Stomach cramps after a meal can result from a number of causes, including immunologic disease, gallstones and infection. The seriousness of these conditions varies, as does their diagnosis and treatment. So, if you're having stomach cramps after eating, you should see your doctor, who will ask appropriate questions, perform a physical exam, and likely order laboratory tests or imaging to determine why you are experiencing these symptoms.
Diet
Your diet can lead to stomach cramps in a number of ways. First, you may be consuming food that your body is unable to digest properly. This is the main cause of stomach cramps in diseases that include celiac disease and Crohn's disease. Second, you may have a condition known as biliary colic, or gallstones, which can cause stomach cramps following fatty food. Finally, if you eat a lot of uncooked food, or poorly-washed vegetables, your stomach cramps may be due to an infectious process.
Celiac Disease
Celiac disease occurs when your body is unable to digest gluten, which is a protein found in rye, wheat, and barley. Rye, wheat and barley are, in turn, found in a significant proportion of the foods people eat. If a person with celiac disease consumes food with gluten in it, an immune reaction against gluten protein causes abdominal pain, bloating, and changes in bowel habits. Celiac disease diagnosis is relatively straightforward, and treatment involves avoiding foods with gluten.
Crohn's Disease
Crohn's disease is one of the two conditions grouped together under the term "inflammatory bowel disease." Ulcerative colitis is the other. Crohn's is presumed to result from immune-mediated destruction of your gastrointestinal tract, although the precise cause of Crohn's is unknown. Common Crohn's symptoms are abdominal pain and diarrhea. It's important to be diagnosed, if you have Crohn's, because complications include intestinal obstruction and perforation, both of which can be fatal. Treatment consists of immune-dampening drugs.
Biliary Colic
Biliary colic, or gallstones, usually presents as crampy upper right quadrant abdominal pain after a fatty meal. It is more common in overweight, middle-aged women. Biliary colic itself is not dangerous, but it can lead to infection or a perforated gallbladder, so the recommended treatment is usually surgical removal of the gallbladder.
Food Poisoning
If your stomach cramps came on rapidly, and other people who ate the same meal as you are also sick, you may be suffering from food poisoning. Food poisoning is typically the result of eating food that has been colonized by Stapholococcus aureus bacteria. Staph aureus produces a toxin that is released into the food you eat and causes rapid-onset gastrointestinal upset, including nausea, diarrhea, and cramps. The illness is self-limiting, and in most people will resolve with rest and fluids in a matter of days.
References
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse: Gallstones
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse: Celiac disease
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse: Chron's disease
- CDC: Staphylococcal food poisoning
- "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine"; Anthony S. Fauci, Eugene Braunwald, Dennis L. Kasper, Stephen L. Hauser, Dan L. Longo, J. Larry Jameson, and Joseph Loscalzo; 2008
