoms better or worse.

And it doesn't matter what kind of meat it is...we both really would just generally prefer not to eat it anymore, and would prefer to just eat high carb. We don't give into this because we need to keep blood glucose in check and ultimately I think that including meat in the diet is really important, but if we could eat whatever we wanted, it would be mainly dairy and starches and fruit.

@Diwi9 do you think your meat cravings were the result of CFS/ME or do you think it's possible that might have happened regardless? Do you think it was in response to some kind of deficiency, or do you think it was a brain chemical thing?

 

[Diwi9]

@Diwi9 do you think your meat cravings were the result of CFS/ME or do you think it's possible that might have happened regardless? Do you think it was in response to some kind of deficiency, or do you think it was a brain chemical thing?

Good question. I felt it was nutritional at the time as I did not want to consume animal products...but was so hungry no matter how much I ate. I started with eggs, then oysters...and felt so much better after consuming protein. Now I eat meat, especially beef, which we purchase from a rancher (grass-fed/pasture raised). My body composition changed too, I regained muscle. I like fish, and if my husband liked it more, I'd eat much more of it too. I do not eat meat at every meal and still enjoy vegetarian food.

 

[Bead Dog]

I've never really liked eating meat, even when I was a child it just grossed me out. If left to my own devices, I would eat high carb, nuts, dairy, vegetables. I do however eat some chicken and turkey for protein. SInce becoming ill, my digestion is way off and prediabetes and lactose intolerance has made eating a real challenge. I do best with small meals more often. Soups work really well for me.

 

[rosie26]

The only change I can remember clearly was having to put a teaspoon of sugar back into my cup of tea. I had been drinking tea without sugar for many years but could no longer tolerate tea without sugar once I had become very sick.

I experienced a lot of nausea for many years, different kinds of unpleasant stomach symptoms (feelings in the stomach) so I wasn't eating as well as I should have but whenever my appetite picked up I would eat a lot and get as much good food in as I could before the next lot of nausea. This last six months my appetite has been great and I have put on weight, which is pretty amazing after all these years.

I am now around 64kg and it's so good to feel a bit of fat on my body. Those of you who have found it hard to put on weight will know how thrilled I am. It's been a long time. Normally I could never hold on to any weight gain. I seem to be now.

There is something about my ME or POTS that has changed or it might be that other things have joined in, like menopause, blood pressure ( I think it is steadily higher than it used to be). I am still swinging moderate to severe with my ME though.

 

[Hip]

As the virus which appear triggered my ME/CFS spread to friends and family, it caused changes to some people's mental state, precipitating conditions such as generalized anxiety disorder and depression in people.

In addition, two people who were hit by this virus suddenly became vegetarian. In one of these persons the aversion to meat was so strong that even the smell of meat being fried was unpleasant for them.

 

[arewenearlythereyet]

I haven't had many changes to what I want to eat, apart from wanting more salty food and avoiding cheese (mainly due to its effects on me if I eat too much). I've changed my diet significantly since being ill but I wouldn't say anything has specifically changed from a desirable point of view. I would love to eat more cheese, wine, high carb foods if I could.

Lots of people report changes in cravings or aversion as a result of being ill or pregnant etc. Some of these are believed to come from real biological demand.

However there is also a fairly deep seated behavioural response to foods that are perceived as a threat. Some foods wrongly get associated with a bad experience etc. My personal one was drinking milk that had curdled in the sun at school (giving my age away) ...I can't bear straight milk now years later as a result. My bodies response was correct, I shouldn't drink off milk. However I now wrongly associate all straight milk with being a "threat". I enjoy yoghurt, cheese, cream etc, so my aversion to milk is an incorrect perception that it will do me harm. It is a powerful response triggered by the taste with gag reflex and everything. The problem is that once these aversions are set it seems quite difficult to shift. I know that this is stupid and I really should retrain myself to like milk again, but who wants to go through a series of vomiting episodes when it's easier to avoid?

From what I've read up on the subject, the biological reason for the reponse is to prevent your body consuming harmful toxic foods and may be linked to childhood development. it seems to be prone to going wrong though, which makes me wonder why?

 

[ukxmrv]

I eat far more red meat than before ME struck me out of the blue. Red meat seems to provide me with more daily strength and energy.

My diet has changed a lot since I got ME. I no longer follow or attempt to follow whatever are the current ideas on "healthy" eating. Also my stomach has been badly damaged through use of antibiotics, antidepressants and several bouts of food poisoning over the decades.

Within a couple of years of getting ME I could not longer eat whole grains or sulphurous veges without a bad stomach reaction as an example.

 

[frozenborderline]

i have had bad reactions to wheat and processed sugar since this disease. i still consume them from time to time but i will get dizzy and weird feeling...

 

[Skycloud]

I have an aversion to black tea since I relapsed 4-5 years ago, I was fine before that.