4 Major Causes & 4 Remedies of The Bothersome Bloated Belly

When you’re belly is bloated, it’s hard to look or feel good. It weighs you down, makes your clothes fit tight and has you hiding yourself from the world. What causes the bloated belly? This article wil pinpoint 4 causes for bloating and their remedies.

There is nobody on earth who does everything right when it comes to health, but they try! When it comes to bloating, if you avoid dehydration, problem foods, yeast and menstrual imbalances, it stands to reason that you’ll avoid the bloating. Read along for some great info on how to manage and avoid the 4 major causes of this problem: Dehydration, Diet, Yeast Overgrowth & PMS

4 Major Causes of a Bloated Belly

1. Dehydration

It may seem illogical, but dehydration actually causes you to bloat. If you only occasionally have problems with dehydration, you won’t have this response. On the other hand, if you are chronically dehydrated, you will convince your body you’re trying to cross a large desert with a small canteen. In response, your body will hold onto every drop of water it can, storing it between your cells and in the fat cells, which are capable of holding a lot of water.

We have gone into depth about hydration in a previous blog post but we will cover some causes. A good way to exasperate chronic dehydration is to consume diuretics like caffeine and alcohol regularly. Diuretics actually rid your body of water and salt through urine.

Salt sulfites, MSG, and other “natural flavors” are abundant in processed foods. They cause you to retain a great deal of water because processed foods are prepared months before you see them and extreme measures are taken to make them taste good. One of the most common tactics is to include compounds that occur in extremely small concentrations naturally in the food supply. MSG (monosodium glutamate), sodium benzoate, and most things we have enough sense to stay away from, are legally disguised as “natural flavors” in the ingredient list. The problem is, the food processors frequently use these compounds in literally thousands of times greater concentration than they naturally occur.

Dehydration is as bad a habit as diet can be. Let’s explore how a bad diet can relate to the bloat.

2. Diet

Excessive proteins (mostly meat and fish) in the diet congest your body and stress the kidneys. Eggs, dairy, coffee, caffeine, chocolate and black tea in excess, along with food preservatives, are estrogenic. They are not estrogen, but mimic estrogen, resulting in confused female cycles which result in bloat and many other complications. This can result in water retention and inflammation.

Cheese is suspect #1 for bloating Like all other dairy products, it has a tendency to cause you to produce a lot of mucous. Mucous congests the fluids in the body and impairs lymphatic drainage. This is most obvious when you have a cold or flu. If you eat cheese, you’ll feel like you’re drowning in your own mucous. It’s quite unpleasant and for many people it’s an ongoing problem. How much dairy you can tolerate without this predictable response varies with the individual.

3. Yeast Overgrowth

A very common cause of bloating is an overgrowth of yeast, fungus or mold within the body. A telltale indication of this problem is bloating very shortly after eating, particularly if the meals consumed have starchy carbohydrate foods. When you eat sugars and/or carbohydrates, you feed the yeast. Then the yeast produces CO2 gas within your body. This gas makes you bloat like the Pillsbury dough boy or girl. A significant amount of people find themselves addicted to comfort foods and/or sugar. We have written a 3 part series of blog posts outlining the causes, indications and an herbal remedy for fungal, yeast and mold overgrowths.

Women only deal with the last major cause of bloating we will discuss. PMS can be considered chronic because it comes monthly but this can be dealt with as well.

4. PMS

We don’t have to tell our female readers that the menstrual cycle can cause some pretty dramatic bloating. The part of the cycle between ovulation and the menstrual period is referred to as the luteal phase. A prolonged luteal phase is also known as PMS (premenstrual syndrome).

Low output from the thyroid can magnify the symptoms caused by female hormone imbalances during the menstrual cycle. One of the many indications of thyroid problems is an inability to warm up when you come in out of the cold.

4 Remedies for a Bloated Belly

Now that you understand the common causes of bloating, here’s how to remedy the problem:

1. Food Oils

There are some fantistic oils that help with the bloated belly.

Pumpkin seed oil capsules, when either taken on a regular basis or as needed during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, are usually quite effective. This not only for addresses the bloat, but also to get you off the hormonal emotional roller-coaster.

Krill oil may work even better than pumpkin seed oil. A little experimentation of which one is better for you, or in fact a combination of both, is advised.

2. Water

What should you do when you notice you’re starting to bloat? Drink lots of water, probably a little more than you desire or are comfortable with. This will alleviate any dehydration and help flush out caffeine, sulfites, etc. Be careful that you have a bathroom nearby if you have plans. You will be making several trips!

3. Fiber

Eat fiber-rich roods to clean out the lower G.I. tract, as well as dark green vegetables for the phytochemicals that will help normalize the bloated belly. A perfect healing mea would be a big salad with a non-dairy-based dressing or oil & vinegairette.

4. Sweat

Another good way to get the excess water out of your system is to SWEAT. Try the gym, yoga, sauna, or sex, not necessarily in that order or combined!

So here are some guidelines on how to fix the bloated belly. When it comes to bloating, if you avoid dehydration, problem foods, yeast and menstrual imbalances, your body will be healthier. So, go forth and bloat no more! If you act upon these guidelines, you’ll look better, have more energy and be more comfortable in your clothes.