For many women, bloating is a familiar, frustrating part of life, with studies showing that up to 75% of women experience bloating before or during their period. But how do you know when bloating is just another day in the life of your cycle, or when it's a sign that something's not quite right?

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Let's begin with understanding what bloating actually is 🎈. 

While you may associate bloating with the difficulty of being able to zip up your jeans, the visible change of your belly size is actually called abdominal distention. Bloating and distention often coexist, but can also occur separately.

 

What's The Difference? 🔍 

Bloating —> a subjective sensation—you feel full, gassy or swollen.
Distention —> an objective change, with your belly actually increasing in size.

In essence:

👉 Bloating is a feeling
👉 Distention is a physical symptom

 

What's Considered 'Normal' ?

If your bloating is occasional, is tied to specific foods, hormonal changes or other lifestyle factors and resolves on its own, it's likely within the normal range. 

Here are common culprits:

After Large Meals 🥗
Large meals, fatty foods or highly processed snacks can temporarily slow digestion. Certain foods like beans, lentils, onions, fizzy drinks, garlic and wheat (especially high FODMAP foods) naturally cause more gas buildup. 

Hormonal Fluctuations 📊
Estrogen and progesterone fluctuations can cause your body to retain more water and slow digestion, hence the term... period bloat. 

A Little Gassy 💨
Bloating can happen when gas gets trapped in the intestines. Farting or burping after meals is completely normal. It's your digestive system doing its job!

Eating Quickly ⏩
When we eat fast, we tend to swallow more air, leading to the expansion of the gut. 

Stress 😰
Because of the gut brain axis, it means that more often than not, your gut and digestive system mirrors your emotional state. If you feel stressed, your body does too, and will slow down digestion, cause bloating, constipation and overall discomfort. 

 

But... When Does Bloating Become Abnormal?

If bloating becomes frequent, chronic or painful, it's worth paying attention to it. You shouldn't ignore it if:

○ You're feeling bloated every day 📆
○ If the bloating lasts longer than 2 weeks
○ You feel physical pain or discomfort 😖
○ There's changes in bathroom habits (constipation, diarrhea or both) 
○ You're experiencing nausea or vomiting 🤢
○ You have a loss of appetite or feel full early
○ There is blood in your stool 🩸
○ You're unintentionally losing weight

These types of symptoms can point to conditions like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), food intolerances/sensitivities, celiac disease, endometriosis etc. 

This is why getting assessed by a health care professional is key, especially if symptoms are worsening or interfering with daily life. ‎

What Can You Do From Today To Help Reduce Bloating?

Eat Slower & Chew
When we eat quickly, we swallow more air, which contributes to bloating. Eating fast also means the food is hitting the digestive system in bigger chunks, making it harder for the intestines to break down food. Taking your time allows your digestive enzymes to work properly, and chewing well reduces the workload on your stomach. 

✨ TIP - Chew each mouthful at least 20 times and try not to multitask while eating. After-all, mealtimes are meant to be moments of calm ☮️. 

Limit Fizzy Drinks & Gum
Carbonated drinks adds extra gas into the digestive system and chewing gum causes more air to be swallowed, leading to that puffed up, balloon like feeling 🎈.

Move Your Body
Walking can help food move through the body more smoothly and may reduce gas build up. Exercise stimulates the digestive muscles, which helps relieve pressure in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. 

✨ TIP - Aim for a 10-20 minute walk after meals. Gentle yoga poses like wind relieving pose, cat-cow or spinal twists can also help you if you're feeling a little 'backed up'.

Reduce Stress
Your gut and brain and best friends 💞, meaning, when your mind is stressed, so is your gut! When you feel stressed, your digestive system becomes more sluggish (and sometimes hypersensitive), leading to bloating, cramping or irregular bowel movements. 

✨ TIP - Practices like deep breathing, meditation, yoga nidra or restorative yoga can calm the nervous system and create a more relaxed environment for digestion. 

Understand Your Cycle

Shifts in estrogen and progesterone can slow digestion and cause the body to retain more water 💧. This leads to bloating, and has nothing to do with what you are eating or your stress levels. 

✨ TIP - Tracking your cycle, food intake and symptoms may help spot certain patterns (like bloating) that shows up at particular times, or flare ups after specific meals. This can help get a clearer picture as to what's cyclical 🔁, what's food related 🥗, and what needs to be further investigated with a professional 🩺. 

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Bloating is common and often harmless, but persistent or painful bloating deserves attention! By tuning into your cycle, eating habits, stress levels and gut health, you can reduce discomfort and uncover what your body is trying to tell you. 

And most importantly: you deserve to feel good in your body, every 👏 day 👏 of 👏 the 👏 month 👏!