# A strange trigger - canned meat?



## Lorelei56 (Apr 7, 2014)

I thought for a long time that tuna was one of my triggers. Then I discovered that canned chicken set my colon to NASCAR speed as well. Now I eat baked chicken all the time and have eaten non-canned tuna without any symptoms. I'm thinking it's a preservative they put in the can that I'm sensitive to. Has anyone else experienced this?


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

I guess it could happen but... How are you preparing the tuna and chicken?? Some folks have trouble with things like mayonnaise etc.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

You could read the ingredient list to see if something in there is unusual.

Canned tuna can very occasionally be a problem for me, assuming that every once in awhile I get some that sat too long under inappropriate conditions. (Tuna and other fish generate histamine after death and so need to be chilled very quickly). I had a similar reaction to an allergy shot, so I'm fairly certain that was my response to histamine in the canned tuna.

But that wouldn't explain the Chicken.

The only thought along that lines is shortly after a bad penicillin reaction I was sensitive to things like blue cheese dressing with known natural antibiotics in it. I did have similar, but lesser, reactions to really really cheap turkey roll (institutional food grade turkey roll), and one thought was the less healthy turkeys were more likely to be in the more processes product as they don't have to look as nice as the ones you buy whole, or in recognizable parts.

But neither of those seem to be an every single can does it every single time sort of thing.

I also don't know if the preservative in canned food are significantly different from other foods. Do you eat everything else fresh and unprocessed?


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## lila99 (Jun 1, 2014)

Some canned tuna is packed in oil which might not be good for IBSers...not sure whether canned chicken can also be packed in oil? I can tolerate canned tuna that is packed in water...and use plain yoghurt as my 'mayo' when making tuna salad.


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## Lorelei56 (Apr 7, 2014)

Interesting suggestions, thanks! I don't have a problem with a little mayo - at least not the kind with no sugar added. I didn't know fish generated histamines - that's really useful information since I have allergies as well. I do eat processed ham (the kind you have to bake) and don't have a problem with it, but overly-processed food like Kathleen's turkey roll gets my colon angry. From this information I'm starting to suspect it's a preservative. I ate some canned salmon yesterday with no ingredients other than salt and water and didn't have a problem. I've eaten canned tuna with and without oil and it still bothers me.

Thanks for the information! Nice to have a place to come to and ask questions like this without people acting as if I'm crazy.


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## Luckilcious01 (Jan 12, 2018)

I'm starting to notice a pattern....ham off the bone...corned beef....smoked fish... (Not sure if it was the fresh or canned as I used both in a recipe) Must be all the nitrates...grabs my stomach pretty quick and send me to the bathroom pronto.


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