# do salads make anybody sick



## genny (Jan 15, 2001)

I went to mcdonalds the other day and got one of those shaker salads that had ham, cheese, eggs, lettuce and tomatoes. Chef salad they call it. I had ranch dressing on it. A couple of hours later I started to get sick. Nauseous and than awful stomach pain. Lasted all night. Ended up taking levsin but that really didn't help much. Took pepto bismol and that seemed to help a little. Does anybody else have a problem with salads or lettuce? Could it have been the ranch dressing. I have to admit this is the second time this has happened so I figure no more of that salad for me.


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## Rhetana (May 14, 2000)

Lettuce is a problem for some people. A friend of mine who has Crohn's says that her doc told her that lettuce is one of the hardest things to digest. Apparently Iceberg lettuce is the worst and butter lettuce is the best. HTH,Rhetana


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## jenifer (Mar 1, 2001)

Oh my gosh, salads make me sick as a dog. When I first was diagnosed w/IBS, my doc told me to eat at least one salad daily and lots of fruits and veggies.I was nauseous all the time, threw up almost every day and noticed that salad ingredients were never really digested, if you get my gross meaning.If you're anything like me, stay away from salads, don't eat lots of oranges and ask them to leave out the cabbage when you order Chinese!







Jen


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, the dairy in the ranch dressing can all be problematic for some people with IBS.Even the eggs and the ham could cause problems as could the overall fat content of the mixture. With the right (or wrong) ingredients salads can have more fat and calories than alot of entree's.K. ------------------I have no financial, academic, or any other stake in any commercial product mentioned by me.My story and what worked for me in greatly easing my IBS: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum17/HTML/000015.html


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## Guest (Apr 6, 2001)

I used to love salads. But, the lettuce really gives me problems as does the skin on a tomatoe. Comes out undigested - ouch. You never know either with those fast food places, just how long the salads have been sitting. Bacteria probably just growing to beat the band. As for the dressings - the creamier - the worse the pain. Be careful and good luck.


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## Mannie (Jan 17, 2000)

Try a different dressing. A serving of McDonald's ranch dressing has 18 grams of fat. To put that in perspective, their small cheeseburger only has 14 grams of fat. That amount of fat alone would be a trigger for me. Try it one more time with the herb vinegarette or low-fat French dressing. If it still bothers you, than it is the salad itself.


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## Guest (Apr 6, 2001)

Man, as sick as I got, I wouldn't even experiment with another dressing. I found that both the lettuce and creamy dressings are triggers for me. My husband also. He doesn't have IBS like I do, but if he eats a MacDonald's salad, he has about 45 minutes to get home and get to the bathroom. Goes right through him.


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## GI Jane (Nov 10, 2000)

Lettuce doesn't bother me that much, but tomatoes are an absolute killer!!


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## Jleigh (Dec 8, 2000)

I love salads but everytime I eat one I have a bad day/night







------------------How long a minute is, depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on...


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## atp (Jan 18, 2001)

I like the fat-free French dressing at McD's..I'd give that a try. I love salads...but haven't eaten them much lately, because it seems like they can cause problems sometimes. I think a lot of it is how old the lettuce is and how long they've been sitting out, that sort of thing. It's just hard to risk it sometimes, but I miss that healthy part of my diet.I've gotten attacks before where you can see pieces of the salad in the toilet... eww!


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## gottogo (Aug 14, 2000)

I love to eat salads too. However for some reason if the lettuce is not shredded it bothers me. Our local grocery store sells bags of lettuce. Then they also sell shredded lettuce in a bag. When I have a salad with the shredded stuff it does not bother me at all. Go figure!


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## BettinaMarie (Mar 7, 2001)

I love salads but won't eat them if I need to go out later that day. The lettuce usually comes out undigested within 1-2 hours after eating - yuck.


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## Guest (Apr 6, 2001)

Well, I just noticed this thread after I started a new one on lettuce. I have problems after eating any kind of lettuce, especially head lettuce. I also think the preservatives in salads at restaurants set me off. I have given up buffets like Ryan's and Hometown buffet. Just not worth the agony in yes, about one to two hours, occasionally immediately after...


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## Guest (Apr 6, 2001)

I love salads. Its the one food I do truely miss but, too me its not worth the pain and frustration after. So I have avoided salads for about 3 years.


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## me3 (Jul 21, 2000)

I can eat Romaine lettuce but not Iceberg. Iceberg is the kind you get in most burgers and in boring restaurant side salads. There was a posting a while ago on the "veggie wash" product they use commercially being a trigger for IBS. Maybe try a search, but I don't remember what the product is called, sorry.


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## jessicagladys (Sep 17, 2016)

This is SO old so I doubt anyone will see my reply but...I randomly can not eat lettuce anymore. I was fine before but these last couple months I can not digest it at all. I'm instantly sick when I eat it and throw it up undigested. I've switched lettuce and salad dressings but still can't keep it down


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