HealthCentral: Why You Feel Nauseous After Eating
HealthCentral recently interviewed gastroenterologist Mark Pimentel, MD, executive director of the Medically Associated Science and Technology (MAST) Program at Cedars-Sinai, about why some people experience nausea after eating and how to best treat the condition.
Pimentel said there are many reasons people could feel sick to their stomach after a meal.
“If you have nausea and a little bit of discomfort in the upper right side of the stomach, that could be your gallbladder, or maybe an ulcer,” Pimentel told HealthCentral. “If you get just nausea after a meal and you take an antacid and it goes away, that’s probably reflux disease.”
Pimentel explained that the stomach acid produced by eating can inflame an ulcer—a sore in the stomach lining—causing nausea.
“It’s sort of like putting lemon on a wound,” Pimentel told HealthCentral. “You get a stinging sensation, and sometimes that’s pain and sometimes it’s nausea.”
Pimentel said that gallstones in the gallbladder can cause nausea because as the gallbladder contracts during meals, it contracts against the hard stone, creating discomfort.
Other causes of nausea after meals include pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), pregnancy, food poisoning, motion sickness, a stomach virus and cancer treatments.
Pimentel told HealthCentral that even if an anti-nausea medication helps control symptoms, it’s important to see a physician who can determine the cause, perform diagnostic tests and recommend the best treatment option to control or prevent the nausea.
Click here to read the complete article from HealthCentral.