Can't digest carbs

[Empowers]

Fats are a good source of nutrition that make you feel full. Of course, you need the right kinds of fats.

You might want to look into a keto diet. But be wary because like all things that someone mentions, it has become a fad on the internet. If you truly cannot eat most any carbs, a doctor can help you feed your brain through a true keto diet. It has been used to cure severe epilepsy but it is a commitment. It had no carbs at all, that I am aware of. I think it's 60% fat.

If you don't want to be that drastic, try adding medium chain fatty acids like coconut oil (unprocessed). Coconut floor and almond flour is what we use around here and I make crepes, breads, I learned all that cooking from elanas pantry on the internet. She's got an insane amount of Paleo recipes.

[Luna*]

I'm really late to this 'party', but if there is anyone else still reading:

I eat LCHF/keto and have done for almost 2 years now. LCHF stands for Low Carb High Fat. I'm not intolerant to carbs or anything, but was overweight, sick and tired all the time and totally carb-addicted. I had pain and lack of mobility from osteoarthritis in my hip and fingers. That all cleared up with LCHF, which is an anti-inflammatory way of eating. I take a quarter of my previous hypertension meds now. I have much more energy and no pain now and this is why I continue to eat this way. It's scientifically sound and provides all the necessary vitamins, minerals, protein, fats and small amount of carb the body requires; not a fad thing. You do need to be all-in, the mistake people make is to only do it partially, which confuses your metabolism. You need to research it well and make sure you get what you need. As a nurse, I was highly sceptical, but sufficient scientific evidence convinced me.

I was also able to shed a lot of excess weight and my body seems to have stabilized at the weight it wants to be at. I don't watch how much I eat. I eat when I'm hungry, stop eating when I'm full.

Apart from not eating the obvious high-carb things like anything sugary, rice, pasta, bread and potatoes, there are other veges to avoid that are high carb. Fruit is out, it's full of sugar. Legumes and all grains are high carb, too. Generally all veges that grow above the ground are fine. Dairy, eggs, meat, fish, some nuts are fine. Plus you need a lot of *healthy* fats like butter, coconut, olive and other oils, though no seed (sunflower/canola) oils. This is what keeps you full.

Some people become fully fat-adapted, if their carb intake is low enough. That's not harmful, it's how we evolved to deal with famine. I'm not sure if I am in ketosis, but I seem to do fine on 40-50g of carbs a day. I can use some of that quota on a square or two of dark chocolate sometimes. You can bake bread with almond flour, as Empowers says. No artificial sweeteners, but there are natural sweeteners you can use.

It is NOT Atkins. Atkins was too protein-rich and bad for the kidneys. You eat a normal amount of protein on LCHF.

It's not for everyone, but it works very well for me, and if you are carb-intolerant, carb-sensitive or carb-addicted, it may be something to investigate.

[Lucky 1]

*Luna....for folks with your type of body chemistry and condition....you have absolutely nailed the right diet!

I couldn't agree more!

[Shivani Devi]

I just noticed this thread and I have exactly the same thing.

In my case, it is due to a lack of digestive enzymes, which cause gastroparesis and flatus after consuming a repast consisting of complex carbohydrates.

As such, foods like papaya and pineapple can help in breaking these carbs down, as they consist of naturally occurring enzymes.

I also take a supplement called Multigest Enzymes by BioCeuticals and that helps a bit, but the results are not spectacular.

The tablets consist of both cellulase and protease as well as bromelain (pineapple) and herbal constituents of fennel and gentian.

This is helpful to aid the digestion of stubborn carbs, however I recommend taking it with a liver tonic like milk thistle for maximum effect.

[Sapphirez]

complex carbohydrates and proteins are troublesome foods to digest, with an average of more than a few hours digestion time. Vegetables and seeds which can also contain protein or amino acids take a shorter time, and nuts would be better too but all nuts and seeds should be soaked before eating. ancient grains like quinoa, buckwheat and teff are actually seeds, not grains and might be fine options too. Fruits digest the quickest and are most restorative, regenerative and detoxifying, They also happen to be the food that mankind is most biologically and physiologically designed to eat, though at least one person in this thread who disagrees and hasn't logically examined the evidence might try to tell you otherwise. but you can see for yourself by comparing the structure of our bodies and bodily processes to other frugivore, herbivore, omnivore, and carnivore species and see which food makes the most sense from all standpoints for us to eat.

It's a blessing in disguise that your body is giving you trouble digesting complex carbohydrates, because they are not the best food choice. and although you may feel that your body is accepting dead animal tissue or products, internally it is turning you into acid, because dead meat is acidifying (as are complex carbohydrates actually, especially when cooked) and toxic in other ways. if it were healthy or healing, then eating it would be making your body better instead of worse, right?

even if you don't want to stop eating dead animals, forcing your body into ketosis as someone suggested above, is not a wise idea. it results in a sustained toxic state and stresses the body unduly.

The body doesn't like to work through complicated food sources like complex carbohydrates and proteins. it has to break them down into simpler components like the individual amino acids, and monosaccharadies (single sugars unlike starches which contain polysaccharides) which it has to break down these more complex foods into before it can even think about using them! Imagine what all that extra work does to the body. It creates excess acid, as do high starch and protein foods in general. just because we can shove it in our mouth or we don't die from it, doesn't mean it's actually supposed to be food for us or nourish and nurture us properly. The body likes simple foods like fresh fruits and vegetables which are still alive. It thrives off of multiple facets of these real foods. and they generally have a higher water content, which is specially structured water that hydrates our cells better. The body cannot hydrate its own cells when they are acidic. and not only do cooked starches and protein foods usually have a void of water content, they create the acidic environment so what is the point in eating them, especially when they tax the organs so much in addition to everything else they are doing? just because you feel fine consuming something doesn't mean it is actually helping you. it is doing damage on deep levels, and perhaps only makes you feel good because of certain suppressing or stimulating factors it has (like animal flesh has adrenaline or cortisol present and many people think they are being energized when it ultimately has an adverse effect after the initial rush)

The human body is designed to get whatever goodness it can out of what we put into it, but it also has to dispose of the badness and isn't always able to do that considering how deteriorated, damaged and poisoned most of our bodies are at this point. and that's generally caused by overly acidic things we consume. there is a balance the body must maintain and most people need no more acid inside! You can heal your body, but you have to pay attention to what your body really needs and is designed to ideally consume. Our bodies and physiological processes are most close to frugivore species, not even herbivores, though we are closer to them than carnivores or omnivores. We are unique of course, but we deal best with the most evolved food since we are such an evolved species.. dead flesh from other species is not the most evolved food though some might mistakenly think it is.. luscious juicy colorful ripe fruits are the most evolved food and they offer the most complex chemistry yet contain simple sugars our bodies utilize well. that's why most fruit only takes less than an hour to digest. starches and proteins can take 4 hours or more. We do have to be mindful of food combining though because you don't want to throw something quick-digesting with say a starch cuz then the quick digesting food won't be able to digest before the body starts trying to digest the other thing too. which makes foods start fermenting and putrefying and stuff! not a pretty picture and not necessary if we follow the body's simple desires and rules.
there are more rules about food combining but anyways, I hope that some of this makes sense for you. it's good that you aren't going to be able to eat a lot of complex carbohydrates, but it won't help you to turn to another toxic food source the body isn't designed to eat, even if you feel like your body wants it now, when you get yourself more cleared and detoxified (which fresh produce does naturally) then you will feel better and realize what your body really needs. You also might want to check out herbs, like fennel someone suggested and many others that can help heal and support you