Ask a doctor - What causes bloating?

Q. What causes bloating?

Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.

Answered by Seconmedic Expert

Bloating is a common but uncomfortable feeling of fullness and tightness in the abdominal area. It can be caused by dietary, digestive, or hormonal issues.

Dietary causes of bloating include eating large meals that are difficult to digest, eating too quickly without proper chewing, consuming processed foods with high sodium content (e.g., canned soups and frozen dinners), drinking carbonated beverages (such as sodas), or consuming certain gassy foods such as beans, cabbage, cauliflower and onions.

A diet high in refined carbs such as white breads and pastas can cause digestive problems leading to bloating due to an imbalance of gut bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. A lack of fiber from whole grains or vegetables that help keep digestion healthy may also play a role in causing bloating after meals. Poor food combining (eating protein with starches for example) can add strain on the digestive system increasing gas production which leads to bloating after meals as well.

Hormonal changes during menopause often result in temporary water retention throughout the body including around the abdomen; this causes bloating especially before menstruation begins again at menopause’s end. Hormone imbalances caused by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) also contribute to persistent abdominal discomfort due to bloating because PCOS impedes normal menstrual cycles resulting once more in hormone fluctuations which increases water retention around the abdomen creating more bloat than usual even when not eating anything particularly gassy or heavy that day. Endocrine disorders like thyroid disease may produce similar effects on hormones leading again to uncomfortable belly bloat while stressing out over exams or job interviews will affect your nervous system which ultimately disrupts digestion allowing for inflammation within our intestines which results yet again in aggravation within our bellies called—you guessed it—bloating! Now you understand why we don’t want you stressed out too much ok? :D

Overall then we see that there are multiple causes for stomach discomfort caused by unwanted and uncomfortable abdominal bloat; however if symptoms persist one should always seek medical advice instead of self-diagnosing ;)