Eating is intended to be an enjoyable experience, but not if, when you eat, you develop stomach cramps and nausea. Stomach cramping and nausea are a common sign of intestinal inflammation resulting from irritation. If the cramps and nausea are a result of an isolated meal, you may have food poisoning. If you experience cramping and nausea often, you may have food intolerances or a food allergy. Talk with your doctor before attempting to treat your condition.
Food Poisoning
Food poisoning occurs when you consume a food that contains bacteria, viruses parasites or toxins. The most common foods that cause food poisoning are raw fish, raw fruits or vegetables that haven't been washed properly, undercooked eggs or meat, water that has not been treated, or any food that was prepared without the person properly washing her hands, according to MedlinePlus, an online resource of the National Institutes of Health. Symptoms typically develop within two to four hours after eating the food and will also cause vomiting, bloating, gas and diarrhea.
Food Intolerance
Food intolerance symptoms, such as cramping and nausea, will occur when you eat specific foods, such as wheat, dairy or eggs. Food intolerance is commonly mistaken for a food allergy, but both are very different conditions. When you ingest food, you body creates specific enzymes to break down the proteins and sugars in that food. If you have an intolerance, your immune system doesn't produce enough of the needed enzymes for that food, which leads to inflammation and swelling in the gut, according to the American College of Gastroenterology.
Food Allergy
A food allergy differs from an intolerance because of the cause. Food intolerance is caused by a malfunction of the gastrointestinal tract, while a food allergy is an immune system reaction to the proteins in certain foods. During a food allergy, the immune system mistakes the proteins as harmful substances and begins to attack them with IgE antibodies and histamine. Histamine is a natural chemical in the body used to protect it from infection. Too much histamine can lead to inflammation in soft tissue, such as in the intestines. The inflammation in the intestines will cause cramping and nausea within minutes of eating the food.
Diagnosis
Food poisoning is diagnosed by your doctor by running tests on your blood, stool or vomit to identify any known viruses, bacteria or parasites that commonly cause the condition. If you notice that certain foods cause nausea and cramping, your doctor may recommend allergy testing to diagnose the condition. Allergy test introduce the suspected allergen into your body using a skin prick test or blood test. If your body reacts to the food proteins by creating IgE antibodies, you have an allergy. If your body doesn't produce these antibodies, you may have a food intolerance.
