Why you’re bloated

Most people think that the reason why they are bloated is because they’re overweight. They cannot explain why they have puffy eyes, a bloated face and a bloated stomach

Most of the time however, it’s not your weight that makes you bloated. Although excess weight may make you look bigger, there is something else going on.

The body is an amazing machine. It keeps ticking along while we do what we do. It’s constantly trying to keep a perfect balance. It does what it can with what we give it. Even when we don’t give it what it needs.

When the body receives something that it doesn’t like the immune system kicks in in response to it. As you may know, when you injure yourself the body’s first response is inflammation of the effected part, to try to get rid of the pathogen and begin the healing process. However, excessive inflammation can be harmful. This is why we try to make the inflammation go down in most cases.

It is much the same with the rest of the body. When you ingest something that the body considers harmful the body tries to reject it. Inflammation occurs as a result. It is a natural response. The problem with inflammation is that it is a harmful state for the body to be in for too long. The root of most diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, is inflammation. Systemic inflammation can go on for years before a disease develops. Overworking your immune system without you knowing can lead to further illness at worst and/or chronic discomfort and pain at best. But the signs are always there.

Reducing foods that cause inflammation will undoubtedly make a difference to how you look and feel. Many foods cause inflammation especially processed, packaged and prepared foods because of the ingredients and the process they’ve gone through to be prepared.

Here is one food that is well-known for causing inflammation.

Wheat

Wheat is a grain. It has been around for hundreds of years yet in the last few years it has caused more intolerances than ever seen before. The reason for this is that over the past 50 years, wheat grain has been hybridised over and over again to be more drought-resistant, bug resistant and grow faster. We are not eating the same wheat that our ancestors ate. It is estimated that around 5% of proteins found in modern wheat grain are new proteins that were not present before and it’s these that are causing problems.

A lot of people have a wheat intolerance whether they know it or not. Around 90% of people who reduce or cut wheat from their diet say they see a difference in weight and bloatedness. The reason for this is that wheat has inflammatory properties. Wheat contains gluten, a sticky protein that is not easily digested in the gut. The body thinks its being attacked by a foreign body and attacks back usually damaging the lining of the gut. This can lead to leaky gut syndrome, which lets toxins and predigested food back into the blood steam. The toxins plus antibodies in the bloodstream wreak havoc on the system and exacerbate systemic inflammation even more.

Add to this that wheat usually is very highly processed making it so refined that it acts like sugar in the body. Sugar also causes inflammation.

Inflammation will make you look and feel bloated. You may wonder why you’ve gone to bed looking fine and the next day woken up with puffy eyes and face and bloated tummy. It’s not usually lack of sleep that causes this.

Try this: Next time you eat a plate of pasta, a slice of toast, or a bowl of wheat-based cereal before you go to bed, make a note of how you look when you wake up in the morning. Are you bloated?

How to check if you’re gluten/wheat intolerant

“The single best way to determine if you are gluten intolerant is to take it out of your diet for at least 30 days, then reintroduce it. Your body knows better than any test. If you feel significantly better without gluten or feel worse when you reintroduce it, then gluten is likely a problem for you, even if your lab tests are negative. Lab testing is available as well, however, there are some inherent problems with this testing.” Says Amy Myers, M.D., physician and autoimmune expert.

I can vouch for that. When I was getting symptoms I cut the wheat for two weeks. That was enough for me to see and feel a difference. I lost weight (bloating probably went down), I had more energy, I stopped craving carbs (mainly bread, pasta and sugar) I had better bowel movements and was more alert.

Try this: for the next two weeks go wheat-free. You can eat rice, potatoes (the sweet kind are the best), quinoa and oats but no bread, pasta, pastries, pasties, wheat-based cereal (see below for full list).

After two to three weeks, see how you feel. If you’re still not sure start to reintroduce those foods and see how you feel. How does your body respond? Bloated? Weight-gain? Then leave off wheat as much as you can as part of a lifestyle change.

Foods that contain wheat and gluten

We all know the obvious foods that contain wheat. The problem is finding it in foods where it is an additive like in sauces and dressings. If you are even slightly intolerant, even a trace of it can trigger an immune response.

• All types of wheat including spelt, durum wheat, semolina, bulgur wheat,
• Whole wheat and wholegrain bread, pasta, cereal, granola
• All pasta including cous cous
• Bagels, waffles, cakes, biscuits, crackers, wheat crisps
• Pastries, patties, pasties, pies
• Breadcrumbs
• Yorkshire puds
• Crepes and pancakes
• Some sauces and salad dressings (check the label)
• Rye bread (no wheat but has gluten, usually less bloating with this)

No one wants to be bloated. You may have been wondering why you’re not losing weight. It could be something in your diet. It could be wheat. There’s only one way to find out. Cut it out and see how you feel.

Have a great week!
Sally x

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