Stomach bloat. What causes yours?

[Strawberry]

Mine is normally wheat, but I sometimes get bad bloat with no wheat or gluten. I'm curious what else I should look at eliminating to reduce this. I can go from a somewhat flat belly to looking very pregnant in 20 minutes.

So... What causes your belly to bloat?

As always, thanks in advance!

 

[AndrewR]

Struggling with the same thing. Also switching from IBS-C and IBS-D whenever my stomach feels like it. I tried to "map" the food that makes me worse and the food that makes me better. No success with it. Seems like the body is doing its own thing whenever, wherever. I have learned to "roll with the flow" sort of speak

 

[Sundancer]

carbs, especially fruit ( sugar is a thing of the past, would get me bloated too)

i cannot live without carbs, that lets the energy fall to zero and i become bedbound again.

so found out that i can handle porridge in the morning , glutenfree everything, with three plums as sweetener.

rest of the day i keep it low, when i go over about 80/100 grams of grains i get bloated, when i get under 50 grams i fall into bedbound.

i do eat some strawberries this summer, yummie, but not too much or i'll pay
( paying right now, discipline is hard when strawberrytime)

 

[Stretched]

A few years back my gluten #’s were a 10 correlation from parents genes. I went gluten free for a few years which helped with the bloat. My diet also
eliminated the ‘nightshades.’ Over the last year I’ve gotten lax, doing about 50% GF, but open call on nightshades. I find this pattern to produce bloat at random.
In particular tomatoes,as in salsa with or w/o Mexican food will bring on bloat. Peanuts Or peanut butter do it also. So does anxiety, e.g. obsessing over something. Needless to say, it’s very uncomfortable.

 

[ebethc]

carbs, especially wheat, beer (yeast)... are the worst...potatoes and non-wheat grains are a little better, but must be taken in moderation... fruit is usually fine, but I consume low to moderate glycemic fruit..

I find that I need some carbs, though... a super low carb plan is not for me, and fat can be hard for me to digest but in moderation it's fine... a "keto" diet is out

meat in moderation is a must...meat is hard to digest, but since I've learned that I need betaine hcl w pepsin, it's better..... I tried a vegan diet and my gut was great, but I was exhausted and didn't feel good overall... very spacey... I broke down and ate a chicken breast and felt WAY better... so moderate, easier to digest animal protein (fish, chicken) is best.. Pork is better than cow..

 

[Gingergrrl]

In case this is relevant for anyone, if you have MCAS, you can get third spacing of fluid in your abdomen which is extremely uncomfortable. It has not happened to me in a while but when it did, I would just have to wait it out and not much you can really do about it. As long as abdominal third spacing, and not pulmonary, I don't think it is too dangerous.

 

[Sundancer]

hm...yes yeast ( have not used that for decennia so forgot about it) and nightshades, especially potatoes.

third spacing of fluid in your abdomen

could you enlighten me? never heard of that, no idea what you're referring to.

 

[itsme]

Milk! I drink it anyway because milk is all I can drink til midday that won't mess with my blood sugar. During the day I grow bigger and bigger until evening when I can get rid of alll the extra air.....

 

[wonderoushope]

So... What causes your belly to bloat?

I'm not exactly sure, although it has gone down substantially in the last year. I went on the RPAH elimination diet and it took my symptoms about 6 months to die down (including nausea, bloating, belching, upper stomach tightening, swelling in the chest). Unfortunately, I cannot pinpoint the exact things that cause me to bloat, but I think it can be from nuts, too much high FODMAP foods, preservatives, dairy, some supplements and stress. I do eat gluten now, but not too much. I was reacting to it on the elimination diet, but it seems not to be such an issue now. I seem to do better with a diet rich in fresh vegetables, fish and meat, and not too much preservatives.

One of the thing that still happens but doesn't last as long as it used to, usually just a day is my upper stomach bloats and my bra gets super tight (like my chest has swelled up). That's really uncomfortable for me and usually realise I have been hit by something I ate.

 

[Tammy]

Dairy, wheat and eggs.

 

[Gingergrrl]

could you enlighten me? never heard of that, no idea what you're referring to.

Sorry for my delayed reply I am quoting from Lisa Klimas (Mast Attack blog) who can explain third spacing much better than any attempt I would have made!

http://www.mastattack.org/2014/07/third-spacing/

The human body essentially keeps fluids in two spaces called compartments.The first compartment is inside of cells.This is called intracellular fluid.It holds about 60% of the body’s fluids.The second compartment is outside of the cells in the extracellular fluid, which holds about 40% of the body’s fluids.This second compartment includes spaces like the interstitial compartment and the intravascular compartment.The interstitial compartment is the fluid that surrounds the cells in tissues.The intravascular component is mostly blood.

Third spacing is when body fluids collect somewhere that is not in one of the two compartments where your body can use it.When fluids are inside cells, your body can use it for chemical reactions.When fluids are in the interstitial and intravascular compartments, your body can use it for lubrication, chemical reactions and moving chemicals from one place to another.Fluid in third spaces is outside of the circulatory system and cannot be used by the body.

A common third space is in the abdominal cavity.When fluid becomes trapped between the tissues and organs of the abdomen, it is called “ascites.”When fluid accumulates in the interstitial area around the lungs, it is called “pulmonary edema.”When fluid is found between the layers of the skin or mucous membranes, it is called “angioedema.”

 

[Gondwanaland]

I got much improvement eating the small amounts of fruit I tolerate apart from meals. I found the attached papers very enlightening about fructose/FODMAP intolerance.

milk is all I can drink til midday that won't mess with my blood sugar.

I am lactose intolerant as well.

 

[Sundancer]

I got much improvement eating the small amounts of fruit I tolerate apart from meals

thanks for the link @Gondwanaland , makes clear the third spacing thing.
And I'll be more careful to eat the small amounts of fruit apart from the meals, I did that but over time I sort of forgot about it.

this illness asks so much discipline...
while outsiders think your just lazy and enjoying reading and needlework...

 

[bearVSshark]

Gluten for sure, though due to significantly reducing my gluten intake the past couple of years, it’s not as bad as it once once. I can deal with small/infrequent amounts now, so the occasional proper bread sandwich or burger bun once a week. But if I eat gluten frequently I get really bloated but then that also brings on a host of other issues (nausea, brain fog etc). Beer is an absolute no though.

Sourdough is much better though, so thankfully pizza is still a thing for me!

The other things that I’ve noticed that also make me very bloated are onions and they seem to be an immediate reaction, often more so than gluten. Dairy also doesn’t seem to sit that well with me either.

There’s definitly some other things as well which I haven’t yet figured out.

 

[Strawberry]

@Gingergrrl Can you explain what your third spacing feels like? Especially if you have had it in the belly. I always thought it would be squishy like edema, but maybe I'm wrong. Many people here say bloat makes them gassy (which I will get gassy bloat at family meals - probably when fruit and meat are mixed), but most of the time it is bloat with no gas. I just literally look and feel pregnant. No gas, no bowel movement, nada...

Sounds like I need to start a food diary, I can't remember what I ate to make me start this thread.