Fatigue and bloating often go hand in hand and most people have experienced the two from time to time, but that doesn’t mean it’s just part of normal life. If you have chronic bloating that makes you feel uncomfortable, with a swollen belly, excessive burping and high amounts of gas, it might not be normal. It also might not be normal if you bloat after eating or drinking anything, feel nauseous, feel better if you throw up or feel tired and rundown or have a headache with bloating.
Maybe the problem comes from how you eat and how you digest food.
Gas can build up in your stomach if you wolf down your food quickly. That often means you’ll swallow air while eating and it has to go somewhere. Chew eat bite thoroughly, which not only aids the digestive process, but also helps prevent swallowing air. Avoid carbonated beverages, drinking through straws, avoid smoking and drink plenty of water. However, other things like problems with digestion, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, food sensitivity and intolerance, constipation and poor gut mobility can also cause a problem.
Try an elimination diet to see if it’s food allergies or intolerances that are causing a problem.
A lot of things can create gas and even feelings of exhaustion. Most people have heard of lactose or gluten intolerance, but there are other foods that may be hard for your body to digest. When you go on an elimination diet, you start by eating a bland diet for three to four weeks, devoid of the most common offender’s gluten, dairy, sugar, peanuts, alcohol, eggs, soy, corn, carbonated drinks, alcohol and red meat. You can also make a food diary and track both the food you ate and bouts of bloating. It will also indicate if certain foods are responsible.
Cut out sugar and eat more greens.
Yeast overgrowth can cause a plethora of symptoms, which include gas, sugar cravings and exhaustion. Cut back on sugar, eat more garlic, turmeric, ginger and oregano. Bloating can also occur when there are problems in the digestive tract. Increase your greens, particularly spinach, celery and cucumbers. Spinach contains magnesium that activates enzymes important for digestion. Celery has potassium, fiber and fluid to help relieve bloating and cucumbers are anti-inflammatory to reduce inflammation caused by gut imbalances.
- High fiber foods are healthy, but bloating can occur if you eat too much at once. If you have bloating from a high fiber diet, take it slower and drink more fluid. Increasing fiber too fast can cause bloating and constipation.
- If you’ve recently taken an antibiotic and have bloating or exhaustion, take probiotics or eat kefir, sauerkraut, yogurt or other food to boost the beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract.
- Check the type of food you eat. High sugar and high fat foods encourage bloating and exhaustion. They affect the digestive process and fat slows the emptying of the stomach that contributes to bloating.
- Maybe you’re overeating. If you eat too much, there aren’t enough digestive juices for the volume eaten, so you bloat. Stress can cause both exhaustion and overeating. Slow it down. Eat mindfully and appreciate each bite, while giving your body a chance to signal the brain that you’re full.
For more information, contact us today at Targeted Nutrition Technologies
