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How to Reduce Occasional Bloating
by Dr. Thomas K. Lo, Advanced Chiropractic & Nutritional Healing Center
Bloating is common and affects just about everybody at some point in their lives. In fact, about 25 percent of adults report that they have occasional bloating.
Whether it’s caused by certain foods you’ve eaten or a big meal, bloating often results in feelings of discomfort, occasional gas, concern over your appearance, and, sometimes, occasional constipation.
Bloating in and of itself is not unusual from time to time and often goes away when someone generally focuses on their digestion, clears up constipation, and makes improvements to their diet.
What Happens in the Body When You Become Bloated?
Bloating is primarily caused by trapped internal gas inside your gastrointestinal tract. Gas accumulates in your intestines when your body cannot properly break down foods.
Built up gas in your intestines is mostly produced by bacteria and microbes that digest carbohydrates, via the process of fermentation. Sometimes, certain carbs are not absorbed well and can cause too much fermentation, which then releases gas. That’s why changing your diet, particularly by removing some types of carbs, can often help decrease bloating.
Common Causes of Bloating
Some of the most common causes of bloating include:
Occasional constipation, which can bloat the abdomen.
Low intake of probiotic food or probiotics, which helps to maintain a healthy balance of gut bacteria in the microbiome. When the ratio of “good guy” microbes to “bad guy” microbes in your gut is imbalanced, occasional bloating can occur.
Eating large meals, especially those that are hard to break down. Common foods include fried, heavy, sugary, or processed foods.
Consuming lots of fiber, particularly if your body is not used to eating a lot of fiber.
Food sensitivities, such as lactose intolerance or gluten sensitivity.
Eating FODMAP (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polysaccharides) foods that contain hard-to-digest carbohydrates, such as broccoli, beans, dairy, garlic, and onions. Although these are generally healthy foods, not everyone digests them easily.
Not breaking down sugars and carbohydrates fully. Certain complex sugar compounds need the presence of enzymes to be digested fully, yet people can be lacking these enzymes. This can lead to some carbs becoming fermented in the gut, which produces gas as a byproduct.
Inadequate protein digestion, causing some protein foods to ferment in the gut.
Ways to Reduce Occasional Bloating
The following steps can often make a big impact on keeping your digestion on track.
Reduce Your Intake of Sugar/Refined Carbs
Start by avoiding or limiting processed foods, especially those high in added sugar, white flour, sodium, artificial sweeteners, and other additives.
Some carbs also tend to feed bloat-fostering bacteria in the gut microbiome, helping to set the stage for an imbalance of microbes.
While it really depends on the individual, carbs and sugars that tend to cause occasional bloating include lactose, fructose and carbs found in dairy, wheat and beans.
Eat Probiotic Foods
Many people find relief from consuming more probiotic foods, which contain “good guy” bacteria that facilitate digestion.
Most Americans today don’t consume enough probiotics in their diet due to low-nutrient, modern processed foods, and soil depletion. By eating probiotic foods, you’ll introduce more healthy microbes into your GI tract that can crowd out other types.
Probiotics help to digest foods and support the absorption of nutrients. You can acquire them by eating fermented easy-to-digest foods regularly, ideally every day, this includes unsweetened yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kombucha, kvass, and kimchi.
Eat More Fruit and Veggies
These provide you with fiber, water, key electrolytes and beneficial enzymes that can help relieve stomach bloating. Try eating more raw or cooked leafy greens, cucumber, fennel, artichoke, melon, berries, steamed veggies, and cultured/fermented vegetables.
Consume Herbs and Spices
Natural digestion-soothing herbs like ginger, dandelion, aloe vera, and fennel have been used for thousands of years to soothe an occasionally bloated belly.
Many herbs help the body release extra fluid, while others such as ginger and peppermint can have a relaxing effect on the muscles in the digestive tract, which helps soothe the gut.
Try eating fresh-ground herbs of all kinds (parsley, oregano, rosemary, etc.) and sipping on herbal teas made with mint, ginger, and turmeric.
Consult your healthcare professional prior to starting any new dietary or lifestyle regimen.
Digestive Enzymes
Digestive enzyme supplements are also important. Enzymes help your body break down the nutrients you eat into smaller, easier-to-digest components.
Digestive enzymes break starches into sugar molecules, proteins into amino acids, etc. and they’re key to better digestion and nutrient absorption.
Fiber
Prebiotics are found naturally in high-fiber foods such as vegetables and are non-digestible carbohydrates that feed healthy bacteria in the gut.
Fiber is especially beneficial when combined with probiotics since the two work together to maintain a balanced microbiome.
Manage Stress
Because your brain and gut are in constant communication with one another, hormones and stress can both play a role in digestion.
This means that if your outlook needs a boost, or even if your sleep regimen needs tweaking, you are feeling overwhelmed or anxious, you might feel more bloated than usual.
Stress can often lead to poorer food choices, which can lead to occasional bloating.
Get enough sleep, take breaks to unwind and relax throughout your day, and do things that bring you joy such as exercise, spending time in nature, socializing, etc.
Another tip is to slow down when eating and to practice eating more “mindfully.” Take your time, avoid distractions, chew food thoroughly, and stop before you are too full.
Stay Hydrated
Your body basically swells up when you haven’t drunk enough fluids, plus you might become slightly constipated. When you stay hydrated, your body does a better job of balancing fluids and releasing any extra water it doesn’t need.
In addition to drinking plenty of water, having herbal teas (such as peppermint, ginger, or chamomile) can also help encourage healthy bowel movements and decrease bloating.
Try a Low-FODMAP Diet
FODMAP foods are those that contain specific types of short-chain carbohydrates that can aggravate some people’s digestion.
A low FODMAP diet, which is a type of elimination diet, is now commonly recommended for overall gut and digestive health. Because FODMAPs can increase fermentation in the gut, they can trigger occasional bloating in people who are unable to metabolize these carbs fully.
Unfortunately, some foods high in FODMAPs are otherwise healthy, such as cruciferous veggies and beans, but you might still want to avoid them for a while to get that bloating under control.
High FODMAP foods to consider limiting in your diet include:
Wheat, rye, and barley;
Dairy such as milk and most yogurts;
Veggies, including broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower;
Onions and garlic;
Apples and pears;
Beans and legumes; and
Added sugar and sweeteners, including sugary drinks.
While you may want to experiment with cutting out FODMAPs, eating plenty of fiber is still important for helping to keep bowel movements regular.
Here are healthy food choices which contain fewer FODMAPs:
Veggies such as peppers, lettuce, carrots, green beans, zucchini, and tomatoes.
Fruits such as grapes, kiwi, melon, pineapple, and strawberries.
Most protein sources, such as eggs, fish, and meat.
Corn, rice, and oats.
If you are struggling with health issues, call the Advanced Chiropractic & Nutritional Healing Center at 240-651-1650 for a free consultation. Dr. Lo uses Nutritional Response Testing® to analyze the body to determine the underlying causes of ill or non-optimum health. The office is located at 7310 Grove Road #107, Frederick, MD. Check out the website at www.doctorlo.com.
