What Is Causing Your Bloating?!
(If you haven't read them already, check out Part 1 and Part 2)
In part 2 you may have wondered if your gallbladder is responsible for your bloating.
How to know if your bloating is due to SIBO or gallbladder?
You can get a pretty good idea of the answer by observing what foods cause bloating for you. Do you bloat when you eat carbs or sugars? Or does your bloating occur when you eat fat?
If you bloat when you eat certain carbs you probably have SIBO. Remember in part 1 of this series we defined SIBO.
SIBO stands for small intestinal bacteria overgrowth. In SIBO the bacteria from the large intestine are getting into the small intestine.
Carbs that ferment in the presence of gut bacteria are called FODMAPS. If SIBO is present, this will happen in the small intestine. All that fermentation causes GAS. That gas causes bloating.
Foods containing FODMAPS include:
- Garlic, onion
- Certain vegetables such as asparagus, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, leeks, and snow peas
- Wheat and other grains such as amaranth, barley and rye
- Dairy lactose such as in cream cheese, cottage cheese, milk and yogurt
- Fruit such as apples, cherries, mangoes, peaches, pears, and watermelon
- Certain beverages like chai tea, coconut water, dessert wine, and rum
- Beans like black-eyed peas, butter beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, soybeans
- Sweeteners such as agave nectar, high-fructose corn syrup, honey; also added polyols in sugar-free mints and chewing gums (check labels for sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol or isomalt)
You might do a 10-14 day trial with no FODMAPS. You have to be strict in order to see if your symptoms go away when you avoid these carbs. If you have bloating when you eat FODMAPS, and don’t have bloating when you don’t eat them, that tells you that you probably have SIBO.
The problem with that is that some people then just live without eating FODMAPS or figure out the ones that really bother them and avoid those.
YOU NEED FODMAPS. Eliminating all those nutritious foods… garlic, onion, and many veggies and fruits is not a good longterm strategy. Your gut needs those fibers and as much diversity as possible to have a diverse, healthy micro-biome.
And remember, the bloating is not just a bother. It is telling you something is wrong. SIBO can progress to severe malnutrition due to malabsorption of nutrients.
So, if you think you have SIBO, please seek help in addressing it.
If you don’t bloat with carbs, but you do bloat when you eat fried food or high fat food, the problem is likely your gallbladder.
You can try taking a digestive enzyme with each meal. Most digestive enzyme products will include enzymes to help you break down fats. If this solves the problem that is great. But for longer term answers, read on.
What to do if you bloat after eating fried food or a high fat meal?
Get tested. AST, ALT, Bilirubin, Alkaline phosphatase, LDH, GGT are lab markers related to liver and gallbladder function. Elevations can indicate your liver and gallbladder aren’t functioning well. For optimal health interpret these markers using functional lab ranges.
Remove inflammatory foods like gluten and dairy.
Address gut health since leaky gut and subsequent inflammation contributes to bile thickening.
Stimulate bile flow. Bitters like curcumin, dandelion, milk thistle, and ginger help to stimulate bile flow. These can be taken as supplements, included in meals, or consumed as tea.
Thin bile, dissolve gallstones. Beets (eat beets and drink beet kvass), taurine, phosphatidylcholine, lemon, peppermint, and vitamin C have all been shown to thin bile and even dissolve gallstones.
Consider supplementing with bile. If you’re having trouble with fat digestion, you can also consider supplementing with bile itself from a bovine or ox source until your bile flow is restored.
If you are frustrated with bloating, let me help. Reclaiming your health can be easier than you think.
Interested in More?
Check out these other two articles:
