If it’s not your heart, what can be causing dizziness while you eat?
Eating should be an enjoyable experience, not something you dread because it causes you to feel dizzy.
Non-cardiac causes of dizziness while eating are many.
“One needs to remember that just because you are having gastrointestinal symptoms, does not necessarily mean that this is from a gastrointestinal problem,” says Michael Blume, MD, a gastroenterologist at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital, Baltimore.
He continues, “This is a nonspecific symptom and can be related to metabolic or neurologic issues.”
Getting dizzy when eating can have a number of causes.
Dr. Blume explains, “One can see this from problems involving abnormal gastrointestinal function, such as when one’s autonomic nervous system (the part of your nervous system that works without you thinking about it) — specifically the parasympathetic nervous system — function is abnormal, where one can get dizzy after eating.
“However, one often gets other symptoms along with this, such as feeling clammy, flushed, nauseated or having erratic bowel function.”
If dizziness during eating keeps happening to you, make an appointment with your physician.
This is not normal and needs to be evaluated. There is no known food that makes a person feel dizzy or causes vertigo while it’s being eaten.
Occasional dizziness when eating is probably not caused by eating or anything related to the GI tract.
Rather, it’s likely a coincidence in that whatever the cause of the symptom is, just happens to act up while you are eating.
Keep a record of these events. See if the dizziness doesn’t occur at other times unrelated to food intake.
Make a note if there are other symptoms that may suggest a cardiac problem such as chest pain, feeling faint and/or feeling short of breath.
In practice for 25+ years, Dr. Blume treats over 65 conditions including abdominal pain, appetite loss, blood in stool, celiac disease, colon cancer, esophageal and liver disease, gas and IBS.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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