Digestive Health Series - Part 2

Abdominal Bloating – What causes it and how can you beat it?

"Bloating of stomach or a distended stomach is not a serious issue, unless your stomach bloating is caused by a medical condition such as liver or heart disease, the only real cause is intestinal gas - not "water weight," says Michael Jensen, MD, an endocrinologist and obesity researcher at Mayo Clinic.

Abdominal distension plagues everyone from time-to-time. It causes physical discomfort and looks bad too. Experts say stomach bloating is a condition you can avoid easily. It can be caused for various reasons like –

1. Stomach Disorders - In some cases, bloating is a symptom of an underlying condition like any of the following disorder:

• Irritable bowel syndrome: This causes bloating, cramping, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or constipation and last for a few months
• Inflammatory bowel disease: It’s an inflammation of the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
• Celiac disease: This is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the small intestine. It's triggered by a protein called gluten that's found in wheat, barley, and rye.
• Constipation: It can lead to hard or dry stools, giving a sense of incomplete evacuation and bloated feeling of stomach.
• Gastroparesis: It’s a condition where the emptying of food from the stomach into the small intestine is sluggish.
• Cancer: Colon, ovarian, stomach, and pancreatic cancer are some types of cancers that can also cause bloating of stomach.

2. Diet Related Bloating:

"We all have an increased amount of gas in the body after eating them, but some of us react to them more severely than others," says Dr. Kyle Staller, a gastroenterologist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

Bloating can also result when your body finds it difficult to digest certain sugars in some types of foods such as wheat, rye, onions, garlic, legumes (chickpeas, lentils, beans) honey, pistachios, cashews, asparagus, and artichokes; Drinks with fructose or artificial sweeteners.

3. Sudden Bloating:

Sudden bloating could be a result of an inflammatory bowel condition, constipation, lactose intolerance, celiac disease, or (in rare cases) cancer. If it lasts more than a few days, seek a primary care physician’s or gastroenterologist’s advice.

Beating Abdominal Distension

Sometimes treating belly bloat requires a multifaceted approach. "It's often a case of using traditional approaches in combination with the newer approach of thinking of bloating as a sensory issue," says Dr. Staller.

He adds, "For sure there are some people whose bloating goes away when you fix the underlying condition or diet. But in many cases, the bloating will remain. That's when we think of bloating as a sensory issue. Low doses of medications can change the way nerves react, and help reduce bloating, according to him.

Your primary care physician or a gastroenterologist can help you resolve belly bloat and over time, you can get over this problem and have a comfortable meal.

Watch out for the next topic on 'Gastroparesis' in the Digestive Health Series.