Bloated Stomach

Why do so many of us suffer from bloated stomachs?  What are the causes and what are the solutions?  In this article we'll look at the most common of the many causes of bloating, wind, and digestive discomfort.

Bloated Stomach Causes

Although we talk about our stomachs bloating, what we are actually referring to is a bloated abdomen.  There are two main categories of bloating.  One is hormonal and referred to as 'water retention', while the other is digestive and more common.  Here are the issues that may be at the root of your problem:

• Food sensitivities, allergies or irritable bowel
• Gluten intolerance or Coeliac disease
• Inadequate Hydrochloric Acid production in the stomach
• Insufficient enzymes
• Depleted bowel flora
• Candida overgrowth and heavy metal toxicity

Below are steps you can take to address each of these possible issues.

Bloated Stomach After Eating

People most commonly experience bloating after eating, and here is the first clue.  Most bloating is due to one or more break-downs in a chain of events that starts in the mouth.  To give yourself the best chance of resolving your bloating, we suggest you follow these steps.

Resolving your Bloated Stomach

Firstly you should eliminate food sensitivities as a primary cause.  Huge numbers of people are sensitive to wheat and dairy, so we suggest you eliminate these and follow a caveman or Paleolithic diet for a couple of weeks.  This may identify a gluten or dairy intolerance.  Reintroduce grains first.  If bloating returns you may be able to continue eating them in moderation with the correct enzyme supplement (we suggest Gas Stop) . If you can tolerate the grains, but dairy causes a problem, we recommend Nu-Zymes for its higher 'lactase' content. If neither is tolerated, you may benefit from Digest More for the occasions you cannot avoid either grains or dairy.  Better is to simply cut them out.

Next - Liver Cleansing is one of the most important methods of revitalising the digestive system.  It is inexpensive, quick and the results can be dramatic.  A congested liver contributes to incomplete breakdown of foods, inadequate handling of toxicity, deranged sugar and fat metabolisms and more.  The liver is King in Chinese medicine and is a focus of our "Cleansing, Hydration AND Nutrition" philosophy.  For best outcomes, we strongly recommend that people resolve parasites and cleanse their livers while avoiding allergens, before focussing on nutritional support.

Never underestimate the importance of liver cleansing Click here for our Liver Cleanse

Also drink good water. Remember that tap water contains traces of everything from the contraceptive pill to chemotherapeutic drugs as well as heavy metals, pesticides and herbicides.  All this goes through your digestive tract, poisoning its delicate make up and impairing your ability to hydrate.  No surprise then, that we recommend a good water filtration system to clean the water and PlatoH2O to restore its structure and increase your cellular hydration.

Plato H2O improves cellular hydration and may also help with constipation or sluggish colon.

Candida and parasites are almost invariably involved in bloating.  Our intoxicated immune systems simply under function so that the intestine, with its ailing natural flora, becomes the incubator for fungal, bacterial and parasitic species that should be eliminated.  Para X is our flag ship tincture, designed for the job.

Para X covers a slew of parasites and candida and is key for many with bloating problems.

Heavy metals are spilled by moulds and parasites as they die off.  Most of us have swallowed a steady stream of mercury and other toxic metals from our fillings as well as inhaled them from the air and eaten them in fish.  These metals not only damage the immune system, and prevent us from restoring our natural bowel flora, they are also taken up by candida and parasites and spilled out into the body when they are killed.  Without addressing the metals, we remain vulnerable to the whole cycle starting up again.

Magic green contains micronised chlorella ideally suited to mop up metals in the gut and catch them in the lymphatic system and blood.

Bowel flora (probiotics) are crucial and are best introduced after cleansing.  They are unfortunately decimated by the antibiotics prescribed by the doctor AND those routinely used in animal husbandry, that we unwittingly eat in our meats.  The wrong flora then take over, causing fermentation and wind.  It is important to eat organic meat that has minimal antibiotic contamination, and considerable benefit may be derived from good probiotic supplementation.

.	This Liquid Probiotic formula soothes the gut and provides live probiotic support.

The steps above may be enough to resolve your bloating, but understanding the role of enzymes is crucial for many.

Your enzyme production may still be inadequate to make up for what is missing in your food.  Every food comes complete with the necessary enzymes to break it down.  Nature's aim, is to make digestion a whole lot easier, but here's the bad news.  Cooking destroys all enzymes, so our bodies have to start from scratch.

It is important to chew well as this introduces certain enzymes via the saliva.  Try to pay attention to which foods cause you to bloat, have digestive pain or wind.  You will most likely find that a variety of foods cause your problem, but on closer examination you may find that these foods are all one 'type'.  In other words broccoli may be suspected on one occasion, then lettuce another and finally beans.  Notice that these are all green, fibrous foods.  One option is to simply identify and avoid these foods, but enzyme supplementation may be a more convenient alternative. 

Go to GasStop enzyme formula or Learn more about enzyme supplement options

Digestive Enzyme Supplements

Digestive Enzymes come in many shapes and sizes.  Different enzymes are suited to 'digest' or break down different types of food.  The enzyme 'Lipase' for example, breaks down fats.  Cellulase breaks down fibrous matter in green leafy vegetables, and 'Lactase' will break down lactose, which is the substance most commonly responsible for dairy intolerance.

By supplementing with the appropriate enzymes, a great many of our customers report tremendous benefits, and for you to benefit in a similar way, we have provided the following pages dedicated to enzymes:

Digestive Enzymes which describes more fully the roll of enzymes in digestion, and

Digestive Enzyme Supplements which describes more fully which enzyme supplement to choose according to your own sensitivities.

Finally - are you producing enough stomach acid?  Many people, especially those who get acid reflux or GERD in addition to bloating, are not producing enough hydrochloric acid.  HCL not only starts dissolving your food.  It also creates the environment for some of your enzymes to work, and it kills off unwanted bacteria and moulds before they reach your intestine.  Supplementing with Betaine HCL at the beginning of meals may be key in resolving your bloating.

Go to Betaine HCL stomach acid supplement

It is also noteworthy that salts are necessary to produce stomach acid.  Processed table salt is not a good idea for anyone, but unrefined salts, like Celtic Salt or Himalayan salt are fantastic sources of vital nutrients.

By understanding each of the issues above, one sees that fermentation and putrefaction with associated bloating, is almost inevitable, and it is actually THIS that sets the stage for the majority of food sensitivities mentioned earlier. Bloating is not down to one thing.  It is an outcome of a more complicated digestive and immune breakdown and needs to be addressed accordingly.

Bloated Stomach Check List:

• Avoid un-tolerated foods
• Cleanse or Flush the Liver
• Ensure proper hydration
• Address Parasites & Candida
• Restore bowel flora with Probiotics
• Support your digestion with Enzymes
• Keep your stomach acid up

At Self Health Enterprises, our philosophy is one of Cleansing, Hydration AND Nutrition to restore health, so please read the relevant sections regarding Cleansing and Hydration in combination with this article to achieve your best outcome.

Other bloating remedies to consider