Since opening up about my own digestive issues and sharing what I have been doing to my gut health back on track I am amazed at the outpour from all of you who have or are currently going through the same thing. Our bodies are so complex (and i’m not a doctor) so I don’t have all the answers. But what I do have is my own experience, trial and error and a tonne of research within the world of gut health. I want to be a source of hope and give you all the top necessary to dig deeper into your symptoms and figure out once and for all what causes you to get bloated.
The following 10 points, are what I’ve found to be huge contributors to the almighty bloat. But the great thing is they’re all things that can be identified and managed and hopefully give you some positive results.
1. Too many raw/icy foods
Have you jumped on that trend of putting frozen cauliflower and zucchini in your smoothies? Or trying to watch your weight by eating a raw vegetable salad for lunch and dinner? One of the biggest culprits for bloat is eating raw, hard to digest vegetables, it simply puts too much stress on the digestive system. On top of this, foods like kale, broccoli & cabbage are rich in an indigestible sugar called raffinose (also found in beans). Methane-producing bacteria in the colon feed on raffinose and release gas in the process which leads to bloating.
Remedies:
- Gently cook your food to allow for easier digestion, especially leafy greens, cruciferous and root vegetables.
- Take a supplement called Beano when eating a meal heavy in gas producing vegetables. Beano is a plant-derived enzyme that breaks down raffinose before it enters the colon.
- Another great supplement is Coconut Charcoal by Bulletproof, this helps reduce and eliminate gas in the digestive tract.
- If you’re experiencing gas or bloating, trying chewing and swallowing 1/2 tsp fennel seeds after your meal. Fennel seeds help remove gas from your system,
- When making a smoothie, steam your vegetables before freezing them, or simply reduce the amount of frozen vegetables you add to your smoothie altogether.
2. Parasites
Parasites aren’t talked about enough. Sure, they’re not the sexiest topic on earth but they’re a bigger and more common problem than most of us know. Many people think parasites may be acquired only in developing and third-world countries or as a parting gift from an exotic vacation. However, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds these buggers are very much alive in the U.S and millions of Americans develop parasitic infections with symptoms that often go unnoticed or are misdiagnosed. These microscopic creatures are typically picked up through poorly washed fruit and vegetables, raw meat and fish, contaminated water, the soil and even our pets.
Symptoms include:
- bloating after meals
- gas
- fatigue
- abdominal pain
- insomnia
- skin issues like rosacea, eczema, rashes
- still hungry after meals
- unexplained weight gain or weight loss
- aching joints and muscles
- depression
- anxiety
Remedies:
- A parasite can easily be detected through a stool sample from your local GP, and treated through anti parasitic herbs or antibiotics.
- Depending on the particular type of bug, you may need to go on a specific diet in order to starve it out. This will generally be foods that turn to sugar once digested; alcohol, sugar (duh), grains and starchy vegetables.
Be sure to consult your GP for more specific guidelines depending on your individual test results.
3. Dysbiosis in the gut
Dysbiosis results from an overgrowth of harmful species in our gut and an under-representation of “good bacteria”. When this occurs, bloating is a predominant symptom but is really just the tip of the iceberg. If gone untreated, dysbiosis can lead to autoimmune disease, cancer, asthma and obesity.
There are many factors that can contribute to an overgrowth of the ‘bad guys’ and the extinction of our ‘good guys’. These include:
- The use of antibiotics – Good bacteria make life uncomfortable for harmful bacteria by competing for food and controlling levels of oxygen and acidity in the gut so that the living conditions favor beneficial species. Taking antibiotics (especially on a frequent basis) is like dropping an atom bomb in your gut. It wipes out the entire population (good and bad) which leaves you vulnerable to bad bacteria setting up camp and in turn, causing dysbiosis.
- Eating non organic food – Whenever you eat non organic food you run the risk of consuming chemical residues. Whether it’s fresh fruit and vegetables that have been sprayed with pesticides or eating meat that has been factory farmed & injected with hormones. You consume whatever this animal is consuming, so if they’re eating GMO filled grains you’re eating that too. All of this is detrimental to our gut bacteria. While research around glyphosate (the main ingredient in round up; a popular pesticide) is still limited, so far there have been studies that show its ability to change the balance of the microbiome in a negative way. When exposure is ongoing, the toxic effect and change to the gut, manifests over time, potentially creating long-term changes to the makeup of our microbiome including inhibiting the growth of any beneficial bacteria in the gut, resulting in dysbiosis.
- A diet poor in fibre – Ever heard of prebiotics? Not only does prebiotic fiber strengthen and significantly increase the good bacteria, it helps suppress the bad bacteria. Prebiotics are carbohydrates that act as food for beneficial bacteria in the gut. These carbs travel undigested to the colon, where they ferment and produce small chain fatty acids that feed the gut flora. Not all plant foods function in this way, but those containing specific types of soluble fiber do. Something to be mindful of when upping your fibre intake – when you take too much too soon you end can end up bloated and gassy. Its recommend to increase your fibre intake at a slow and steady pace so your system can keep up. Prebiotic contains foods include:onions, garlic, leeks, soybeans, chicory root, honey, banana, Jerusalem artichoke. Silver Fern also have a great prebiotic fibre supplement you can add to your morning smoothie.
- Consuming too many processed foods – When I say processed foods I’m talking about everything from microwave dinners loaded with pasta, sugar, and conventional dairy to the snickers you grab from the office vending machine and the bag of popcorn you munch on every time you go to the movies. ALL of these foods aren’t just going to add a few inches to your waist, they’re also harming your microbiome. Ever had cravings so bad you felt possessed? Like there was something inside of you starving for some sugar? Almost beyond your control? Like the devil on your shoulder whispering to you, feed me that chocolate bar. Well, that’s the bad bacteria in your stomach crying out for some food. These pathogens feed and thrive on this food, so the more processed crap you eat the more they will thrive and take over the environment in your gut. Leading to? You guessed it – dysbiosis.
Remedies:
- Invest in a high quality probiotic supplement to introduce more beneficial bacteria to your microbiome. This is especially important after a round of antibiotics. Silver Fern do a great one with a 100% survivability rate.
- Cut back on the junk food. Processed foods don’t serve our health in any way, opt for a whole foods diet, and when you want a treat use less processed ingredients or brands that use good quality ingredients. I have a snack foods ‘store’ I curated that includes brand and products I use and trust. View it here.
- Eat Organic and Non GMO labeled foods as much as possible. Eat local where possible, shop for produce at the Farmers Market and ask about their growing practices. Most farmers use organic growing practices but just aren’t certified. If money if an issue then you can follow the below guide from EWG. They’ve listed the Top 12 foods that are considered to have the most pesticide residues. In addition, the ‘Clean 15’ are foods that have the least amount of residue.
4. Eating something you’re intolerant to
Ever wonder why your boyfriend can eat all the dairy heavy pizza in the world yet you have one bite and your stomach blows up like a balloon? We’re all built differently, (our microbiomes especially) so what one stomach can handle another will freak the F out. Whether it’s gluten, eggs, bell peppers, or a whole food group like nightshades or FODMAPS you could be eating something that your stomach can’t efficiently digest.
Remedies:
- Take a food intolerance test to pinpoint exactly which foods aren’t agreeing with you – PInnertest & My Viome are both great at home options.
- Try an elimination diet and reintroduce foods at a slow pace to identify triggers
- Or go on the Autoimmune protocol diet (AIP). This eliminates foods that may cause inflammation in the gut and instead eating nutrient-rich foods. People who do the AIP diet should follow it strictly for a few weeks and then slowly reintroduce foods that they have avoided. The idea is to see if there is a reaction when the food is reintroduced. If there is a reaction, it is suggested that they should exclude this food from their diet long-term.
5. Consumption of sugar alcohols
We live in a day and age where theres a sugar free option for everything. If something tastes sweet yet you’re being told it’s sugar free, you best be checking the ingredient list for sugar alcohols. And although they’re not absorbed by the liver, and have no affect on the blood sugar, they still need to be digested. This is where you run into trouble. Sugar alcohols are known to ferment in the gut, in turn causing huge stomach upset like foul smelling gas, and bloating. Some common sugar alcohols to look out for are erythritol, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, lactitol, isomalt, maltitol.
Remedies:
- There are a few sugar free options that don’t contain sugar alcohols, these include stevia, allulose and pure monk fruit (be sure to still read ingredients lists as brands like Lakanto still add Erythritol to their Monk fruit products)
- If you’re baking at home try adding banana, dates or apple sauce as a natural sweetener, or use healthier alternatives to white sugar like coconut sugar or honey.
6. Eating on the run
There are many reasons why you shouldn’t eat on the go. You’re more likely to eat too fast, not chewing your food properly, therefore making it harder for your stomach to break down the poorly chewed food you just wolfed down your pie hole. Have you ever found yourself, late for work grabbing a bowl of oatmeal as you race out the door. Trying to eat that in the car while doing your makeup in the rearview mirror, all while weaving through traffic? This is a perfect formula for a stressed state. Your body has 2 states it sits in – a ‘rest and digest’ or a ‘fight and flight.’ Can you guess what this scenario is? Your body can’t be in 2 states at once, so if you’re in fight or flight mode your body can’t be digesting that oatmeal properly. Resulting in? You guessed it, bloat!
Remedies:
- Make it a point to factor in at least 20 minutes of extra time to eat each meal
- Slow it down, chew your food at least 15 times before swallowing
- Try not to be distracted by multitasking, or watching telly during meal times
- Take 2 deep breaths before you sit down to your meal. This will help get you in a more relaxed state of mind.
7. Combining the wrong foods
To all those nights you got so uncomfortably gassy after indulging in a fruit & cheese board with your girlfriends. Think about the process that happens when you put that combination of food in one mouthful? Sugar digests faster than protein. When you eat a fast digesting sugar and a slower to digest protein together, fermentation happens, thus leading to gas and bloat. The same thing can happen when you eat dessert too quickly after a protein rich meal.
Classic examples of poor food combining:
- Chicken salad with strawberries
- Bacon wrapped dates
- Fig jam with grapes and cheese on crackers
- Turkey with sugar rich cranberry sauce,
- Those marshmallow yams you had on thanksgiving, along with some gas producing brussel sprouts, cranberries (more sugar) and turkey.
- And one of the biggest culprits are the sugar laden sauces/dressings that you pour on your food. Daily.
Remedies
- Avoid sugar containing foods when consuming a protein heavy meal.
- Make your own salad dressing (olive oil with lemon juice and wholegrain mustard is an easy swap)
- Try to wait attest 1-2hours to consume fruit or sugar after a protein rich meal
8. Leaky gut
Leaky gut, or “intestinal permeability,” is a condition in which the lining of the small intestine becomes damaged, causing undigested food particles, toxic waste products and bacteria to “leak” through the intestines and flood the blood stream. These substances are considered foreign to your body and result in an inflammatory response as your body tries to fight off these ‘invaders’. What you’re left with is a slew of undesirable symptoms.
Before I go into ways you can identify if you have leaky gut, it’s important to know the 2 main ways you can develop a leaky gut.
- Medications. Taking antibiotics, aspirin, and steroids can irritate the gut lining, and over time, cause damage to the intestinal walls.
- Consuming excessive inflammatory foods such as soy, corn, conventional dairy, gluten, caffeine, refined sugar.
Signs you may have a leaky gut:
- Excessive gas, bloat, diarrhea, constipation
- Sugar and carb cravings
- Fatigue
- Joint pain/stiffness
- Brain Fog
- Depression/anxiety
- Skin problems such as acne, rosacea, eczema
- Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, celiac disease or Crohn’s
Remedies:
- Get a food intolerance test
- Remove foods from your diet that are considered inflammatory
- Slow down on the aspirin
- Supplement with Collagen, L-Glutamine, Probiotics and Bone Broth to help build up and heal the gut lining
9. Sluggish liver
Bile, a digestive juice produced by the liver, helps the body absorb fat into the bloodstream. This thick, yellow-green substance in stored the gallbladder, until the body needs some to digest fats. But when the liver is overburdened or sluggish the flow of bile can become stagnant or slow down. This shifts the gut towards a state of dysbiosis, (where unfriendly bacteria dominate), this is when constipation and bloating can occur.
These are common symptoms of a sluggish liver:
- Fluctuation in blood sugar levels
- Hormonal imbalances including PMS
- Digestive issues (bloating, gas constipation, inability to digest fatty foods)
- Skin related issues like rosacea, eczema, rashes, acne, psoriasis
- Intolerance to alcohol
- Low energy levels
- Intolerance to coffee
- Excessive sweating
- Swollen feet or abdomen
- Easy bruising
- Yellowing of the eyes
- Dark urine and stool
- Bad breath
- Heartburn
- Sensitivity to chemicals in paints, petrol, bleaches, etc.
- Body odor.
The great news is that the liver is the only organ that can regenerate itself, provided you give it the right support.
Remedies:
Here are just a few ways to remedy a sluggish liver:
- Reduce fat and protein intake, especially for the first half of the day.
- Drink at least 8oz celery juice on an empty stomach each morning
- Increase intake of liver supporting foods like apples, beets, grapefruit, blueberries, cranberries, cherries, cruciferous vegetables (especially Brussel sprouts & broccoli), and garlic
- Supplement with liver supporting herbs. Dandelion root, milk thistle, Angelica root and artichoke leaf are also great either in a tea or tincture.
- Buy the Medical Medium book – Liver Rescue to learn more.
10. Yang Deficiency
This last point is a reference to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). In Chinese Medicine Philosophy our body’s energy (Qi) contains a delicate balance of both Yin (Cold) and Yang (Heat). The same philosophy applies to the food and drink we consume, they either have Yin, Yang or Neutral energy.
When we consume too much Yin not enough Yang, we end up with a cold internal environment. If we think about the stomach as a camp fire that cooks our food, when we’re constantly putting Yin producing foods and literal cold, raw or icy food and drink on it, the fire is eventually going to go out or at least have a hard time to digest (cook) the food. This is especially important in the morning. Going back to the camp fire analogy, the fire naturally goes out over night, in the morning when you go to eat your breakfast you need to get the fire blazing again working with the hot, simmering coals that are still present. If you’re downing a large glass of ice cold water as soon as you wake up, followed by a smoothie with frozen food that’s going reduce your digestive fire even more.
Examples of Yin Producing Foods:
- Alfalfa sprouts
- Apples
- Artichokes
- Asparagus
- Avocados
- Bean sprouts
- Broccoli
- Cilantro
- Clams
- Crab
- Dandelion greens
- Fish
- Honey
- Kelp
- Lemons
- Limes
- Nettles
- Pears
- Persimmons
- Pomegranates
- Radish
- Swiss chard
- Soy Products
- Tomatoes
- Watermelons
- Yams
- Zucchinis
Raw & Cold foods also tend to be Yin producing.
Yang is the creative, transformative energy that keeps your mental and bodily functions going, thus when yang is not strong enough to warm and activate the body, people experience symptoms of:
- always feeling cold
- hypo-activity
- lower back pain or soreness
- low energy
- poor circulation
- poor digestion or loose stool (especially in the morning)
- pallor and pasty complexion
- urinary disorders
- edema (accumulation of fluids in the body such as the lower legs)
- low libido
- infertility
Remedies:
Here are some things you can do to activate and replenish your yang energy.
- Get out in the sun and get some Vitamin D
- See a TCM practitioner who can properly diagnose you and treat you with herbs and acupuncture.
- Avoid cold, icy food and drinks. Opt for room temp water always, and consume more cooked foods.
- Eat More Yang producing foods from the following list:
- Animal: anchovy, mussel, lobster, trout, chicken, beef, lamb
- Fruit: cherry, citrus peal, date, litchi, longan, peach, raspberry, strawberry
- Grains and seeds: oats, spelt, sweet brown rice (and its products, i.e. moshi), quinoa, sunflower seed, sesame seed, walnut, pine nut, chestnut, pistachio
- Spices: basil, fennel, dill, anise, ginger, turmeric, rosemary, sage, thyme, black and white pepper, horseradish, garlic, clove, nutmeg, fenugreek seed, peppermint.
- Vegetables: parsnip, parsley, mustard greens, winter squash, cabbage, kale, onion, leek, chive, garlic, scallion, radish, sweet potato, cooked beans with ginger (e.g. black beans, lentils, aduki beans), hot peppers are warming only in small pitches, otherwise they have a strong cooling effect. This is also true of concentrated sweeteners.
- Beverages: chai tea, ginger tea, jasmine tea
