Reasons you are bloated that have nothing to do with food!
Persistent bloating might have very little to do with the foods you are eating
What if I told you your persistent bloating might have very little to do with the foods you are eating? Food can certainly be a piece of the puzzle when it comes to bloating and other digestive symptoms, but it is often NOT food alone that drives bloating. Unlike what you find on social media, in practice we work with clients to eliminate chronic bloating by shifting the environment of the gut and non-food behaviors before we look to blame any single foods.
So let's talk about bloating and the key non-food strategies we see impact bloating the most in our clients.
What is bloating?
Bloating occurs when there is distention or discomfort in the abdomen area that can be due to excess gas production or nerve sensitivity in the gut from the microbiome, maldigestion, inflammation and stress. Bloat often occurs in the lower belly area near the belly button but it can also occur in the upper abdomen and near the rib cage.
There is a difference between chronic bloating and slight distention after a full meal. A normal part of digestion is for our stomach to slightly expand after eating, this signals to the brain that we are full and to turn off our hunger satiety cues. However, this slight expansion should not lead to a need to unbutton your pants or feel uncomfortable in our bodies or our clothes. So if you experience more significant distension, discomfort, gas, burping, pain or pressure with bloating that happens daily or weekly, this is when we would want to get curious about the underlying root causes of what is contributing to your bloating.
So what non-food strategies can be contributing to bloating?
Eating hygiene: Eating hygiene refers to the environment in how we are actually eating. Are we sitting down? Taking 3 deep breaths before meals? Are we chewing our food to baby food consistency? Are we in a relaxed state and away from distractions?
In order to reduce bloating, we need to support the digestive process first by getting into a relaxed state before and during meals. Up to 20% of our digestive secretions that help us to break down foods and prevent bloating are actually created before we even take a bite of our food, but this digestive preparation requires us to be in a relaxed state. You can eat all of the healthy gut healing foods, but if you aren’t paying attention to how you eat, this can lead to symptoms like bloating, gas and discomfort after eating.
Erratic Meal Timing: Our digestive system has a rhythm and pattern to it that promotes the breakdown of food and allows our gut to perform its self cleaning process, called the Migrating Motor Complex (MMC). This self cleaning process happens between meals and plays a major role in pushing debris and bacteria down and out of the small intestines to reduce bloating and gas symptoms. However, if we are snacking or grazing throughout the day, we can impair this self cleaning mechanism and lead to bloating, distention, discomfort and conditions like SIBO. That is why sticking to a consistent eating schedule with meals every 3-4 hours that support the guts self-cleaning mechanisms help to reduce bloating.
Greens & Protein Powders: Surprisingly these foods are major culprits for bloating even though many of them will market otherwise. Many greens and protein powders contain multiple ingredients which often include functional fibers, these concentrated fibers feed bacteria in the gut and for many people that can actually be a big trigger for bloating. It is also common for processed ingredients in these products to contribute to bloating that are added for texture or preserving storage that can contribute to bloating as well.
Chronic Stress: When we are in a stressed out state, it suppresses the expression of our digestive chemicals that are needed to digest and break down food and impairs gut motility, which can lead to bloating. Overtime, chronic stress can lead to more significant changes with the gut by increasing intestinal permeability or leaky gut and altering microbial diversity that contribute to inflammation. Chronic stress can also drive cortisol which can play a significant role in persistent bloating. Drivers of chronic stress can be emotional stress but they can also be physical stressors like over exercising, under eating and imbalanced blood sugar.
If you are struggling with chronic bloating but feel like you are doing “all of the things” without any relief, it might be time to look more closely at your non-food triggers.
If you feel overwhelmed and are looking for a guide to help you address your chronic bloat, book a complimentary strategy call to explore how our 1:1 practice can help you banish the bloat!
In good health,
Abby & the Above Health Team
