Bloating typically occurs from gas in your intestines. When gas builds up in your intestines and does not pass from belching or flatulence, it can lead to a swollen belly area and a feeling of fullness. Bloating can also cause tightness in your abdomen and slight pain for some. It usually forms with gastrointestinal problems, stress, weight gain, constipation and eating certain foods. When food is the culprit of bloating, relief can often be found by avoiding certain foods or reducing the gas-causing foods in your diet.
Legumes
Legumes are a class of vegetables that include beans, peas, lentils, peanuts and soybeans. They offer a rich source of protein, fiber, iron, potassium and magnesium. Legumes also tend to have low fat and low-glycemic-index carbohydrates. Although legumes offer many benefits to your diet, they also can be the cause of gas and bloating. Legumes contain a complex carbohydrate called raffinose that digests poorly and causes gas buildup. Because of poor digestion and lack of enzymes in your body to break down raffinose, an increase of gas from this undigested carbohydrate can cause bloating.
Fatty Foods
Fatty foods, especially the fried kind, can also result in bloating. Your digestive system works to turn the food you eat into nutrition and energy. Digestion starts at your mouth and works through your digestive tract to break down foods into smaller parts for use by the body. The foods you eat take time to empty from the stomach, and some foods take longer than others. Carbohydrates spend the least amount of time in your stomach, whereas fats take the longest time to digest. As a result of the formation of fat cells in your body and fats delaying stomach emptying, an increased sensation of fullness and bloating can occur.
Dairy
Dairy is another prominent cause of bloating. Dairy products such as milk contain lactose, a natural sugar found in most dairy products. Some people have intolerances to lactose that cause bloating, gas, abdominal pain, diarrhea and nausea. The National Institutes of Health reports an estimated 30 million to 50 million Americans are lactose-intolerant. Your body produces an enzyme called lactase that breaks down lactose for digestion. If you have deficiencies in the lactase enzyme, your body struggles to break down lactose for absorption into the bloodstream. Lactose intolerance can start at birth, develop as a normal part of aging or from an illness or injury.
Member Comments