Bad Bloating-Digestion?

WindSock

I am getting very bloated lately after eating anything. It's really annoying and uncomfortable. I can't finish my meals and feel like a ballon full of air. I feel like I want to stick some pins into me to deflate myself. Is there an easier or less painful way to avoid bloating? Do you think I may not be digesting properly?

g'em

Have you made any changes to your diet recently? Beans, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, sprouts, onions and peas are very fibrous and can cause build-ups of gas. But they're also really good for you so don't cut them out completely!!

Fizzy drinks can also make you gassy, and even drinking a lot of diet-drinks can cause gas build-up as they contain sweeteners that can have a laxative effect and make you very windy.

Food intolerances may also cause it, although you'd usually have other symptoms like headaches or skin rashes alongside the bloated feeling.

Peppermint and camomile tea can really help settle your tummy - peppermint with a teaspoon of honey is a favourite of mine (and also a wicked hangover cure )

fridaysgirl

Boreds, I have the very same problem but I notice that sometimes it is worse than others. I am intolerant to wheat so I stay away from anything with wheat in it (except for a couple of slices of bread at the weekend cos I can't help myself:) )

Eat slowly and chew your food properly. The slower you eat the less likely you are to feel bloated. Don't drink too much water or fluids with your meal. For when you feel like a big balloon, take a peppermint oil capsule or some peppermint drops in water about 20 mins before you eat. This should aid digestion. Peppermint tea about 30 mins after dinner is good. Don't eat apples straight after eating - I've found this makes your stomach worse.

The only way to get your stomach back to normal is to cut everything processed out of your diet and cook your meals from scratch. Eat porridge in the morning, a combination of good carbs, salad/veg and protein for lunch and dinner. Cut back or eliminate wheat for a couple of weeks - it usually takes a week for your system to clear out - and then do the same with diary for a couple of weeks. See if you feel any better by doing this. Celtic people have a predisposition to wheat and dairy intolerances so eating these foods could have upset your digestive system to a point that anything will make you blow up.

I've suffered from this on and off for years and cutting out wheat helps immeasurably and not eating too much dairy helps as well.

If in doubt get a food intolerance test done. Someone mentioned on boards recently that the health food shop on Georges St D.2 does them for about €40 if you live in Dublin.

Vegeta

ok this is gross I know but do you break wind (aka fart) when you need to

Whenever i have a meeting in work or have dinner with company and I cant com-fart-ably (I'll get my coat) break wind I bloat like a baloon and it is both painful and uncomfortable

obviously very unscientific but just something i have observed.

WindSock

Thanks for the replies. I don't drink fizzy drinks, I have noticed I've been drinking heaps more water lately, I'm always thirsty. I may try the peppermint thing. Haven't changed my diet much either, only for cutting down on bread. And as for farting, me and my boyfriend have regular 'pull my finger' contests, so it's not a pressure build up

Matamoros

What works for me is to avoid mixing Carbs and Protein in one sitting, difficult I know but I after reading this in two books I thought that I would test it out. The premise is that an alkali and an acid don't mix, so the mix of a protein and carb causes a stagnation and improper digestion. I tried this out on my favourite dish which is Spag Bol and found that when I left out the mince leaving just pasta and sauce that I didn't get the usual lethargic feeling afterwards. Maybe you could try this, I hope that it helps.

I would be interested to hear g'em's view on this one.

WindSock

No more protien and carbs? Aww. Does that mean now more meat n two veg? No more sangwiches??

g'em

Matamoros wrote: »

What works for me is to avoid mixing Carbs and Protein in one sitting, difficult I know but I after reading this in two books I thought that I would test it out. The premise is that an alkali and an acid don't mix, so the mix of a protein and carb causes a stagnation and improper digestion. I tried this out on my favourite dish which is Spag Bol and found that when I left out the mince leaving just pasta and sauce that I didn't get the usual lethargic feeling afterwards. Maybe you could try this, I hope that it helps.

I would be interested to hear g'em's view on this one.

meh, I'm a bit non-commital towards this approach. Our stomachs are particularly hardy, and I find it difficult to agree that we can be so sensitive that we'll find it hard to stomach (excuse the pun!!) both carbs and protein in one sitting.

Oftentimes it's the carbs alone that cause the bloating - right now I'm eating very low carb and I virutally never get any puffing and bloating after eating. If there's any solid theories behind the acid/ alkali thing I'd love to read them though?

Gordon

Get checked out, maybe even go to a doctor. It could be a wide range of problems, not just nutritional reasons, like lactose intolerance for example.

Supercell

I'd be inclined to go along with a food intolerance/allergy also.
I seem to be allergic to more things than I'm not and wheat in particular bloats me up quit a bit.

Trial and error is really the best way to figure out what you can stomach better in the long run, I've had poor results with blood tests - had one done a few few years ago in the Blackrock clinic, my doc got the results back and said I was allergic to a certain extant to almost everything as far as she could see!!, and to just eat as varied a diet as I could.

Obviously I just keep bread consumption to a minimum as a result but will eat it if I really get a craving!

Best of luck, and honestly, home cooking is the best cooking in so many ways - give it a try, your stomach, wallet and taste buds will thank you.

How Strange

Longfield ... home cooking is the best cooking in so many ways - give it a try, your stomach, wallet and taste buds will thank you.

I totally agree with Longfield. Get into the habit of cooking your own meals. IMO, our intolerances (allergies are a far more serious issue) are as a result of eating too much processed food. We don't know what ingredients are added to give it the texture, colour etc.

I'm a big fan of cooking from scratch and I mightn't be a Nigella Lawson in the kitchen but I definitely feel the benefits of it. In contrast, if I eat processed food I feel sluggish and bloated afterwards.

sudzs

Try cutting out yeast bread. Are you eating it with most meals? I find I blow up (and out!) in the evenings if I eat yeast bread at lunchtime. It's even worse if I combine fruit with it. I imagine it's all fermenting in me gut!! Feels like it anyway!

So that's the first thing I'd do if I were you. Cut out the lunchtime sang-iches and see how that goes.