Normal VS Abnormal Bloating- Causes & Fixes:

Normal vs. Abnormal bloating.

Normal gastric distension (where your tummy sticks out)

We’ve all been there after a big meal, with an extra slice or dessert or two, having to unbutton our jeans because we’re feeling a little too full for comfort.

I want to reassure that it is completely normal for your stomach to be sticking out further at the end of the day than it did when you woke up - your stomach and digestive system are busy breaking down 3 meals +/- snacks, not to mention a few litres of water.

The average person actually eats 1.85kg of food per day (worldwide), with inhabitants of Oceania (this includes us in Australia!) eating 2.11kg on average each day. This is a lot of food! If your stomach didn’t protrude a little more at the end of the day after having about 4kg of food and fluid, it would be abnormal. Rest assured that you should go to bed feeling more full and round than first thing in the morning - and I wouldn’t call this ‘bloating’.

Abnormal bloating

When I’m talking about bloating, I’m talking about the medical definition, where uncomfortable bloating is due to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract being filled with air or gas.

Most people describe bloating as feeling tight, or swollen which is likely accompanied by more wind than usual.

This kind of bloating might be common, but it’s not normal.

It can be caused by a bunch of things, including but not limited to:

• Food intolerance

• IBS

• Artificial sweeteners such as sugar alcohols (mannitol, xylitol, sorbitol, anything ending in -ol)

• Poor digestion

• Undiagnosed coeliac

• Not chewing your food properly or rushing to eat

• Talking while you eat (yes seriously, you’ll be swallowing more air than usual)

• Constantly grazing throughout the day

• Fake fibres or an excess of regular fibre

• Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)

• Anxiety & high stress

• Constipation

If you suffer from bloating, try these tips:

• Be mindful at meals to chew properly. Put your knife and fork down between bites, and don’t speak whilst in the middle of chewing your food

• Try eliminating ‘sugar-free’ products that contain sugar alcohols, such as sugar-free maple syrup, sugar-free hot chocolates, and protein bars.

• Stick to consistent meal times and reduce the number of snacks you have if you’re a grazer

• Stay hydrated and get 5 serves of veggies a day to help with intestinal motility (aka, going to the toilet)

If these tips don’t help to improve your bloating, see a dietitian to investigate the cause of the bloating as dietitians are specially trained for this. If you suspect IBS, a blanket “FODMAP FREE” diet is not appropriate as you’ll be unnecessarily restricting your food - please outsource to someone who is trained in the field (again, a dietitian)

It may be common for you to have an uncomfortable stomach by nighttime, but it’s not normal and you certainly don’t have to experience this forever.

Chances are it can be improved with a few simple tweaks so give these tips a go.