Bloating is that uncomfortable feeling when your abdomen (anywhere from under your chest to just above your pelvis) feels full, tight and uncomfortable. It may be painful or just very uncomfortable. It may be constant or something that builds during the day making your clothes tight and elasticated waistbands seem like a very attractive option. It may be associated with gassyness or not.
If you've been to your doctor they may well tell you that bloating is not serious but if you are the one suffering with it you may not agree. It's uncomfortable, makes it difficult to concentrate and impairs your enjoyment of life. Having a hard bloated tummy makes you less likely to want to go out or take exercise.
A course of colonics is a great way of treating bloating and people are always amazed how comfortable they feel afterwards. Part of the colonics process is a full consultation to help you identify the source of your issues as getting long term results depends on eliminating the causes too. Have a look at the information below and if you are still stumped then get in touch and either book a free consultation, if you are local, or send me an email if not.
There are many causes of bloating including:
- Food Intolerance or Food Sensitivity
- Constipation
- Diarrhoea
- H Pylori (Helicobacter Pylori)
- Eating Too Fast
- Insufficient Chewing
- Chewing Gum
- Poor Digestion
- Low Stomach Acid
- Yeast Overgrowth
- Dehydration
- Bad Diet
- Nutritional Deficiencies
- Parasites
- Sluggish Bowels
- Stress
- Drinking Too Much When Eating
- Drinking Fizzy Drinks
- Excessive Caffeine Intake
- Poor Bowel Bacterial Balance (not enough good bacteria)
- Waistband Too Tight on Trousers and Skirts
Before deciding to take supplement or other courses of action first of all eliminate all the easy stuff so:
Constipation and Sluggish Bowels
If your bowels are working perfectly and you eat three meals a day you should be evacuating your bowels at least twice and ideally three times per day. If you are no doing this then follow the advice contained in the constipation section.
Dehydration
Visit my blog for an overview of the effects of dehydration on your overall health and then get to work on getting hydrated. If this is the cause of your issue you should start to see improvements within a couple of weeks if not sooner. http://youthhealthandvitality.blogspot.co.uk
Eating Too Fast & Insufficient Chewing
If you are eating to fast then you may well be gulping down lots of air which can cause you to feel bloated as it travels through your digestive tract. It will also probably mean that you do not chew your food enough. If you have large pieces of food going into your stomach (where there are no teeth), it will then pass into your digestive tract in a state that cannot be broken down by the digestive enzymes. You will then have food fermenting in your digestive tract which will cause gas and bloating.
Don't eat whilst doing other things. Work on eating consciously and chew everything thoroughly. I recommend trying to chew everything thirty times. Notice how quickly you get the urge to swallow. In my colon hydrotherapy practice I often see foods passing through the machine virtually untouched by teeth.
Relax
Eating should be a relaxed process. Even if you are short of time set aside at least half an hour to eat your food and refuse to be interrupted.
Fizzy Drinks
Carbonated drinks are a very common cause of bloating. Eliminate fizzy water, pop and fizzy beers or other fizzy alcoholic beverages.
Too Tight Clothing
A study in Australia some years ago found that the symptoms suffered by 60-80% of men reporting to their doctors with stomach problems were eliminated by buying trousers 8-10cms bigger than they were currently wearing. Clothing that is tight around your waist restricts your intestines slowing the passage of the contents of your small and large intestines causing problems such as bloating and abdominal discomfort.
Drinking Too Much Whilst Eating
Drinking too much whilst eating dilutes your stomach acid. One of the functions of stomach acid is to prepare food for digestion further down the digestive tract. When you dilute the stomach acid then you impair your digestion and end up with undigested food fermenting in your gut. Drinking a pint of warm water half an hour before a meal should eliminate the need to drink. And then don't drink for at least an hour after a meal. If you really can't eat without a drink then restrict it to the size of a small wine glass. Read the sections on hydration in my blog for more information on the benefits of getting hydrated. http://youthhelathandvitality.blogspot.co.uk
Excess Caffeine
Excess caffeine puts your body in a permanent state of stress and stress impairs digestion. Eliminate all caffeinated beverages such as tea, coffee, cola, Red Bull. Drink plain water or herbal teas instead. Peppermint and ginger teas are good for digestion.
Overgrowth of the Yeast Candida Albicans
Yeast overgrowth can make you very bloated. If you have recurrent UTIs, get thrush regularly (or used to in the past), have fungal nail infections, itchy skin or scalp, ear issues, have taken antibiotics, been pregnant etc then have a look at the section on candida and see if any of the information rings true for you.
Bad Bowel Bacteria
Healthy levels of good bacteria in your gut are essential to good digestion. They synthesise some nutrients and facilitate absorption of vitamins. Lack of leafy greens in your diet, stress, constipation, antibiotic use, pregnancy etc can all disrupt the levels of good bacteria. I eat a great diet but I still take probiotics every day. I think of them as an insurance policy. If you suspect you are short of good bacteria then supplement. I offer a selection of probiotics to suit everyone.
Food Sensitivities
Food sensitivity, food allergy or food intolerance are a major cause of bloating. If you have suffered from a bloated tummy for a long time, if you bloat after eating, wake up bloated in the morning, have lots of gas, eat a good diet and drink enough water but still get constipated, have diarrhoea often or constantly and also have other symptoms then you are probably sensitive to something in your diet. Even if you have a test and nothing shows up at least you have eliminated a possible cause of your bloating and can move on to other bloating remedies. I do food sensitivity testing and get great results. Have a look at some of the comments on Google+ and for more informaton read the Food Sensitivity Testing Section.
Yeast Overgrowth
Read the section on Candida
Low Stomach Acid
Production of stomach acid often starts to reduce around the age of 30. Low stomach acid is much more common than having too much and can cause indigestion, heartburn, bloating, constipation and food sensitivities. If you have checked all the other issues and are happy that none of these are the cause of your bloated tummy then test your stomach acid.
First thing in the morning before you eat or drink anything put a heaped teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in a small glass of water, stir and drink. If you are not burping your head off within five minutes then it means you probably have low stomach acid. Low stomach acid can be easily remedied by supplementing with digestive enzymes. If your bowels are also on the sluggish side then try Go Daily. Go Daily contains a gentle dietary fibre, pre and probiotics, L-glutamine and digestive enzymes. It gives your gut a gentle spring clean every day, boosts digestion, maintains good bacteria and speeds removal of waste from your digestive tract. Alternatively you can supplement with Well Digested, a combination of digestive enzymes to aid healthy digestion. Or give your digestive tract an MOT with the Total Gut Therapy Pack to restore balance, boost digestion and restore bowel bacteria.
Helico Bacter Pylori also known as H Pylori
This bacteria is a normal part of digestive tract fauna however it sometimes gets out of control and is the route cause of stomach ulcers. From experience I have observed that people suffering from H Pylori have a particular type of bloating. Their tummies tend to bloat from just under the breast bone and tend to be very round, hard and very uncomfortable, even painful. If your tummy has this form of bloating it would be a good idea to get your doctor to test for H Pylori. Mainstream medicine treats H Pylori with antibiotics so if you choose that course of action then it's a good idea to protect your bowel bacteria and take Interna-Calm which is resistant to antibiotics. And once the antibiotics have ended then also start taking Well Digested to improve your digestion.
