Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance

I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance & reflux. I, too, have the same problems. To answer your question, I stay away from apple skins and all pit fruits. They tend to stir up problems for me. However, I can eat strawberries & blueberries & enjoy them in a morning smoothing.

As for the reflux, my last endoscopy in Feb 2025, showed "chronic gastritis", so I'm learning to decrease my enjoyment of spicy foods, processed foods, sugar and alcohol consumption. It takes a lot of the joy out of eating, and especially socializing, but I seem to be able to keep things under control if I limit these foods.

I hope you will find a good balance.

@kayakandcanoe - welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Just wanted to let you know I moved your post here into its own discussion as I thought that non-celiac gluten intolerance was an important enough topic to deserve its own discussion. Glad to see you've already gotten some feedback from @dks.

I'd also like to invite @mgnunez75 @deborahwrites @ltarashuk @therjes @beebe @thomason @katytexas @jlharsh into this discussion, who may be familiar with non-celiac gluten intolerance and have some input for you, kayakandcanoe (but no worries, if not familiar).

Confirming that the fruits you mentioned are causing you problems, kayakandcanoe?

Kyakandcanoe
Sorry to hear you are suffering from digestive sensitivities, it sucks doesn't it? Fructose sensitivity is a more less form of fructose intolerance and might not show up on the test. My gut got messed up after a complicated appendectomy. I have read that any gastric surgery can set you up for food sensitivities (as well as age).
You might be able to tolerate some of the fruits you like in smaller amounts. I can tolerate 1/3 cup of blueberries per meal, which I have 3x/day as they are a great treat. Apples are a no go, as are peaches, watermelon, and blackberries. One blackberry causes stomach pain and any amount of honey.
What is weird about fructose sensitivity is you may not react to every fruit or the portion sizes you tolerate may be smaller than what the Monash University Fodmap program specifies as "safe". You also have to look at what else you ate at the meal. The fructose load can add up if you eat vegetables high in fructose and then try to eat fructose laden fruit. (ex. Tomatoes, onions, garlic, asparagus).
I use generic Walmart beano - equate brand- to help digest things like broccoli, cabbage, and beans. It seems to work really well for me. Don't buy Beano, it has an artificial sweetener which can cause bad intestinal gas.
Once I figured out gluten was an issue I switched to corn muffins and almond butter for a quick breakfast. Figured out that was bothering me too, it can be high in fructan's, another type of sugar. I have not been able to add any grains to my diet, those could be an issue for you too. A very small serving of quinoa causes gut aches and forget things like chia seed (both are high in fructans).
Oatmeal is also a problem, it is high in fructose and fructans.
Caffeine is a no go for me as is chocolate and any alcohol.
My husband is close to your age and has had to cut out gluten, dairy, rice, apples, and grapes. They cause him inflammation which is felt in his hands. He adds almond milk to his morning coffee to prevent acid reflux. His problem is just caused by an aging digestive system, has had no surgeries. I wonder how many people just take Prilosec and eat what they want, which of course has its own side effects.
Be patient and keep testing foods and portions, best of luck:)

@lisalucier Thanks for making my issue it's own discussion. Yes, the fruits I mentioned seem to bother me. I have a higher tolerance since I eliminated gluten from my diet. I got a very helpful response from @beebe, gave some very helpful advice but is not included in this thread. I wondered about the fructose test I was given. Since it was self administered I figured there was a lot of opportunity for errors. There seems to be a lot of peculiarities about these issues. For instance, apples do seem to bother me but I have gone to Crackerbarrel and eaten their stewed apples with cinnamon on several occasions and they don't seem to bother me.

@kayakandcanoe - wondering what kind of eating plan your doctor prescribed after you were diagnosed with non-celiac gluten intolerance?

@lisalucier
Yes they seem to. But what I really need to do is experiment more and do some food is eat foods for a day or so and then introduce one that might bother me. I think some don't but I often eat them in combination with others that might.

@lisalucier
The first Gastro I went to wasn't particularly good about followup. They did do an endoscopy and found no signs of stomach irritation or infection. Frustrating because the tests all seem to be negative. The new Gastro I am seeing is much more impressive

One last thought today is a pure speculation. Since evidence is mounting that so many gut and other conditions are strongly influenced by our gut flora, I wonder if a lot of this could be some type of gut flora imbalance? Never heard anything about this.

@beebe I'm 68 years old and struggle with digestive issues and reflux. There should be a cookbook for aging digestive systems. ...maybe there is? Do share if you know of any @lisalucier Do you have any suggestions?

@juliannm79
Sorry, have not found a cookbook for digestive issues. Since I don't tolerate gluten, dairy, most grain, and fructose cookbooks don't work for me. The recipes seem to always have garlic or onions, or some type of grain. On-line I search for recipes that are gluten free and go from there.
I'll check some of my recipes and see if I noted which websites they came from. Here is a link to a SIBO recipe website which also allows you to search recipes by other digestive issues: https://thehealthygut.com/recipes/
Happy hunting!