Bloating

Information Available
What is Bloating?
What is intestinal gas?
Which foods cause intestinal gas?
What can I do about Bloating?
Inflammation, Crohns disease or Ulcerative colitis

What is Bloating?

Intestinal gas is a normal byproduct of digestion. Producing intestinal gas is a sign your digestive system is working properly.
Everyone's familiar with the consequences of excess intestinal gas — flatulence, burping, bloating and, sometimes, social embarrassment. Although intestinal gas is perfectly normal, it can be bothersome. Modifying your diet or taking certain herbal medicines may help prevent or reduce intestinal gas.

What is intestinal gas?

More than 99 percent of intestinal gas is a mixture of the same odorless gases that are present throughout the environment. These include nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and sometimes methane. But the exact composition of this mixture varies from person to person, depending on body chemistry and diet.
The nitrogen, oxygen and most of the carbon dioxide in intestinal gas come from the air you swallow when you eat, drink, chew gum or smoke. Chemical reactions in your stomach also produce some of the carbon dioxide content of gas.
Bacteria normally present in the large intestine produce the hydrogen and methane in gas. These bacteria feed on undigested food and release gases during a process called fermentation.

Which foods cause intestinal gas?

Carbonated beverages may cause gas. So can carbohydrates because they often contain indigestible sugars, starches and fiber. For example:

Lactose. Milk and milk products such as cheese and ice cream, as well as some processed breads, cereals and salad dressings, contain the sugar lactose. While most people can digest lactose with no difficulty, some have trouble because they don't produce any or enough of the enzyme lactase, which splits lactose into digestible parts. Without lactase, milk and other lactose-rich foods ferment in the intestine, releasing excessive gas.

Fructose. Onions, artichokes, pears, wheat, and some soft drinks and processed foods contain this sugar, which may be difficult to digest.

Sorbitol. Apples, pears, peaches, prunes, and some sugar-free foods, candies and chewing gum contain the sugar alcohol sorbitol, another compound that's hard to digest.
Rice is the only starch absorbed almost completely by the small intestine. Because rice starch never reaches the large intestine, gas-producing bacteria don't break this starch down. But other starches, including potatoes, corn, noodles and wheat, are gas producers. Dietary fiber, found in beans and wheat bran, also tends to produce gas.

What can I do about Bloating?

The most common ways to reduce intestinal gas are to change your diet and avoid swallowing air. Herbal and nutritional supplements can help.

Ensure there is not a build up of bad bacteria in the gut- dysbiosis
As previously stated, bacteria in the large intestines feed on undigested food and cause gas. Ensuring that there is not an overgrowth of ‘bad’ bacteria in the large intestine (dysbiosis) can reduce the gas produced. If dysbiosis is found to be present, this can be easily treated using herbal medicines, see Naturopathy and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Change your diet
If you're deficient in lactase, the enzyme needed to digest milk, it may be good for you to eliminate dairy products from your diet to assess any improvements in your digestion. Try cutting out or reducing your intake of a few gas-producing foods for a week or two. If your symptoms improve, your problem is solved. This process can also be tried with wheat and gluten products to see if they are causing gas.
Food Sensitivity Testing using Electrodermal Screening is recommended as a way of identifying aggravating foods. Kinesiology may also be useful for identifying and treating food intolerance.

Swallow less air
To swallow less air — which makes its way to your intestine — don't suck on hard candy or chew gum, and steer clear of carbonated beverages. Avoid drinking through a straw because this causes you to swallow more air. Of all the reasons you shouldn't smoke, the fact that you swallow air and get gas from smoking is among the least compelling. Still, quitting smoking may be beneficial if you're troubled by gas.

Digestive enzymes
The digestive enzyme lactase may relieve excess gas caused by dairy products. Other digestive enzymes may also help in ensuring your food is broken down properly, so that bacteria cannot feed on undigested food and produce gas. A professional consultation with a Naturopath may help to identify this problem.

Inflammation can cause bloating.

If you are experiencing excessive bloating with minimal flatulence, it can be a sign that your intestines are inflammed such as in conditions like Crohns disease or Ulcerative colitis. This can be a sign of an underlying condition and you may need to investigate this further. While these conditions respond well to both Naturopathic(western) and Traditional Chinese herbal medicine, Acupuncture, diet modification and nutritional supplementation, it is best to know what you are dealing with before pursuing treatment.