Ahh, finally. You made it to the car after dinner out with the girls. Sitting in the driver’s seat you unzip those cute, high-waisted jeans so you can breath again. Hopefully, you can make it home before the cramping starts and gas pain sets in. That’s right. We all know what I’m talking about: the dreaded belly bloat. Zip those jeans back up because today we’re talking about how to beat the bloat, causes and solutions to bloating!

What is Bloating? 

Bloating is uncomfortable. It cramps your style (and your stomach!) impacting everything from what you eat to what you wear. 

Symptoms of bloating can include flatulence, discomfort, stomach distention, burping, and stomach rumbles. In fact, two-thirds of Americans reportedly suffer from gastrointestinal symptoms including bloating! 

Bloating can make you feel frustrated and insecure. The worst part is that many patients fail to mention they have problems with bloating. You may think it is embarrassing, but feeling well and managing your health are never topics to be embarrassed about. Bloating can also be a symptom of a larger health issue that you shouldn’t leave untouched. 

So what causes bloating? There are three main contributors to feeling bloated: air, fluid retention, and gas. 

Excess Air

This type of bloating is caused by swallowing air. If your belly feels hard to touch, it’s probably because you have an excess amount of air swirling around in there. 

How did air get there in the first place? A few ways include:  

• Chewing gum 
• Smoking 
• Eating too fast 
• Drinking carbonated beverages 

You can solve this issue by slowing down (actually a lot of things can be solved when you slow down in life, but let’s stay focused on bloating). Make sure you chew your food properly and give yourself plenty of time to eat.

Fluid Retention 

Bloating caused by fluid retention is a little trickier to identify, but it can be caused by what you eat, your hormones, or an illness. Women especially suffer from holding on to too much liquid in their stomachs. 

A hormonal imbalance of progesterone or estrogen will cause you to feel like your belly is a bathtub that drains too slowly. These imbalances can occur during stages of your menstrual cycle or during early pregnancy. Also, stress, and the hormone cortisol that accompanies it, can cause fluid retention and bloating. 

You may notice that when life gets crazy with kids and work you also tend to feel more bloated. 

Gas

We’ve reached the main culprit of bloating: gas. It also happens to be the most difficult of contributors to identify. It requires looking at the root cause of why you’re bloated. In fact, it’s actually normal to produce 1 to 4 pints of gas per day. The problems arise when you produce more than that, and we all know how uncomfortable it can be when we can’t dispel it properly. 

Depending on the underlying issue, you could have a build-up of any of the following gases:  

• Oxygen 
• Carbon Dioxide 
• Methan
• Nitrogen 
• Hydrogen 

What Causes Excessive Gas?

As the most common contributor to bloating, let’s take a deeper dive into the causes of excessive gas. 

Food 

We love it and we gotta have it, but food can play a huge role in the health of our bodies. Certain foods are more likely than others to cause a build-up of gas because they contain substances that aren’t easily digested. For example, beans and vegetables such as brussel sprouts and broccoli contain raffinose. This is a trisaccharide that leads to fermentation and the production of, you guessed it, gas! 

Food sensitivities can also cause bloating, in addition to a myriad of other symptoms. Food sensitivities are harder to identify than food allergies. One way you can track your food sensitivities is to keep a food journal or do an elimination diet. 

Now, we can’t talk about bloating without mentioning dairy. If you suffer from bloating and flatulence after eating dairy products like ice cream, cheese, or yogurt you are lactose intolerant. This means your body lacks the enzyme that breaks down lactose into digestible pieces. 

Instead, the undigested food travels to your colon where bacteria feed on the lactose fermenting it and produce gas. Sometimes you may not be totally lactose intolerant and simply suffer from a dairy sensitivity. Dairy sensitivity is no small matter. It can cause inflammation, which damages the gut and exacerbates already painful symptoms. 

Dysbiosis

Your gut is made up of trillions of bacteria, this is called the gut microbiome. It can contain good bacteria and harmful bacteria. Dysbiosis occurs when there are more harmful bacteria than good inside your GI tract. 

The helpful bacteria play a crucial role in keeping your gut lining strong and supporting healthy digestion. When your gut bacteria is imbalanced all sorts of problems start occurring. One such problem is when the bad bacteria start impairing peristalsis. Peristalsis is the wave-like muscle contraction that forces your food down the digestive tract. You can imagine how this can cause bloating – when food gets stuck, you feel bloated.    

Candida Overgrowth 

Speaking of gut microbiome, another problem that can result in excessive gas is candida overgrowth. This is caused by an overgrowth of yeast in your gut, which results in massive amounts of fermentation and GAS. Just imagine a loaf of bread rising, yep, that’s what’s happening inside your gut with a candida overgrowth (not exactly, but you get the picture). 

Candida are the bad guy. They can result in delayed inflammatory healing, excess colonization of bad bacteria, and other gastrointestinal tract diseases.  

SIBO

On the topic of overgrowth, let’s review SIBO. SIBO stands for Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth. This happens when the bacteria in your gut gets too excited and expands from the large intestine into the small intestine. They feed on undigested food which causes fermentation and gas build-up. 

SIBO is difficult to treat because certain measures can actually make it worse. For example, taking probiotics, which is usually suggested for repairing gut health, will make your SIBO worse if you take them before it’s cleared up. That’s why it’s important to work with an expert on ALL your health concerns, no matter how trivial you may think them. 

Five Solutions to Bloating

You know what causes bloating, now let’s learn how to beat the bloat! There’s no reason for you to keep suffering from the discomfort of a bloated belly. 

Remove Gut Infections 

If you are dealing with SIBO or candida overgrowth your first step to reduce bloating is to remove these gut infections. Once you are certain you no longer have a gut infection you can begin focusing on maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. 

Eliminate Certain Foods

The top foods to eliminate when you are feeling gassy or bloated are cruciferous vegetables, legumes and beans, and dairy. You should always work with an expert when going on an elimination diet as they can be hard to maintain. An expert will also ensure you’re continuing to get the right nutrients your body needs. 

Relieve Stress

Under stress, many people tend to take short, shallow breaths that bring in excess air and a rise in the hormone cortisol. Try meditation or yoga to relax. If that’s not your thing you can take a simple walk in nature. 

Slow Down

Slow down. Nowadays, we are always eating on the go, working, or just eating too fast. Practice mindful eating and give your digestive tract time to do it’s thing. 

Work with a Health Coach  

More times than not, bloating is accompanied by other symptoms. As a Certified Holistic Health Coach I look at the root cause of my patients symptoms. I work deliberately to create a unique plan just for you. In a customized one-on-one coaching program we will dig deep into your health journey. Stop ignoring “simple” symptoms. Reach out to me if you are ready to beat the bloat and discover your own vision of health.