It may come as a surprise to learn that to a certain extent, bloating is completely normal. Everyone will experience a build-up of gas as a by-product of digestion and it is absolutely normal to have abdominal distension after a meal – our tummy needs to stretch in order to accommodate the food we just ate. It is also valid to keep in mind that if you eat a high fibre meal or increase your daily fibre intake too quickly, you will experience an unusual and uncomfortable bloat.
However, if you experience a level of bloating that prevents you from living a normal life, something is not right. Bloating can be linked to some common and not so common conditions and for that reason it can become tricky to get to the root cause of it. Unfortunately, more often than not, bloating is a symptom ignored by conventional doctors/GPs and people are told they just need to live with it but as a functional medicine practitioner I encourage individuals to look further into the root cause of their symptoms.
Food sensitivities, lack of digestive enzymes, Coeliac Disease, constipation, bile acid malabsorption, imbalance of gut bacteria (dysbiosis), parasites, Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), endometriosis and PCOS can all be underlying conditions for chronic bloating and should not be overlooked as they can lead to more complicated health problems.
Many nutritional therapists use functional testing to get to the root cause of unexplained digestive issues and I would encourage you to look for help if you have been struggling with symptoms. For more information about how I can help you, please get in touch on info@gutfulnessnutrition.com
One response to “Unravelling the root cause of chronic bloating”
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About Marilia Chamon
My wife has suffered IBS for years, bloating, having to go to the toilet a lot,taking Co-Codamol a lot which does help to
control it,but then that can cause constipation. We know she has to avoid lettuce & green vegetables,cereals,& Bread,
the last 3 weeks she has been taking Biomed Live Culture Vegan Capsules, which seem to help with the bloating, but
not with excess wind, we have also found some time ago that when she feels really rough if she has a small amount of
Brandy and Ginger wine it gradually makes her feel better.