Why Am I Bloated?

Posted on 29 August, 2018

Blurg: (adjective) a feeling of being bloated, yuck, or uncomfortable after eating.

Do you feel blurg sometimes—perhaps often? Are you confused about what it is you’re eating that may be causing this? If so, read on. Let’s dive into why you might feel bloated.

I’d like to start by clarifying two things. Firstly, blurg is a made up word that is not scientific. Secondly, bloating and the myriad ways it is perceived by different people, along with other gut symptoms is complex. It’s not usually caused by individual foods or nutrients but—as you’ll see—is a complex interaction of many things.

As tempting as it is to start cutting foods out or trying different dietary protocols, avoid Dr Google and get any serious gut issues ruled out by your GP. A qualified dietitian should be your next port of call.

In the meantime, here are six reasons why you may be bloated, for your reading pleasure:

You ate too much

I know this sounds obvious but let me explain: you may feel full initially after eating too much in your stomach but your gastrointestinal tract is very long and it takes around 24 hours or more for foods to move through it. That large meal can’t disappear and it will move through your small and then large intestine, taking its bulk with it. That volume has got to go somewhere and, of course, out pops your abdomen!

Over-eating ‘more-ish’ snacks like pizzas/pasta/rye crackers with cheese will commonly result in feeling bloated. I find clients tend to report this because they have been restricting and then when they splash out, eat too much, and then suffer the consequences.

Tip: stop dieting, restricting and subsequently overeating. Try a more sustainable eating pattern and enjoy your favourite foods in a way that doesn’t leave you feeling…well…blurg.

You’re stressed

Stress and untreated anxiety (i.e. no health professional managing it) have a large impact on your gut. In fact, the gastrointestinal tract is the most susceptible system to stress. It’s why you need to suddenly go to the toilet when you feel stressed or nauseous, or have ‘butterflies’ in your tummy when you’re nervous or excited.

Stress and anxiety feed into a vicious cycle of the gut becoming hypersensitive to bloating, increased pain perception and increased anxiety about how the gut is feeling. Basically, when you’re stressed you feel the bloating more acutely and it triggers more pain and discomfort.

Tip: prioritise rest and downtime, and if you’re struggling with mental health seek help to better manage it.

Too many FODMAPs

FODMAPs are a group of small and medium chain sugars (carbohydrates). These carbohydrates are not fully absorbed by many people and can cause bloating and other symptoms once they reach your large intestine. Read more about them here.

Would you like to make a “gut-splosion soup”? Pack it full of FODMAPs. It’s essentially a minestrone soup: the combination of celery, onions, lentils, and cabbage in a liquid form is hell for bloating. Especially if the other meals across the day have quite a fair bit of fermentable carbs.

These symptoms often get blamed on gluten (crusty white bread eaten with the soup above) when in reality it most likely the FODMAPs (in the soup and the bread).

Tip: If you suspect that your IBS symptoms (bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, etc.) may be caused by a high intake of FODMAPS check in with our team at The Healthy Eating Hub, we’re the gut health experts.

Constipation

Did you know that 25% of the western population is constipated? That’s a lot of backed up people just freely walking the streets!

If you struggle with bloating and you haven’t been to the toilet in the past few days, it’s highly likely the two are connected.

Bloating is more likely to occur when the gut is slow due to lack of fibre, fluid or physical activity (or all three).

Tip: focus your efforts on eating more vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, drinking more water and going for a brisk 30-minute walk each day. You’ll not only decrease your bloating but decrease your stress levels as well.

Too many fizzy drinks

Whether these drinks contain sugar or not, they contain carbon dioxide (which makes the bubbles). Carbon dioxide is a gas. When you drink carbonated beverages, some of the gas is released through burping and some of it gets trapped and starts the journey to be released at the other end.

Tip: do you drink multiple cans of diet or regular soft drink or mineral water every day? Maybe it’s time to swap to plain water. Try it out for a week and see if it makes a difference.

You hold in farts

All that built up gas from a healthy wholefoods diet has got to go somewhere. Volatile (gassy) fatty acids and other gasses are a by-product of the bacteria fermenting food in your large intestine. If we’re not letting it out, it’s going to build up. I have to reassure clients (especially the ladies) that farting is completely normal.