5 Causes of Bloating
(That Have Nothing To Do With Food)
Have you ever wondered why you end up with a bloated “food baby” belly even when your meals seem innocent? Here are five not-so-obvious causes of bloating and how to fix them.
Revved-Up Nervous System
Picture this - you’re an early human running from a saber tooth tiger. Do you stop to go to the bathroom? Heck no - There’s no time! When you’re in survival mode, your intelligent body shuts down digestion to route blood flow to the muscles and brain so you can run!
Now fast forward a few thousand years. You’re late for a doctor’s appointment, so you gulp down your morning coffee and shovel in a protein bar as you rush out the door.You’re perfectly safe, but to your primitively hard wired nervous system, it feels like a tiger chase.
The point is, digestion does not work well in fight-or-flight mode; it’s part of rest-and-digest mode.
The Fix: Slow down, sit, and take a few deep breaths before eating. Drink your stimulating coffee after you’ve had some food to calm down your nervous system. Downshift more often with walks outside, yoga or breathing exercises, or even coloring.
2. Lack of Chewing
It’s obvious that swallowing chunks of food would be tough on your digestion. But most people don’t know that chewing is more than a mechanical task; it's a chemical signal. It activates the vagus nerve— the trigger that switches you into rest-and-digest mode.
Chewing also stimulates your stomach acid, digestive enzymes and the muscle contractions that help move the food through your GI tract.
The Fix: Chew your food until it's applesauce consistency (about 30-40x per bite). Your digestion will thank you.
3. Low Stomach Acid
Contrary to belief, low stomach acid is more common than too much stomach acid. Stomach acid is necessary to break down large food proteins, to help us absorb vitamins and minerals, and to kill bacteria that might be on our food.
Stress, gut imbalances, acid-blocking medications and nutrient deficiencies can all dull our stomach acid, as can chugging liquids with meals.
The Fix: Sip, don’t guzzle liquids with your meals. Embrace more bitter foods (like kale, arugula, broccoli rabe, radicchio, dandelion greens, grapefruit, and apple cider vinegar) which naturally stoke your digestive fire. Or, try some digestive bitters before meals to stimulate stomach acid. And… chew your food!
4. Non-Conscious Eating
Picture this - you heat up your lunch and head to your computer to answer some emails while shoveling in the food before your next meeting. You’re eating, but your brain doesn’t know it.
Digestion is a sensory experience. If we don’t see the food, smell the food, touch the food and taste the food, our brain is not having a conversation with our gut to be like “Hey! Food is on its way! Start getting those digestive juices flowing!” Instead, the food hits the stomach and just sits there. Or worse, without the fullness cues from your brain, you end up overeating. Hello gas and bloat.
The Fix: Ditch visual distractions (opt for a podcast or audiobook), savor each bite, and take a real lunch break.
5. Bad Timing
You digestive system works on a circadian rhythm (just like your sleep cycles!) This is all dictated by the sunlight hitting your eyes. So if you’re eating late at night when it’s dark out, your digestive tract has literally checked out for the day. Most people will benefit from not eating 2-3 hours before bed.
We also have what I call the “dishwasher function” of the digestive tract. Overall digestion breaks down the food and moves it through, but there’s still a residue left that has to be washed down. The migrating motor complex (or MMC) is responsible for just that. But it only works if the stomach has been empty for more than a few hours. So if you’re grazing all day, that residue stays there and feeds your gut bacteria, which produce gas. Welcome bloat.
The Fix: No food 2-3 hours pre-bed. Space meals 3-4 hours apart for optimal digestion.
If bloating persists, let’s chat! I’m here to unravel the mysteries behind your discomfort.
