sentially blunting protein digestion with consumption. Sugar alternatives like Splenda, sucralose, acesulfame, and some of the sugar alcohols like maltitol are very hard for the GI system to break down and thus can contribute to gas and bloat- ing. Have you ever read the label on a bag of sugar free candy? "Warning: excessive consumption can have a laxative effect." Oops. That’s after you’ve basically blown up like a balloon.
The System A very common reason for gas and bloating is our bodies
themselves – our sub-par gastrointestinal system. Most commonly, there is simply a lack of digestive capacity. Enzyme production is low, acid production is sluggish, bile pro- duction is inadequate. These diminished digestive factors translate into food not being broken down adequately. These large, un- broken molecules that have not been properly broken down to their teeny constituent parts then hit the small intestine and cre- ate gas and bloating there. If you also have acid reflux, and/or take antacids or acid blocking drugs, you quite likely have re- duced digestive capacity. The job of the stomach is to break down foods into their requisite parts and send them to the small intestine. The small intestine likes everything broken down into very small particles. When large, unbroken particles hit the small intestine, it's not too happy. This is a classic cause of gas and bloating. Another oft-overlooked reason for gas and bloating is the fact that hardly anyone chews their food well. Mechanical break- down of food begins in the mouth with the teeth and certain enzymes that are present in the saliva. If you are wolfing down your food, talking a lot while eating, walking all around while eating, you are taking in a large quantity of air while you are eating. Not to mention the fact that you aren’t giving your body adequate time to fire up its digestive processes if you are running around while you are eating.
Sometimes, there is an imbalance of bacteria in the system.
This could be dysbiosis, which is an overgrowth of harmful or pathogenic bacteria in relationship to the good, beneficial bac- teria that live in us. There could also be an overgrowth of bacte- ria in the small intestine, called small intestine bacterial over- growth (SIBO). The small intestine should be sterile, no bacteria belong there. So, when bacteria are in the small intestine where they don’t belong, we call that SIBO. When there is an imbalance of good guys and bad guys in the large intestine (where the bac- teria should be living), we call that dysbiosis. If there are bacteria where they shouldn’t be, or if you have
strains of bacteria that live in you that are not beneficial, these little critters can contribute to gas and bloating.
Food + The System As certain types of foods come into the system – namely
carbohydrates, fibers and proteins – and they interact with a dysfunctional system, gas and bloating ensue. Bacterial imbalance and SIBO mean that bacteria are in there fermenting and me- tabolizing foods and food products where they should not be. Guess what a major by-product is? Gas, yup. People that have leaky gut are also far more probe to gas and bloating, bloating in particular. The dysfunctional immune re- sponse drives accelerated inflammatory molecule production, which in turn drives fluid retention. If you are a person who can
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zip up their pants in the morning, but can’t wait to get them off at night be- cause you have been slowly swelling up all day, I would strongly suspect leaky gut. (Editor's note: for more info on leaky gut, read the January 2011 issue of Natural Triad. You can down- load it at
www.NaturalTriad.com) Related to leaky gut is the issue of
food sensitivities. If you are consuming a food that you are sensitive to, you are setting the stage for a ramped-up immune response and then the subsequent inflam- matory response, including water and fluid retention, contribut- ing to that bloated feeling.
As in real estate, location and timing of symptoms are very important and can give us clues as to exactly what is going on. If bloating is happening in the stomach, above the belly button, close to meal times, accompanied by belching, we can think about inadequate chewing and lack of digestive capacity – lowered enzyme output, low acid, potentially issues with bile production.
If symptoms are around the small intestine—located in the
mid belly, around the belly button—then we consider things like SIBO, leaky gut and food allergies.
Symptoms centered around the large intestine, located in
the low abdomen, accompanied by cramping and lower gas, consider dysbiosis and food sensitivities.
If symptoms occur most strongly around meal times, this points to lack of digestive capacity or digestive fire. Symptoms
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