A bloated feeling in the stomach or belly, also called a bloated stomach, is an annoying feeling that can arise after consuming a meal. In the gastrointestinal tract there is a small amount of gas. You normally get rid of this gas by breaking wind (on average you fart about ten to twenty times a day). It can however be the case that there is more gas in your gastrointestinal tract than usual because of a multiple of factors. This causes a bloated feeling in your belly. Your stomach might then feel heavy. Usually you are also struggling with flatulence.
There are different factors that play a role with the arising of gas in the gastrointestinal tract. In many cases the bloated feeling in the stomach will be caused through swallowing too much air. This can for instance happen because you are smoking, experience a lot of stress or eat chewing gum. Talking quickly or eating and drinking to quickly may also be a cause for a bloated feeling. Besides this, a bloated feeling can also arise because of eating particular foods. You could think of foods that contain a lot of air (such as soda, beer, whipped cream or bread), but also foods that contain indigestible starch or insoluble fibres and cause a bad digestion and absorption of nutrients. Furthermore, old age and medicinal use can play a role.
Pregnant women experience a bloated feeling more often in general. This is because as a result of the pregnancy there is less space in the belly and because the altered endocrine system. Are you experiencing a bloated feeling quite often? In that case it can also be a symptom of a particular condition. A number of conditions that cause a bloated feeling in the stomach are liver cirrhosis, irritable bowl syndrome and Crohn's disease.
When you are experiencing a bloated feeling in the belly, you have the feeling that your stomach is inflated and everything feels heavy. In many cases a bloated stomach goes hand in hand with flatulence and excessive burping. Besides this, the feeling of a full stomach can also lead to feelings of nausea.
In most cases a bloated feeling in the stomach is innocent and you should thus not have to worry. When however you are experiencing a bloated stomach often and you can not find the cause of this yourself, then it could perhaps be the symptom of a disease. Then it is recommended to go visit your local doctor. You should also visit a doctor when you are experiencing abnormal pain in your belly, when you see blood in your stools, when you have a fever or have anemia. Do you often wake up with a bloated belly or do you notice that you are suddenly losing a lot of weight without a clear reason? Then it is also best to contact a doctor and have you examined.
When you are experiencing a bloated feeling in the stomach, you of course want it to disappear as quickly as possible. Try in that moment to at least don't hold any air inside. Let your winds break, possibly in another room where there are no people. You can also eat some garlic. Garlic is very healthy and should part of our standard diet. It knows different health benefits and stimulates our digestion, through which flatulence is reduced. Eating a piece of garlic may not be the nicest thing out there, but you can also make a little snack with garlic. Or simply add it to your next meal. You could also choose to take in a garlic supplement.
Herbal tea can be good for our health for multiple reasons. Are you experiencing a bloated feeling and do you want to get rid of it? Then take a cup of camomile or mint tea! Just like garlic, these two herbs aid in your digestion. Through this the bloated feeling in your stomach can slowly fade away. Camomile and mint tea are available in almost every grocery shop.
It is not a nice feeling to have your stomach bloated. Luckily there are a number of things you can do to prevent a bloated feeling. Important is that you do not keep any air inside. Let the gas go outside when you notice that it is needed, even though you might feel embarrassed to fart in public. Perhaps go to the toilet or another room where there are no people. It could also help to smoke less or to chew less chewing gum. Do you eat or drink too quickly? Try to consume your foods and drinks slowly and mindfully.
Furthermore we can recommend you to make sure that you take in enough fibre a day. Fibre ensures a good working of the intestines. You could for instance eat more fruits, vegetables, nuts, oats and breakfast cereals. Be careful with bread, legumes, leek, broccoli, cabbage and onion, because these foods can cause a bloated feeling. It is also a good idea to watch your daily sugar intake. Sugars are converted into toxic substances by yeast in your intestines, and this can in turn lead to extra gassiness. Sugars are anyhow not really good for our bodies, you will notice other health benefits too when you reduce your sugar intake.
Not only regular sugars can be a cause of a bloated feeling in the stomach, milk sugars (lactose) can also lead to extra forming of gas. This is namely converted by the same yeast in the intestinal tract into toxic substances. Some people are lactose intolerant, and their bodies does not produce the enzyme that digests lactose. As a result of this their bodies can not digest the lactose and all the lactose they take in will start to yeast in the colon. Do you think you are lactose intolerant? Then you can best have yourself tested at your doctor. If this indeed appears to be the case, you are better off not taking in anymore dairy products.
Garlic may help to reduce the bloated feeling, but it can also help to prevent it. Make sure you add garlic a little more often to your meals or try making a delicious garlic soup! Camomile and mint tea can also help to prevent a bloated feeling. And so make sure you drink a cup of tea once in a while to stimulate your digestion and in this way to prevent a bloated feeling.
