Health

10 Reasons Why You Might Have Bloating

When excessive gas builds up the intestinal system, it can create bloating. To get relief, it’s important to consider the underlying causes leading up to the excessive gas and discomfort.

By Tamar Hugoboom3 min read
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Bloating is very common, especially among women. Even the fittest fitness models (like Kelsey Wells) struggle with it. Bloating can range from mild discomfort to unbearable pain. No one likes it, but many accept it because it's been the norm for most of their life. The causes vary from person to person, making it hard to combat. Here are 10 reasons why women bloat that you've probably never been told.

1. Fiber Can Cause Bloating?

Believe it or not, excessive gas can be generated from eating fiber — and not necessarily too much fiber. This seems quite ironic, considering how health enthusiasts always seem to be harping on the importance of fiber in the diet.

When fiber absorbs liquid, it bulks.

When fiber absorbs liquid, it bulks. This bulking action triggers the signal in the body to exit through elimination. A lack of enzymes, however, will make it challenging for the fiber to be broken down sufficiently.

2. Not Chewing Your Food Enough

Food needs a chance to be savored for a while in the mouth. When we eat slowly, it allows saliva to release those important enzymes for breaking down foods rich in fiber. It also helps us cultivate gratitude, which creates a healthy environment for eating. If the enzymes are insufficient, the fiber keeps doing its job, expanding. This expansion can make the body feel uncomfortable and bloated.

3. Flora Is Missing

Flora (beneficial bacteria) has a part to play in this action upon food as well. If the healthy flora count is out of balance, then digestion is impaired.

4. Leaking Intestinal Valve

A swollen or flapping intestinal valve can trigger bloating. This valve serves as the gateway from the small intestines into the large intestines. When the valve doesn’t shut properly, waste leaks from the colon (large intestine) back into the small intestines, causing discomfort and weakness.

5. Parasites

Understandably, the intestinal valve is a popular hangout for parasites, which can go undetected for years and cause a plethora of health issues. What exactly are parasites? Why do most people have them, and how do you get rid of them? Read this.

6. Food Allergies

Allergies to certain foods agitate and aggravate the small intestinal lining. Digestion is impaired or lost altogether and bloating results.

Gluten allergies may be due to the body’s reaction to changes in the structure of the wheat, which have been tampered with for years by the agricultural industry. These changes may include the hybridization of the seed, premature harvesting techniques (which upset the digestive potential in the germ), and effects of herbicides on the wheat (which make it foreign to the human body). Sometimes people find themselves not allergic to gluten, but to the yeast in the making of the gluten-rich bread. This can certainly be the case for people who are affected by mold.

Cow milk allergies bear the similar effects in the intestines as gluten. For some, it's lactose intolerance. For others, it is an allergy to the protein in milk (A1 Beta-Casein). This seems to be problematic for those with O blood types. Interestingly, goat milk and some heirloom breeds of cattle don't have that protein allergen. However, some people may still have to eliminate milk products altogether.

GMO Corn Allergy People inhale tortilla chips, but never consider that their body may be craving what it's agitated by the most! Surprisingly, a corn allergy is often overlooked, although it's classified as a common allergen. Big agriculture industry and family farmers alike will fatten up their livestock on corn before slaughter time. This is telling. Why do humans not think that corn may be doing the very same thing to us, fattening us up even beyond belly bloat? We're talking body bloat!

7. Your Ethnicity and the Foods You Eat

Not so long ago if you wanted to eat ethnic food, you had two options. You could travel out of the country, or if you were fortunate to live near a big city, you could locate a restaurant in the immigrant section of downtown. It was a rare occasion for people. Indigestion often occurred because the stomach wasn’t used to the different dietary fare.

With food delivery apps, practically every cuisine around the world is available at the touch of a finger. But that brings up some questions worth considering...

  • Can a stomach of Mexican descent handle wheat bread?

  • Can a stomach of Asian descent handle quinoa?

  • Can a stomach of African descent handle cow’s milk?

  • Can a stomach of Western European descent handle rice?

  • Can a person of Eastern European descent handle corn?

For generations, stomachs were used to the fare of their ancestors. They were used to the food that grew in their homeland. It's understandable then, for example, why people of Mediterranean descent fared well with goat milk, but not cow’s milk. They raised goats!

When you depart from this pattern, it's logical that dietary challenges will naturally follow. This is not to say never to enjoy ethnic food! But taking a few plant enzymes ahead of eating could be quite beneficial.

8. The Lost Art of Traditional Food Prep

Traditionally, certain foods were fermented, soaked, or rested to allow their natural enzymes to be released. It was part of the natural ebb and flow of food preparation. You wouldn’t think of rushing the process. Enter our fast-paced, non-home centered culture, where microwaves have enthroned the kitchen for decades.

As it turns out, soaking highly fibrous products, (oats, grains, beans, and even nuts) overnight releases the phytic acid, which binds calcium in the intestines. This progress helps to ease digestion.

9. Excessive Sodium

Remember how the Egyptians used to embalm dead bodies with salt to preserve them? Eating foods high in sodium — especially fast food, Ethnic restaurant food, or prepackaged store-bought food — is a sure recipe for bloating. It constricts and tightens the circulation, placing stress on the organs of elimination.

10. During your Period

Most women struggle with bloating during their cycle as their hormones shift. Juicing foods that stimulate the kidneys can be very helpful. To learn more on how to naturally eliminate painful periods, read this.

Closing Thoughts

Discovering the root of bloating may seem difficult. You need to consider multiple factors. But hang in there. The pieces will come together in 10 Steps To Help Eliminate Bloating.