# Not feeling well after eating muffins. Am I doing it wrong？



## oceanclouds (Mar 6, 2015)

I have been baking muffins for my family for breakfast twice a week. My older brother told me that he has abdominal pain every time he eats the muffins I made. My younger brother has bloated stomach after eating the muffins.
 
The strange thing is that they do not have problems with the store-bought ones and my parents and I did not feel any discomfort after eating the muffins I made.
 
I always bake at night and keep the cooled muffins on a dish covered by a lid and not sealed. They are served in the next morning.
 
Here is the recipe of my muffins:
 
Self-raising flour      1/2 cup
Cake flour                 1 cup
Baking powder          1 tsp
Brown sugar             1/2 cup
Salt                           1/2 tsp
Vanilla extract          1 tsp
Cocoa powder           1/2 cup
Milk                           250 ml
Butter                         2 tbsp
Chocolate chips
 

I have tried eliminating vanilla extract or butter but the situation is still the same.

I am wondering if this is related to the gluten and lactose content of the muffins or too much baking powder was used so there is some unreacted baking powder remained in the muffins.
 
Does anyone have ideas why do my brothers feel sick after eating the homemade muffins but no problem with the commercial ones? Thanks in advance.


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## allanmcpherson (Apr 5, 2007)

Anything that sweet sounding will kill my guts first thing in the morning, could it be as simple as something as that?


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## trizzish (Aug 14, 2013)

I think this is probably a question for a doctor...And muffins are kinda like cake for breakfast. There are healthier more digestible options out there. Not that I am a nutritionist. Just my thoughts!


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## luc_h (Jun 6, 2007)

why do you add baking powder to self rising flour? why not use only self rising or baking powder and simple flour?

do you measure precisely 1tsp of baking pwd?

Agree with Allen that the sugar ratio appears high.

if they had a lactose or gluten intolerance, the symptoms would manifest themselves every time they encounter these ingredients not just with your muffins.

Luc H.


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## fablesable (Oct 11, 2014)

I am with @Luc_H when it comes to the self rising or baking powder and flour, you do not need both. As for the ill feeling, the difference between store bought and your is the milk and butter ingredients as store bought ones are made with vegetable oil and soy ingredients (maybe they might sneak in skim milk powder but that is rare). So I would suggest adding 2 Tbsp coconut oil or vegetable oil for the butter and 250ml of almond, rice or soy milk for the milk. See how that does for your family.

Check ou the ingredient list for some of the store bought muffins:


> *Whole Foods blueberry muffin*
> Unbleached wheat flour, brown sugar, sugar, heavy cream, whole eggs, canola oil, vanilla extract, whole milk powder, baking powder, salt, lemon zest and blueberries. Topping: unbleached wheat flour, sugar, brown sugar, unsalted butter, canola oil, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg.





> *Safeway Blueberry Muffins*
> Enriched Bleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Sugar, Water, Soybean Oil, Blueberries, Eggs, Modified Corn Starch, Contains 2% or Less of: Partially Hydrogenated Shortening (Soybean Oil, Cottonseed, or Canola Oil, Propylene Glycol [_a liquid alcohol that is used as a solvent in antifreeze!_], Mono- and Diesters of Fatty Acids, Mono and Diglycerides, Soy Lecithin, BHT), Emulsifier (Propylene Glycol Monoesters, Monoglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate), Salt, Nonfat Milk, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Cellulose Gum, Artificial Flavor, Sodium Caseinate, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum.





> *Little Debbie Blueberry Muffins*
> Water, Enriched Bleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid), Sugar, Soybean Oil, Blueberries, High Fructose Corn Starch, Egg Whites, Nonfat Dry Milk, Emulsifiers (Sorbitan Monostearate, Propylene Glycol, Monostearate, Sodium Stearoyl, Lactylate, Polysorbate 60 [_an emulsifier often used in cosmetics_], Mono and Diglycerides), Eggs, Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Calcium Phosphate), Natural and Artificial Flavors, Wheat Gluten, Salt, Sorbic Acid (to Retain Freshness), Xanthan Gum and Guar Gums.


No wonder why they don't have any issues with the store bought ones as they are pure garbage chemical ingredients that don't have the same effect as the real ingredients. Our bodies just automatically treat this stuff as toxic and it goes into our fat cells as waste. The real ingredients like flour, milk and butter the body recognizes and deals with accordingly. If one has leaky gut (which we all do if we have any gluten whatsoever in our diets) then we become more susceptible to sensitivity of lactose and gluten, even eggs.

That is just my two cents but a hard learned lesson by someone who has been diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and had to learn about the biochemistry of food and the human body.

Hope some of this helps /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif


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## muffin lover (Feb 24, 2015)

I know it might sound silly, but I would try this: buy some ready-made muffins from the bakery, put them in your muffin tray, claim they're your creation and...offer them to your brothers. See what happens.


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

Muffin Paradise said:


> I know it might sound silly, but I would try this: buy some ready-made muffins from the bakery, put them in your muffin tray, claim they're your creation and...offer them to your brothers. See what happens.


What a great mind you have! I second the recommendation.

And may I also ask, Oceanclouds... how old are your brothers? At one time (in their teen years) mine would have said such things just to give me grief.


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## fablesable (Oct 11, 2014)

Great thought @Muffin Paradise !! I have family that have done that to me even when I am a professional chef.....just to razz me...lol


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## oceanclouds (Mar 6, 2015)

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Thank you very much for all of your supportive replies. I found them very useful and informative.

@AllanMcPherson, @trizzish and @Luc_H

This could be the case for my younger brother. He does not like any sugary food. If we let him choose between bacon and muffins, he never goes for the muffins. Eating only a piece of cheese cake can make him feel full and he does not want to eat anything for hours after that. I thought muffins are not as sugary as cheese cake so I did not notice about this.

For my older brother, he is perfectly fine with chocolate glazed croissants, doughnuts or anything sweeter than these. I don't know if it would be too much sugar in this recipe. When finding recipes online, I found many of them have over 1 to 2 ratio of sugar to flour. Is me recipe still too sugary? I tried to reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup but it turned out awful. But I will definitely try to bake something healthier.

Yes, I measured the baking powder with measuring spoons as precise as I could.

I used both self raising flour and baking powder because I wanted to make them more fluffy without using eggs and they said the muffins made by self raising powder did not smell good. Then I tried baking with cake flour, they did not complain about that but the muffins were not fluffy as before so I just used the combination of both.

@Fablesable

Thanks for your advice. Is it okay to use margarine? Or should I only go for the vegetable oil?

My older brother does not drink milk. He just hates the taste. Although he had no problem with milk when he was a kid, I agree with you that his body may gradually becomes sensitive to lactose. I hope his body can accept the real ingredients because I don't want him to eat too many commercial baking goods full of additives. I will tell you if this works for my family. 

@Muffin Paradise

This is a great idea. I have actually thought of doing this but I think they can easily find out I am cheating them because they believe I cannot make muffins that they do not have complains. lol

@BrianShaw

We are all twentysomething. When they now hear about I am going to bake, they say they will have breakfast tomorrow so I don't need to worry about them. lol


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