How Common Is Bloating
Abdominal bloating is one of the most commonly reported gastrointestinal symptoms. Studies have shown that as high as 30% of the general population experiences this problem.
Some studies on irritable bowel syndrome suggest that bloating is more common in women than men. Individuals with functional gastrointestinal disorders show an increase in doctors visits and miss more school days and workdays. This demonstrates that bloating can be a debilitating symptom. However, due to its benign nature, the data is limited in healthy individuals.
Bloating is more commonly seen in patients with other gastrointestinal issues. Digestive system disorders, such as dyspepsia, IBS, and inflammatory bowel disease, often present with bloating.
Most of the data available on bloating are from patients with IBS. Bloating has been reported in a high percentage of these patients and can develop for multiple reasons. The majority of patients with IBS report bloating as one of their worse symptoms.
Abnormalities in gut motility, increased visceral sensitivity, and impaired digestion can all contribute to bloating in these patients. Bloating tends to be chronic, persistent, and accompanied by other symptoms when associated with other bowel disorders.
Be Mindful Of Food Intolerances
Its important to be aware of any food allergies or intolerances that you may have, as these can contribute to bloating.
For example, lactose intolerance the inability to digest the natural sugar found in milk can cause symptoms like bloating, fullness, gas, stomach pain, and diarrhea .
Similarly, those with celiac disease a sensitivity to gluten may experience digestive issues like bloating after consuming gluten-containing foods like wheat, barley, and rye .
Additionally, people with irritable bowel syndrome are sometimes advised to limit foods high in fermentable oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides, and polyols , which are carbs that are poorly absorbed in the digestive tract, to reduce gastrointestinal symptoms .
Being aware of which foods trigger your symptoms can help you modify your diet to prevent issues like bloating. Try keeping a food and symptoms journal for a few weeks to identify when your symptoms may arise.
summary
Certain food intolerances can cause bloating and other digestive issues for some people. Identifying and avoiding triggering foods may limit your symptoms.
The Secret To Hydrating As You Go
Though calculating your fluid needs isnt an exact science, your body will tell you straight-up whether or not you need to hydrate. Your pee should be a pale yellow colorif its darker, hit the water cooler, and if its lighter, hit the brakes. During normal daily activity, drinking one or two cups over the course of an hour should keep you hydrated without overtaxing the kidneys, says Koskinen. The decrease in bathroom trips is just an added bonus.
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Reasons Why You Feel Bloated All The Time
Being bloated is no fun, and weve all been there. Whether it was an ice cream sundae bar or Chinese buffet, theres been a time that we just ate too much and had to loosen the belt a few notches just to get some extra relief. However, bloating can happen for a number of reasonssome not related to foodand Matt Hoffman, FNP, clinical assistant professor with the Texas A& M College of Nursing, breaks down why youre feeling uncomfortable and a little extra puffy in your midsection.
What Happens When You Drink Too Much Water
The body strives to constantly maintain a state of balance. One part of this is the ratio of fluid to electrolytes in the bloodstream.
We all need certain amounts of electrolytes like sodium, potassium, chloride, and magnesium in our bloodstream to keep our muscles contracting, nervous system functioning, and bodys acid-base levels in check.
When you drink too much water, it can disrupt this delicate ratio and throw off the balance which is, unsurprisingly, not a good thing.
The electrolyte of most concern with overhydration is sodium. Too much fluid will dilute the amount of sodium in the bloodstream, leading to abnormally low levels, called hyponatremia.
Symptoms of hyponatremia may be mild at first, such as a feeling of nausea or bloating. Symptoms can become severe, especially when sodium levels suddenly drop. Serious symptoms include:
- fatigue
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Benefits Of Drinking Water: How It Affects Your Skin Weight And More
May 7, 2021 12:15 pm
Water we all need it to live. But are you reaping the benefits of drinking water by including enough in your daily routine?
The general rule is that we need eight glasses of water daily. And while there are hydration benefits from drinking tea and eating liquid-based food such as soup, nothing beats a pure glass of water when it comes to everything from preventing constipation to helping us feel more awake.
The benefits of water range from getting better skin to weight loss and there are many other reasons why water is good for you below, along with tips on how to avoid dehydration.
You Will Have To Pee All The Time
Once that de-bloating kicks into gear, youll be flushing out the excess sodium your body is holding onto. Youll also be doing that other bathroom business regularly, now that your body is breaking down its food more easily. And the last bonus? Those frequent bathroom breaks ensure that youre moving around more throughout the day.
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Drinking Diet Soda Can Affect Your Mood And Hunger
Artificial sweeteners have been found to make people more hungry as it messes with the hunger hormones in your body.
Drinking zero calorie soda doesnât do much good if you make up for it in eating extra food, because it will trigger your body to crave more sugar.
It for some reason makes you want sugar and you end up eating more junk food, which is why you shouldnât drink diet soda if you are trying to lose weight.
How Do I Eliminate Water Retention
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Steer Clear Of Sugar Alcohols
Sugar alcohols are a type of carb found naturally in certain fruits and vegetables. Theyre used as a low calorie sweetener in many processed foods.
Because theyre not fully digested by the body, they can cause digestive issues like gas, diarrhea, bloating, and stomach pain among some people .
Sugar alcohols are found in many processed foods like gum, granola bars, sugar-free candies, and soft drinks under names like xylitol, sorbitol, and maltitol. Thus, reducing your intake of these foods may minimize digestive side effects like bloating.
summary
Sugar alcohols are not fully digested by your body and can cause digestive issues like bloating among some people. Avoiding foods with these ingredients may reduce these issues.
Causes Of Stomach Distension
By paying a little closer attention to your eating habits, you can help prevent excessive bloating. Heres a quick list of sneaky foods and habits that could be to blame:
Gum chewing. Your favorite breath-freshening pastime may be the number one cause for a straining waistband. When you chew gum, you swallow air which gets trapped in the GI system and extends the stomach.
Eating too fast. When you eat a large amount of food in a short period of time, your GI system doesnt have enough time to digest and dispel. A backed up system means a buildup of gas and fluid, causing distension.
Drinking from straws. When you go to sip a drink from a straw, you first suck in a straw-length volume of air, which ends up trapped in your stomach.
Not enough fiberor too much. Fiber is notorious for moving things along. When youre backed up, excess gas in your GI track cant escape, causing you to bloat. Next time you need a snack, reach for fibrous-skinned produce like apples and strawberries. Make sure to go easy on insoluble fibers like beans and lentils. Eating too much of these produces excessive gas.
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You Have Throbbing Headaches Throughout The Day
Headaches are both a sign of overhydration and dehydrationsimilar to nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. When you drink too much water, the salt concentration in your blood reduces, causing the cells in the organs throughout your body to swell. When your salt concentration is low, your cells grow. When you drink too much water, your brain actually grows in size and presses against the skull. This added pressure can cause a throbbing headache and more serious health problems such as brain impairment and trouble breathing. To keep track, learn the types of water that are contributing to your daily intake.
How Do We Know If Were Drinking Enough Water
I get my clients to check the colour of their urine to see if they are hydrated or not, says Nicola Shubrook, a registered nutritionist and founder of Urban Wellness. You want to look for a very pale or light yellow not completely clear as you may be drinking too much fluid and be aware that certain supplements such as B vitamins, or foods like beetroot, may alter your urine colour.
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Salt Sensitivity And Water Retention
Some percentage of the population retains sodium far beyond what their bodies actually need. These people are lumped together under the umbrella diagnosis of salt sensitivity.
By one standard, a person is considered salt-sensitive if their blood pressure rises by at least 5 mmHg after consuming salt. This criterion isnt super helpful because it doesnt specify how much salt is needed to raise the bp , but it still provides a rough guideline.
Rising blood pressure is the signature of salt sensitivity, but these folks also tend to see increased fluid retention after taking on sodium. This results from an altered sodium retention system.
The most obvious cause of salt sensitivity is chronic kidney disease. If kidney function is impaired, sodium excretion gets impaired too. Thats why African Americans show higher rates of salt sensitivity. Not surprisingly, chronic kidney disease and insulin resistance track closely.
If you dig deeper, you also find that salt-sensitive folks have an overstimulated renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Remember these hormones? They help you retain sodium.
But they also cause vasoconstriction and high blood pressure. This explains, in part, why you see higher rates of hypertension in salt-sensitive folks. Its not the salt, but the broken salt regulation hormones.
Thats only half the story though.
How Much Is Too Much Water
If you do not have any preexisting kidney or liver problems and you are not forcing yourself to consume a lot of water in a short period of time, then you shouldnt have anything to worry about. You die from drinking too much water when you force yourself to consume it and basically flood your body, diluting essential minerals.
You probably know already that if you force yourself to drink a lot of water you begin to feel bloated and even a little sick. To risk death from drinking too much water you would basically have to push beyond this amount. In other words, its rare for a reason, and thats because most people realize what is happening and stop themselves.
When people die from drinking too much water its often because they are taking part in a bet or a dare and are unaware of the sort of risks they are taking. One of the most well known cases of death from excessive water consumption came during a competition titled Hold your Wee for a Wii. It involved contestants drinking a lot of water and then holding it in. The one who lasted the longest was going to win the new Nintendo Wii console.
The organizers and the contestants didnt understand the risks involved and as a result one of those unfortunate contestants passed away from water intoxication. At the time, this issue was thrust into the public conscious and helped to raise awareness, but it has somewhat faded since then and there is always a concern that something like this could be repeated.
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Your Body Cannot Break Down Artificial Sweeteners
The body is not good at breaking down the sweeteners that are found in diet sodas and it can cause your stomach to bloat as the intestines struggle to handle the artificial ingredients.
Diet sodas are actually not very effective for helping you lose weight, so if this is why you drink them, you are better off switching to an herbal tea such as green tea that is made out of all-natural ingredients that the body can handle instead of diet soda which has been found time and time again to make people more hungry and bloated when they drink it.
Easy Ways To Live Well: Steph Mcgovern Discusses Bloating
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One surprising, healthy drink could be the culprit behind your stretched tummy. Next time you have a glass, see if your belly extends itself. Which drink do you need to experiment with?
According to LiveStrong, your bloated belly could be the result of water bloat.
When you drink a glass of water, it travels down the oesophagus .
Once the water reaches the stomach, it’s absorbed into the bloodstream where it’s used to hydrate the cells.
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What Are The Other Side Effects Of Drinking Alcohol
Beyond bloating, make sure you remember alcohol should be consumed in moderation. Drinking too much alcohol can damage your body.
It can cause brain and liver damage, and it increases your risk of cancers as well as your risk of death from car crashes, injuries, homicides, and suicide. If youre pregnant, drinking alcohol can harm your baby.
Whats The Difference Between Bloating And Water Retention
Ever wondered why you just cant shift those last 10 pounds no matter how much exercise or dieting you do? Want to look ripped, but just cant get rid of the puffiness? And even though you do hundreds of sit-ups every day, why won’t that belly pooch go away?
You could be experiencing water retention and bloating.
Bloating is when gas gets trapped in the abdomen, and is usually caused by some indigestion or swallowed air. When youre bloated, your stomach may look more rounded and can pooch out.
Water retention, on the other hand, is when your body holds onto fluid and can be caused by food intolerance, bad diet, disease, and chronic inflammation. Some women may also experience water retention as a symptom of premenstrual syndrome .
But, with a few lifestyle changes, you could get rid of bloat and puffiness for good.
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How Long Does A Bloated Stomach Last
If your bloating is due to something you ate or drank or to hormone fluctuations, it should begin to ease within a few hours to days. If you are constipated, it wont go down until you start pooping. Water, exercise and herbal teas can help encourage all of these things along. If it doesnt go away or gets worse, seek medical attention.
High Fructose Corn Syrup
High-fructose corn syrup, a type of corn-derived sweetener used in soda and some fruit drinks, is also a surprising ingredient in other foods that dont even taste sweet, such as some breads. Thats why its important for you to read food labels. In large quantities, it can cause gas, bloating and abdominal pain for some people. This is because your body cant absorb it quickly enough.
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Soda And Carbonated Drinks
Drinking carbonated beverages can often cause you to swallow excess air, which leads to bloating. That air has to go somewhere, and once it passes from the stomach to the intestines, it cant escape your body as a burp, says Taylor.
Instead of carbonated beverages, increase your intake of water. Not only will it relieve your bloating from carbonation, studies show increasing your water intake can help you lose weight if youre trying to.
Water Weight Vs Fat Loss
Bloating can be caused by several factors, including gastrointestinal issues, food intolerances, and increased water retention.
When it comes to decreasing water retention to alleviate bloating, its important to keep in mind that theres a difference between losing water weight and body fat.
While the strategies listed above can help decrease bloating associated with fluid retention, water weight loss is usually short term and temporary.
In fact, short-term fluctuations in body weight can easily amount to 2.24.4 pounds over just a few days or weeks .
Meanwhile, losing body fat is a slower process that involves making long-term changes to your diet and lifestyle.
For the best and most sustainable results, its generally recommended to aim for 12 pounds of weight loss per week, and to achieve it via a combination of diet and exercise .
Thus, if your goal is to lose body fat and not just water retention weight, you may need to look further than the suggestions found in this article. Stop by this article for helpful tips on how to lose belly fat.
summary
Water weight loss is short term and temporary. While losing water weight can help decrease bloating, long-term fat loss can only be achieved through dietary and exercise modifications.
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