MOST of us have experienced that stretched, puffy and uncomfortable feeling. Here are the most common causes - and how to tackle them.
EATING TOO QUICKLY
Gobbling down your food while standing up or rushing around is a recipe for digestive problems.
It
sensitises the gut, making you less tolerant of the foods you eat.
Feeling rushed or stressed can also trigger abdominal spasms.
Try
to eat at set times every day wherever possible and allow time for
every meal. Sit down for 20 minutes after a meal to allow enough time
for digestion and to reduce bloating, abdominal pain and upset bowels.
WIND
We
all experience flatulence occasionally. It’s perfectly normal to do so
up to 15 times a day and sometimes you may not even notice you are doing
it.
While there’s no medical definition of
excessive flatulence if it’s bothering you and makes life awkward or
feels uncomfortable there are steps you can take to reduce it. Common
culprits include beans and pulses, broccoli, cabbage, prunes, apples and
foods containing the sugar substitute sorbitol.
These tend to be digested slowly and can release small amounts of sulphur gas as they pass through the gut.
CONSTIPATION
A bloated tummy accompanied by small, hard stools can be a sign of constipation. When this occurs it may be helpful to bulk up your motions by adding more fibre to your diet.
Eat plenty
of soluble fibre (oats, nuts and seeds) as well as insoluble fibre
(cereals, nuts and vegetable skins) which push food through the
digestive system quicker. Drink a lot of water, especially in hot
weather, and eat regular meals, slowly. Regular exercise can help too.
If these measures don’t work, see your GP who can do some tests to exclude other bowel disorders
IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME
This is a very common problem affecting around one in five people in the UK at some point in their life.
There
is often no identifiable cause but IBS may be linked to emotional upset
or stress. Symptoms may also start after a bout of gastroenteritis or
even a course of antibiotics which alters the balance of healthy
bacteria that live inside the large bowel.
Try
keeping a food diary to work out which foods are particularly
troublesome. Research shows that 54 per cent of IBS sufferers are also
intolerant to lactose, the sugar found in milk (see right).
A
daily dose of friendly bacteria may also alleviate IBS symptoms,
research has found. Some doctors believe good probiotics can help to
restore and rebalance the essential microflora in the gut and improve
digestion.
One study carried out by King’s College Hospital London found that taking the barley drink Symprove (£21, ),
which contains live bacteria, for three months was effective in
significantly reducing symptoms such as pain, constipation and
diarrhoea.
Over-the-counter antispasmodic medications such as Buscopan IBS Relief (£3.19, Boots/) help to relax the cramping muscle of the bowel to ease pain and discomfort. Visit for more help managing IBS.
COELIAC DISEASEThis is an adverse reaction to gluten which is found in wheat, barley and rye and all foods containing them: everything from bread and pasta to pies and some gravies and sauces. It is an autoimmune disorder where the body’s heightened response to peptides derived from gluten proteins results in chronic inflammation and damage to the lining of the small intestine which then affects your ability to absorb nutrients from food. This can lead to complications such as anaemia, weight loss, osteoporosis and (in children) failure to thrive.
The
symptoms include recurrent abdominal pain, cramping, bloating, chronic
or intermittent diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and prolonged fatigue.
It used to be mainly diagnosed in children but it’s now known people can go undiagnosed into middle age.
Ask
your GP for a test if you have the symptoms. If you’re diagnosed,
you’ll feel better once you start avoiding all foods containing .
This
occurs when the body does not produce enough lactase, the enzyme that
helps digest the natural sugars found in milk and other dairy
products.The main symptoms include nausea, stomach cramps, bloating,
diarrhoea and constipation.
Lactose intolerance
occurs for a variety of reasons but is mostly due to genetics. It is
common in those with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
It
can also develop in later life as the body produces less lactase or
temporarily after a bad bout of food poisoning or gastroenteritis.
Around
40 per cent of those who suffer from digestive discomfort have symptoms
consistent with lactose intolerance, according to new research
commissioned by Lactofree, makers of lactose-free dairy products.
Despite this, only two per cent of 21,000 adults surveyed had an
official diagnosis.
Allergy expert Adam Fox says
there is a lot of confusion surrounding lactose intolerance which has
led to people self-diagnosing the condition and cutting out dairy foods
unnecessarily.
“Understanding and diagnosis of
the condition is extremely limited,” he explains. “It is extremely
important people understand the reasons behind their symptoms.
“What
we don’t want is people dismissing vital food groups unnecessarily
which could result in them missing out on vitamins and nutrients for a
healthy lifestyle.” Try switching to lactose-free milk, yogurts, cheese
and dairy spread for two weeks and see if it makes a difference to your
symptoms.
For more information on lactose intolerance and Lactofree visit .
PMSJust before your period, levels of the hormone progesterone are raised. This can slow down gut motility or movement which means food passes more slowly through the body, leading to bloating and possibly constipation.
Exercise
can help improve gut motility and walking for 30 minutes a day could be
enough to make all the difference. Also drink plenty of fluids and eat
lots of fruit, vegetables and wholegrains to get things moving.
OVARIAN CANCERIf bloating is persistent and you have other symptoms such as a perpetual feeling of fullness and abdominal pain it may be worth asking your GP about ovarian cancer. Symptoms tend to be vague which is often why it is diagnosed late when it is harder to treat so it is important to be aware of the signs.
“The main symptoms are
swelling in the abdomen, weight gain, bloating or irritable bowel-type
symptoms,” says Deborah Bruce, consultant gynaecologist at London Bridge
Hospital. She says the symptoms are so similar to IBS it can be
misdiagnosed.
Women who experience these
symptoms for three weeks or more, especially if they have a history or
family history of breast, ovarian or other cancers, should talk to their
doctors about being tested for ovarian cancer. For more visit
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