Bloating

Bloating is an uncomfortable condition, and it can affect the quality of life in some people. It can even lead to health issues for some people depending on the cause.

Here are a few types of causes of bloating:

1. Malabsorption of nutrients- when someone cannot adequately process and absorb nutrients, they are often left to ferment and fermentation needs to have some room. That is why the abdomen smells. Examples of this include celiac disease because the gluten damages the villi in the small intestine and also when some is having some pancreatic insufficiency.
   
   Inflammation from the damage in celiac disease often leads to temporary lactose and sugar intolerance. After about
   3 months limiting gluten from diet if someone has celiac disease will help heal and reduce bloating as well.

Since the pancreas is the maker of several digestive enzymes, it is hard to digest food without the enzymes needed
and these foods have to be broken down somehow so fermentation may need to take place.

2. When some of our nerves in our digestive tract are not working properly, it can make emptying the stomach take longer
and when transit time takes longer, constipation is often more common. This will lead to boating. In addition, the upper
GI tract may be reacting slower so some people may have some nausea, acid reflux and/or vomiting. A person may also
have farting, constipation and cramping.

This nerve condition is known as gastroparesis and is sometimes seen in people who have diabetes or possible
other neurological conditions.

3. Smooth muscles that help contract and relax during digestion may not always coordinate properly to help move through
the food down the digestive tract. This dysfunction may after other parts higher up in the digestive tract. Constipation is
also an issue because of lack of coordination of the pelvic floor muscles.

Some solutions to this include positioning properly at the toilet with a squatty potty. Also, working with a physical
therapist on exercising to strengthen the pelvic floor and learn to coordinate muscles is extremely helpful.

This muscle coordination issue is called Abdomino Phrenic Dysserngia.

4. Constipation and Small Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)

When people think about SIBO, they often think about diarrhea but SIBO can cause the colon to be sluggish and this can
lead to constipation. It can also slow down the small intestine. The time that it takes for food to go down the GI tract
is called transient time and there varies from person to person. And by the type of food digestion and also health
conditions.

Motility, is the ability of the organs in the digestive tract to move the food down the food tube. When our motility rate in
our GI tract is sluggish, this can lead to a higher likelihood of bacterial overgrowth because things are not moving on
through.

Sometimes taking probiotics may lead to bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine if things are not moving right along
because it stays in there too long and multiplies. Even an overgrowth of healthy bacteria can sometimes be an issue.

If you want to learn more about GI bloating, check out a great book by Registered Dietitian, Tamara Kuker Freuman
called the Bloated Belly Whisperer. It provides a quiz that you can take to see what might be leading to your bloat with
a few ideas to help!