The feeling of bloatedness is when your stomach is over full or stretched. This feels fulfilling, especially after a full-hearted meal. However, overeating is not always the case. A bloated stomach may be a symptom of an underlying disease that you should pay attention to.
If you’ve noticed that your stomach has been feeling full lately and making you uncomfortable, here’s a list of probable reasons to check out.
5 Reasons Why You’re Experiencing a Bloated Stomach
Constipation
Constipation is a common condition that many people experience. It’s also usually the top reason why you’re probably bloating right now. To explain constipation simply, your digestive system is experiencing a problem with passing stool. Generally, a person should have three bowel movements a day to one every three days, according to a gastroenterologist, Eva Alsheik, M.D.
If you feel like you haven’t been relieved for three days and your bloat is not going anywhere, then you’re probably having constipation. Make sure to visit your doctor, especially if this is a sudden change in your bowel movement, considering your usual poop consistency and regularity.
One of the things you can do to ease your constipation is to eat enough fiber and make some significant changes in your lifestyle. Also, if you can, you should try to make your bathroom a better environment to relieve yourself peacefully, without distractions.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, is another fairly common disorder that affects your intestines and stomach. If you’re experiencing IBS, there aren’t any visible symptoms that you should look out for. However, you might be under repeated pain in your abdomen with significant changes in bowel movement, which includes diarrhea and sweating, constipation, or both.
The specific causes of IBS are still unknown, but it has been linked to foods, gut sensitivity, and stress. Fortunately, IBS doesn’t cause any lasting effect on your body and daily functioning. However, it would help if you make significant adjustments in your life, like diet, lifestyle, and stress management, to manage the symptoms.
Weight Gain
If you think that there aren’t any issues in your guts, then your issue might be weight gain. It’s no surprise that you’re bloating if you’ve gained weight, especially if you gained around 10 or so pounds in the past year. The feeling of bloat may be due to the weight that settles on your belly, which takes up space and stretches your stomach.
The basic science of gaining weight is that you eat too many carbs that you can burn. Carbohydrates turn to energy to fuel your movement and daily activities. So, if you’re not very active, there’s no energy to burn, and you store them in your body. As a result, it turns to fats, which results in weight gain.
That said, the most obvious way to eliminate the feeling of bloat due to weight gain is to start losing weight. You should change your lifestyle and start preparing a more balanced meal. Ensure to add exercise to your routine to start burning the excess energy in your body.
Coeliac Disease
Coeliac disease is probably the most severe condition on this list, which relates to a bloated stomach. This condition is an abnormal immune system reaction where your body’s immune system attacks your tissues every time you eat gluten. As a result, it damages the lining of your intestines, so your body can’t absorb nutrients from food properly. Gluten is a type of protein that’s usually found in foods that contain wheat, rye, or barley.
The primary symptoms of coeliac disease are diarrhea, anemia, weight loss, and bloating. If left untreated, it can lead to even more severe issues. Unfortunately, a definite cure isn’t available at the moment. However, you can manage the symptoms by improving your ideat and following a strict gluten-free diet plan.
Hormones
Hormones can do wonders in the body, especially for women. If you notice that the feeling of bloat occurs following a menstrual cycle, then the hormones are to blame. In a woman’s reproductive system, the menstrual cycle makes significant adjustments to the body every month. Although the symptom varies, some women experience bloating before and during their periods. It’s a prevalent complaint during the hormone fluctuations of perimenopause.
To be more specific, your estrogen hormone causes water retention, and when this spikes up, your progesterone drops. As such, you’ll notice the feeling of bloat from fluids over the increased uterus volume during the menstrual period. Not only that, but hormones also affect your digestive system, so you might also experience bloating from gas and digestive back-ups.
Since it’s a natural cycle of a healthy woman’s body, there’s nothing much that you can do. However, you can manage the symptoms by consuming fewer foods that induce constipation or the feeling of bloat. Take time to exercise as well to alleviate the uncomfortable feeling.
Final Thoughts
Note that this list only gives you general insights into the probable cause of your bloating and should never be a reference to diagnose yourself. Instead, if you’re feeling anxious and uncertain, it’s best to contact your healthcare provider for help. Nonetheless, the listed conditions above are the common causes of bloat that you can look into.
