Do you ever feel bloated and tired? Heavy, like your insides are more tightly packed than usual? Maybe your digestion is trying to tell you something.
There are many possible reasons for abdominal bloating and gas. These can be symptoms of a number of conditions, and should not be ignored, but if medical causes are ruled out, then diet and lifestyle issues may be a factor. Some of the most common issues linked to bloating and gas I encounter are linked to digestion not working as well as it should. Let’s have a look:
1 1. What you eat
Some people find some foods trigger bloating, with common culprits being lentils and other pulses, bread/pasta, and vegetables such as cabbage. Pulses are known to contain compounds called lectins, which make them difficult for the digestive system to break down. Bread and pasta, if made from wheat, contain gluten, another potential trigger. Sugar-rich foods and alcohol can also be trigger.
2. How you eat
If you eat on the go, not taking time to sit down and enjoy your food, you may be contributing to the bloated feeling. The digestive system requires a series of processes to take place, starting with anticipating eating – what will you eat? What will it taste like? What is it smelling like as you prepare your meal? -and chewing food. Did you know that 20% of the acid that the stomach produces for digestion is produced in response to thinking about eating. If you grab something to take away, and then munch on it whilst you do something else, you bypass this preliminary step in the chain, which may mean that your body doesn’t digest break food down as much as it should in the stomach. In turn, this may move more slowly through the digestive tract, fermenting a bit on the way, and producing gas in the way that all ferments do.
3. When you eat
Eating late in the evening does not lead to great digestion. Lying down before the stomach has had chance to empty can lead to a feeling of bloating.
4. Hydration
Do you drink enough? Your body needs to be adequately hydrated to produce the acid and enzymes necessary for digestion. On top of this, if you haven’t been taking in enough fluid (of the non-diuretic variety so not counting tea, coffee and alcohol) fluid is diverted away from the digestive tract to more critical processes such as normal kidney function. This results in slower digestive transit and possibly constipation. This is turn can contribute to bloating and gas.
5. Stress
Stress has this nasty habit of lurking in the background when there are digestive issues going on. The links between the gut and the brain are increasingly implicated in many issues, from autoimmunity to alzheimers. At a very basic level, the way the body responds to stress is through the autonomous nervous systems – that’s the part that’s outside of conscious control – to shut down the parasympathetic system (often referred to as rest and – wait for it – digest). At the same time it activates the sympathetic nervous system, which among other things reduces blood flow to the digestive organs. So any digestion in progress gets temporarily shut down. This can result in feeling bloated/nausea (have you ever felt sick with nerves?) and gassy, as the stuff stuck in transit starts to ferment.
6. Medicines
Some medicines interfere with digestion, too. For example, drugs that are taken for indigestion and reflux can actually slow digestion, and if taken incorrectly can aggravate the problem. Some painkillers can irritate the stomach. That’s not my field of expertise, but I’m putting that here as a reminder, because it could be a question to ask your doctor or pharmacist.
So what can you do about it?
Over the coming weeks I’ll be answering some of these questions.
For now, let’s start with hydration: aim for 1.5 to 2 litres of water per day. That can include herbal teas, but it does not include tea, coffee, fizzy drinks or alcohol. However, do try to reduce and then eliminate caffeine from mid-afternoon. It is a stimulant, and can interfere with sleep later in the evening.
If you can’t quit the caffeine, every time you make yourself a cup, have a glass of water while the kettle boils. Keep a water bottle on your desk to remind yourself to drink. Clear ones work best because you can see what you have or haven’t consumed.
Let me know how you get on, and more importantly, how you feel.
In the meantime, sign up for our ‘Beat the Bloat’ mini challenge to get you on track to feeling better https://bit.ly/3T5f2oX