One of the most frequently talked about abdominal concerns is bloating. For a lot of people who suffer from bloating, they wake up in the morning with a fairly flat stomach, but by the end of the day are horribly bloated and uncomfortable, undoing the top button of their trousers for a bit of relief.
So what is bloating and what are the common causes?
Bloating is any abnormal swelling or increase in the abdominal area caused by excess gas. Gas is produced in the large intestine when fermentation occurs during the breakdown of carbohydrates and proteins. It is a normal by-product of the digestive process, however too much gas causes bloating. Symptoms include a full and tight feeling in the abdomen, which may cause abdominal pain and sometimes increased stomach growling or increased belching and flatulence.
Bloating and gas are usually tied to what and how you eat, so a few simple changes can help.
Common Causes of Bloating
Bloating, like IBS, has many causes. However, the most likely explanations are:
- Imbalance of gut microflora (see more info below)
- Food allergies or intolerance (see more info below)
- Eating in a hurry or when anxious (see more info below)
- Lactose or fructose intolerance
- Small intestine bacterial overgrowth
- Sluggish Liver
Difficult-to-digest foods can cause gassiness and bloating, or your body may have an intolerance to a particular food causing your system to bloat.
Here are some familiar culprits to watch out for:
- Beans and lentils contain indigestible sugars called oligosaccharides. These sugars must be broken down by bacteria in the intestines.
- Fruits and vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, prunes, apricots. These contain sugars and starches that may cause gassiness and bloating.
- Sweeteners can also cause gas and bloating. Fructose, a natural sugar added to many processed foods, is difficult for many people to digest. To avoid bloating, be aware of these sweeteners in the foods you eat and limit the amount you consume.
- Dairy products can be a source of intestinal discomfort and bloating if you have trouble digesting lactose, or milk sugar.
- Whole grains, recommended for their many health benefits, can sometimes cause bloating and gas problems. One reason whole grains are so healthy is their high fibre content. Abruptly increasing the amount of fibre you eat can cause gas, bloating, and constipation. Nutritionists recommend slowly increasing the fibre in your diet to allow your body time to adjust. At the same time, drink plenty of water with high-fibre foods, “All fibre absorbs water,”. Drinking liquids helps fibre move through the digestive system and prevents bloating and constipation.
- Some foods like coffee and chocolate can stimulate the digestive tract and cause a build up of gas to occur, resulting in bloating.
Imbalance of Gut Microflora
Our colon contains a plethora of friendly intestinal bacteria, referred to as gut flora. Approx 5000 species of bacteria exist in the body and it’s estimated that bacteria count for 30-50% of the solid content of the colon. Some beneficial bacteria are implanted at birth and the rest is acquired during later stages of life.
The gut microflora does many things for us including:
- Digestion and absorption of nutrients
- Synthesis of B group vitamins
- Metabolism of plant compounds
- Stimulation of the immune system
- Maintaining a healthy gut flora depends on the foods we eat, drugs we take and the state of our mind. Also the contraceptive pill, antibiotics and alcohol, excessive sugar and stress can alter the microflora balance.
Food Allergies or Intolerance
A food allergy is an adverse immune response to a food protein. They are distinct from other reactions to food like food intolerance. Your body mistakenly thinks the protein is harmful. Some proteins or fragments of proteins are resistant to digestion and those that are not broken down in the digestive process are tagged by our bodies antibodies and the reaction is one to the body thinking it’s under attack and triggers the allergic reaction.
These reactions can range from mild to severe and be anything from sinusitis, joint pain, migraine, fatigue, asthma to a skin `condition`, rapid heartbeat, sweating and in severe reactions anaphylactic responses which require immediate medical attention.
Food intolerance (or non-allergic food hypersensitivity) is mostly a physiological response to food. Intolerance is often a delayed reaction to food, beverage or a food additive. Intolerance can result from the absence of specific chemicals or enzymes needed to digest a food. It may be a result of an abnormality in the body’s ability to absorb nutrients. Symptoms of food intolerance vary greatly, and can be mistaken for the symptoms of a food allergy. Food intolerance symptoms usually begin about half an hour after eating or drinking the food in question, but sometimes symptoms may delayed up to 48 hours and include include mouth ulcers, abdominal cramp, nausea, gas, intermittent diarrhea, IBS and may include anaphylaxis. Food intolerance has been found to be associated with IBS, IBD & chronic constipation.
Diagnosis of food intolerance can include professionally supervised elimination diets and testing immune responses to specific foods. It is important to be able to distinguish between food allergy, food intolerance, and autoimmune disease in the management of these disorders. You may try minor changes of diet to exclude foods causing obvious reactions, and for many this may be adequate without the need for professional assistance. Foods causing problems may not be so obvious since food sensitivities may not be noticed for hours or even days after one has digested food.
If you are unable to isolate foods and those more sensitive or with disabling symptoms should seek expert medical and dietitian help who can then prescribe an appropriate diet for you to avoid particular foods.
Eating in a Hurry or When Anxious
If you eat your meal too fast this will add to the risk of bloating. The remedy is simple: consciously eat slowly and take time to enjoy your meal. Research suggests that it can take up to 20 minutes for the feeling of being full to reach the brain and dampen appetite and many weight loss experts believe that eating slowly helps prevent overeating. About half of gas in the digestive system is swallowed air which increases if you eat your food too fast. The rest is produced by bacteria in the gut that help digest food. If the gastrointestinal tract does not move it through efficiently, gas builds up in the intestines, causing bloating and discomfort.
If you frequently experience bloating caused by gas, avoid drinking through a straw, chewing gum, guzzling carbonated beverages and sucking on hard candy.
Some people suffer from Aerophagia – swallowing more air when they’re nervous. It’s possible that practicing ways to reduce stress and anxiety, such as breathing exercises or progressive muscle relaxation, may help reduce excess gas and bloating.
One symptom of gas that is not normally associated is the hiccup. Hiccups are harmless and will diminish on their own; they also help to release gas that is in the digestive tract before it moves down to the intestines and causes bloating.
Preventing Bloating Without Medication
If eliminating or reducing your consumption of hard-to-digest foods doesn’t solve your frequent bloating problem, there are other things you can do without having to take medication to relieve your symptoms.
If you’re a smoker intestinal distress may be one more reason to quit. Smoking has been linked to bloating, heartburn, and other digestive problems.
Walking after eating a meal is a good way to nudge the contents of the bowels along. Exercising releases hormones that work to encourage activity in the bowels. Cardio exercises may help relieve abdominal bloating also by helping gas to pass through the digestive system including swimming, cycling, jogging, step aerobics or stair climbing. This could provide relief after just 10 minutes of exercise. Core training is also good to help with the feeling of bloating, try exercises you can do to work the abdominals including sit ups, crunches, bicycle, pelvic tilts and pelvic lifts.
Taking a 100% natural digestive health solution such as Phloe can also help. Phloe is derived from NZ green Kiwifruit that has been clinically shown to ease digestive discomfort, optimise regularity and avoid episodes of bloating and flatulence.
Good luck, I hope this has answered some of your questions about bloating and provided information about what foods to steer clear of and some remedies to assist you in banishing the bloat!