Feeling Bloated?

Bloating is is such a common symptom, and even more so for women with PMS or going through perimenopause and beyond. This tells us that among the many causes for bloating, hormones can be involved!

Not only is bloating sometimes extremely uncomfortable, but many a client has told me they get so bloated they look pregnant!

What Causes Bloating?

There are many possible causes of bloating, and sometimes it’s easy to find the culprit just by taking a thorough health history, however, my favourite way to get to the root cause is testing.

Let’s look at some of the most common reasons for bloating;

1. Hormones.

Changing hormones can cause fluid retention and upset digestive balance.  Women who have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) and endometriosis often suffer from bloating. Many women get more bloated around their period, and it’s also common in the transition into menopause (Perimenopause)  I get my clients to keep a diary of symptoms and track them in relation to their menstrual cycles to give me more information about whether hormones are involved.

2. Gut Infections.

Underlying/hidden infections, such as bacterial imbalance (dysbiosis), yeast (candida), parasites or viruses, can cause all sorts of digestive issues, including bloating.

3. SIBO – Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth

This condition is associated with excess microbes, usually bacteria or fungi, in the small intestine rather than the colon. Most of our gut bacteria should be in our colon, not in our small intestine, and so when this happens it can cause bloating, distention, gas and/or crampy pain. It’s often not something your doctor may know about, and many people get told it’s just IBS, and you have to just put up with it. I can tell you that you don’t have to just put up with SIBO or IBS, or any gut issues for that matter. We can test for these imbalances and provide you with personalised solutions, just ask!.

4. FODMAPs

FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligo-, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols which are short-chain carbohydrates that can be difficult for some to absorb from the small intestine resulting in bloating and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). FODMAP-containing foods include wheat, legumes, certain vegetables, and fruit.

Left untreated can contribute to problems with the microbiome, impair oestrogen clearance, and activate mast cells — all leading to inflammation that can worsen period problems such as PMS.

The usual solution is to temporarily reduce FODMAPs while at the same time addressing the underlying cause of FODMAP sensitivity, which can be some of the issues mentioned above, like low stomach acid, medication, and SIBO. It can also be due to an underactive thyroid. Its best to work with an experienced practitioner to temporarily reduce FODMAPS, without strictly avoiding any food, which could lead to deficiencies. Once the underlying cause is identified these foods can often be added back in.

4. Food Intolerances/Sensitivities

This isn’t the same as food allergies, which can cause a more instant and severe reaction. If you’re sensitive or intolerant to something like gluten, dairy, corn, soy, eggs or another foods, this can also cause bloating and other digestive symptoms up to 72 hours after ingestion. Sometimes the symptoms aren’t even gut symstoms, but could be skin, headache, joint pain, brain fog, depression/anxiety etc. A food and symptom diary or an elimination diet are good starts, but also there are private tests that can be done to identify these. Contact us to find out more.

5. Poor Diet Choices

Too many refined carbohydrates and sugars in your diet are favourite foods for bad bacteria and yeast. Equally the good bacteria like fibre. So if you’re supporting the growth of the bad guys and not the good guys you get an unbalanced microbiome (dysbiosis), leading to gut issues.

Too many processed foods- additives, preservatives and chemicals can disrupt digestive function and cause problems. Eating organic as much as possible, avoiding packaged foods, especially when there are ingredients you can’t even read/pronounce, and artifical sweetners, which are not easy for the body to break down, and have been associated with digestive issues. The more you can stick to whole foods the better.

6. Lack of Digestive Enzymes or Stomach Acid

If you don’t produce enough stomach acid or digestive enzymes to break down your food, it can stay in your stomach longer than necessary and as you can imagine what happens when food sits too long, it putrefies and produces gases that can cause distention, foul-smelling wind, and bloating.
Age, stress, and nutrient deficiencies, especially zinc, can lead to low stomach acid.
A lovely little trick I use with some clients is to drink a teaspoon of sodium bicarb (baking soda) in 200ml water first thing in the morning before food or drink and time how long it takes to burp. It’s not a diagnostic, but if you’re burping at around 5 mins or longer or not at all it’s a sign low stomach acid could be a problem for you, and need investigating. You can take digestive enzymes and HCL to help, but you also ideally want to address the root cause why.

8. Hello, Stress!

It has a huge impact on gut function, when your nervous system is in sympathetic mode often refered to as ‘fight or flight’ mode, your body isn’t thinking about digesting your last meal. So digestive function is suppressed, causing all kinds of issues.

9. Poor Sleep.

If you don’t have good regular sleep patterns, your Circadian Rhythm, which regulates everything including your bowels, becomes out of whack, resulting in impaired digestion.

11. Constipation

You’re constapted if you go less than once per day! And when this happenes not only are toxins etc. getting reabsorbed and circulated through your body, but the stool is fermenting away in your gut causing bloating. Eating enough fibre, and making sure you’re hydrated can help, but if they don’t it’s time to dig a little deeper.

12. Medications

Some medications that have side effects that can include bloating, such as  Aspirin, Antacids, Diarrhoea tablets, Iron supplements, HRT, Antibiotics, and Ibuprofen.

11 Things You Can Do to Relieve Bloating.

Most of the time, the cause of bloating is diet and lifestyle-related, and so just making some of the adjustments below will resolve it.

1. Chew Chew Chew! 

So many people don’t chew their food well, they almost breathe their food! Digestion starts in your mouth- actually it starts when you anticipate food! Be mindful and chew each mouthful, focusing on your meal, rather than your phone, TV or work! Make sure you’re sitting down at a table, not on the run.

2. Stimulate Digestive Juices

Take some digestive enzymes or a teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar in water before meals – this can really help stimulate your gastric juices and digest your food better.

 3. Eat a Nutrient-Dense Whole Food Diet

Eat whole real foods, avoid processed foods, sugar and unhealthy oils (canola, soy, sunflower, rapeseed, vegetable) and make sure you’re eating a wide variety of vegetables, the more colour the better.

4. Boost Your Good Bacteria.

Adding fermented foods daily like Kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, yoghurt. I highly recommend making these yourself if you can, they have more good bacteria in them than store-bought and is a great way to keep topping up your good bacteria.

3. Relax!

Especially around mealtimes. The more stressed we are the less we digest our food properly. Make sure you sit down and eat in a relaxed environment, and enjoy your food. Adding daily stress-relieving activities to your routine will also help like mindfulness, meditation, deep breathing, yoga, singing, dancing, walking in nature or anything that relaxes you.

4. Keep a Food and Symptom Diary

This can help you to spot any patterns. And remember it is not just digestive symptoms to be on the lookout for, sometimes it can be headaches, mood symptoms or fatigue for example. If you spot anything you can go on to try an elimination diet (outlined in the next point).

5. Try an Elimination Diet.

Gluten and dairy are common culprits, as are eggs, corn, and soy. Try it for 4 weeks to see if they are causing your symptoms. You need to be 100% strict with avoiding them in the 4-week period. Sometimes gluten-free products make the situation worse, and they ferment more easily and are full of other ingredients that don’t agree with our guts, so if y are trying gluten-free, best to avoid all the gluten-free substitutes too. A trained practitioner can guide you through an elimination diet, which I strongly advise if you suspect multiple intolerances/sensitivities, as you don’t want to restrict your diet from nutrients.

6. Keep Hydrated! 

Make sure you fill up a large bottle of filtered water to keep with you all day. You can flavour your water with lemon, lime, cucumber, or drink herbal teas, there are so many good ones on the market today. A good sign of hydration is that your pee is straw yellow.

9. Stay Active.

Exercise, as well as just not being too sedentary, helps to keep the bowels working. Try to get up and move about hourly if your job requires long hours at a desk. Take the stairs instead of the lift, take a stroll after dinner or in your lunch break. Get a good workout in at least 3 times a week, mix cardio with resistance/weight training.

10. Supplements.

Magnesium citrate relaxes bowel muscles (great if you’re constipated), digestive enzymes + HCL will help with digestion.
There are other supplements your practitioner may recommend based on your symptoms. Ultimately though these are all just to help ease symptoms while addressing the root cause. You don’t want to be relying on supplements for the rest of your life.

11. Get Tested.

A comprehensive stool test, breath test or blood tests are used by a qualified health practitioner to find out the underlying causes like infections, inflammation, and other imbalances.

Your practitioner will also help rule out more serious conditions if you’ve had prolonged and/or unexplained bloating and other gut issues that don’t respond to any diet and lifestyle changes. These include Celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative Colitis, gastric ulcers, appendicitis, gallstones and certain cancers.
Get checked out with your doctor/ practitioner if you’re concerned

If you’d like help to identify the root cause of your bloating or other health issues, do contact us for more information about how we can help.