# How quickly can you have symptoms after eating a food?



## beckington (Sep 24, 2012)

I'm planning on going on a FODMAP elimination diet and have been keeping a journal of my food and digestive habits for almost a week now in preparation, so I have something to compare it to. Looking at my journal I'm quite suspicious of galactans. The past couple of days I haven't had much in the way of galactans as I normally do - not on purpose, just how it worked out - and my bowels have been pretty good. For lunch today I had a bowl of beans and three hours later I'm gassy, stomach gurgling, and I had loose messy bowel movement. Could the beans have affected my bowels so quickly? (I have had galactans in the past few days, including small amounts this morning, and also other FODMAPs that could be contributing.)


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## erinelizabeth (Jul 6, 2012)

In my experience it can really be based in your personal metabolism levels. I digest foods rather quickly so I can get symptoms before my next meal. 2-3 hours usually.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

If you are reacting to just the act of eating or the general characteristics of the meal, that can happen while you are eating to about an hour or two afterward.(so eating too big a meal, waiting too long to eat, too much fat in the meal, or you just react every single time you eat no matter what you eat).FODMAPs are more about making gas in the colon and that is more in the 3-5 hour range as the food has to get to the bacteria. Sometimes the gassiness will get the colon moving things along as well.Some FODMAPs can also pull water into the stool, and that would be when that stool comes out so from 5-6 hours to the next day depending on how fast your transit to the rectum is and that effect is when the stool from that meal comes out (and sometimes if liquid enough it can flush other stool out faster than usual).3 hours after eating beans sounds like about when they can get to the colon bacteria.


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## Korga (Sep 8, 2011)

I can develop gas from some foods almost instantly. Other things can take 2-3 days.


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## ishylynn (Jul 23, 2012)

Most take at least 12 hours for me, but can also be up to 3 days. But I noticed as I started to monitor my diet more, that there were smaller things I wasn't noticing I was eating to affect it each day, and so it made it feel like instant symptoms.


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## whiterose1713 (Feb 4, 2012)

Yes, I think the symptoms that seem instant are more about causing shock to your system which triggers the activity. I get this when I haven't eaten in too long and then eat something very quickly- the pain and gas I get from that is immediate and takes a long time to work its way out. It is possible, though, that your body is reacting to certain foods by releasing a digestive hormone that tells your stomach to release the chyme (chewed up food) into your small intestine too rapidly.


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