‘My stomach expands so much – by the end of the day I look pregnant! ‘
‘It’s like I go up a size between morning and night! ‘
‘The bloating is so painful, the wind is embarrassing… ‘
Many of my clients have mild to moderate digestion difficulties – bloating, discomfort, pain, gas, cramping, constipation, diarrhoea, … maybe its only occasional, although sometimes it’s every day. They suffer silently and just put up with it.
Digestion is a complex process! Consider that digestion starts when you think about food, when you dream about lunch or dinner, try it – sit back quietly and think about your favourite meal and notice how you mouth fills with saliva. If you chew each mouth-fill enough, that mix has a better chance of reaching your stomach mostly digested, but if you only give it a cursory chew it will make its way to your stomach in undigested pieces and sits … fermenting … while the hydrochloric acid works to break that food down – Ok so that’s a simplistic view but you get the picture 😊. There is a lot more to the process involving enzymes, bile, the oesophagus, pancreas, liver, gallbladder, small and large intestines and colon, but essentially if food is not digested properly the nutrients from that food can’t be absorbed effectively. Possibly why many with digestion issues feel so fatigued!
I’ve mentioned fast eating but there are other causes of poor digestion including:
a) low levels of hydrochloric acid (hcl) which sadly may reduce when we’re older, acid levels reach adult level from age 2 but may decline due to chronic gastritis, an Inflammation of the gut lining, caused by stress, infection, alcohol, drugs (NSAID’s).
b) stress has a significant impact since the digestive function is compromised during a fight/flight response
c) food sensitivities and allergies
d) infections – small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), Helicobactor pylori
e) nutrient imbalance: low fibre, high sugar, too much fatty food, low nutrients
Keep a food and symptom diary for a few days and see if you can identify what causes your stomach complaints. Does it occur after you eat that cheese scone, that cup of milky tea, or those hot chips? Or is it stress based, are you a comfort eater or food avoider when under stress?
I offer food sensitivity testing and have seen all types of food cause symptoms, with the main ones being dairy and wheat. Contact me at gina@bodyofwork.co.nz if you’d like help to discover the cause of your symptoms.
As a disclaimer since I’m not providing this information following a full consultation, please note that this information provided is for informational or educational purposes only, and does not substitute professional medical advice or consultations with healthcare professionals
