Eating certain proteins can cause you to develop stomach pain. Proteins are the cause for food allergy reactions and food intolerances, both of which can lead to stomach pain. If you notice that every time you eat specific foods you develop stomach pain, call your doctor for further evaluation. Stomach pain may be related to a chronic digestive condition, such as irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn's disease. Do not modify your diet without first talking with your doctor.
Food Intolerance
Food intolerance is caused by the inability to digest certain proteins found in foods. When you eat food, your stomach secretes acids to help break down and begin digesting the food. The partially digested food moves into your small intestines where the lining of your intestines produce certain enzymes that break down the proteins and sugars in the food so they can be effectively absorbed into the blood stream. If you lack certain enzymes, proteins from specific foods may not be fully digested. This can cause inflamed and irritation to develop, leading to stomach pain, gas, cramping and diarrhea.
Food Allergy
Food allergies affect about four to eight percent of children and about two percent of adults in the United States, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Food allergies are a hypersensitivity to the proteins found in food. Unlike food intolerances, food allergies are not caused by a digestive defect but are an overreaction of the immune system. The most common foods that cause an allergic reaction include wheat, fish, milk, soy, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts. Food allergies cause stomach pain along with other symptoms, such as hives, skin rashes, sinus congestion and asthma.
Challenge Diet
An effective way to identify which food proteins are triggering your stomach pain is to implement a challenge diet. A challenge diet needs to be performed under your doctor's supervision. On this diet, you will remove all suspect foods from your diet for two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, you will add each food back into your diet one at a time. Keep a food log detailing what you eat, how much of it you eat and how it affects your body. Discuss your findings with your doctor.
Consideration
Once you are diagnosed with either a food intolerance, a food allergy or a chronic digestive condition, you will need to avoid certain foods. For example, if you're diagnosed with a milk allergy, you will not be able to ingest any food or beverage that contains even a small amount of milk proteins.
