What Causes Bloating?

by Sara Banta | Aug 13, 2021 | AHP News, Gut Health

 

How often do you wake up and look in the mirror, thinking I don’t even look like myself– puffy eyes, bloat in the cheeks, bloated stomach and just swollen?  A lot of times your hands and fingers are swollen as well.  Maybe your wrinkles are a bit filled in, but that is the only upside!

What Causes Face Bloat?

Dehydration

In most cases, face bloat is caused by dehydration.  

When we have been laying down all night, water is retained in the face.  You would think that bloat means you are over hydrated, but it is actually the opposite; you are dehydrated. 

As the body loses fluids, it will try to make up for the loss by conserving any remaining fluid. The face bloats as the first warning sign that you are starting to become dehydrated, and as you become more dehydrated, the face bloat goes away. 

Normally your kidneys will excrete any excess fluid out of the body, but if the brain knows the body is dehydrated, it will signal the kidneys to hold on to any fluid, with minerals and water, for survival purposes.  So, your face is a warning sign!

The WRONG Salt

Another cause of face bloat and edema could be the wrong kind of sodium or unopposed sodium; this is found in most iodized or table salt.  

Sodium is meant to be accompanied by other minerals like potassium and magnesium.  Those other minerals help properly hydrate the cells, whereas sodium on its own causes an imbalance of minerals, leading to facial bloat.  

Sodium is osmodic, meaning it draws water in, explaining why you get puffy.  

Using Accelerated Ancient Salt® and Quinton Isotonic help hydrate your cells with the proper balance of necessary minerals.  

What Causes A Bloated Stomach?

A bloated stomach is usually caused by a poor absorption or breakdown of certain foods.  

Everyone is different in terms of foods they can absorb and break down.  At times the foods causing stomach bloating may have not caused any issues previously, but with age the body has compromised detoxification pathways that trigger the issue.  Stomach bloat is typically triggered by vegetables, not by animal protein or fats.  

Foods That Cause Stomach Bloating

FODMAP Foods

Typically foods that cause stomach bloating are in a group called the FODMAP foods:  ‘Fermentable, Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols’.  

FODMAP foods contain different types of sugars that don’t break down well, and sugar alcohols, or sugar substitutes like xylitol and sorbitol that are commonly found in “sugar free” products.  They ferment in the intestines, create gas like hydrogen and methane and make you bloated. 

Cruciferous Vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and kale to name a few.  There are health benefits to these vegetables, but they can make your stomach bloated, especially if eaten raw.  Cruciferous vegetables contain a sugar called raffinose which the human body can’t break down.  When raffinose travels into the small intestine, it will create hydrogen gas. 

If you find yourself bloated from them, it is a sign your body isn’t breaking them down, and you probably aren’t benefiting from the nutrients in the veggies.  They also contain sulfur, and some people lack the detoxification pathway that helps break down sulfur.  One sign that you may be in that category is if garlic or egg yolks cause bloat or stomach upset. Furthermore, if you are intermittent fasting, you never want to break a fast with these vegetables as they will cause stomach bloat for even the stronger digestive systems.

Nightshade Vegetables

Nightshade vegetables include bell peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, red spices, and potatoes among others.  Nightshade vegetables may contribute to digestive issues in addition to dry mouth, confusion, vomiting, and visual disturbances. 

They have toxic alkaloids in them that can have certain drug-like effects on people.  Part of the problem with nightshades is they have natural pesticides found in them called glycoalkaloids;  they are the plant’s first line of defense against bugs, viruses, bacteria, and animals.  The job of glycoalkaloids is to damage your cell membranes, and they take time for your body to process.  So, eating nightshade vegetables on a daily basis could overburden your digestive system, leading to bloat among other symptoms. 

Lectins

Lectins are found in foods like peanuts, soy, barley, lentils, whole grains, oats, quinoa, rye, rice, lima beans, red kidney beans, potatoes, gluten, wheat, grains, nightshades, seeds, peas, soy, chickpeas, green beans, and zucchini.  

Lectins are plant proteins and can be toxic to some people.  Not only can they cause bloat, but also other digestive issues, Leaky Gut, nausea, gas and diarrhea.  

Lectin is a type of protein that forces carbs to clump together and even attach to certain cells in your body.  Lectins can disrupt cellular communication and the body usually responds with inflammation and leads to symptoms like fatigue and forgetfulness.  Moreover, the sticky nature of lectins can allow them to gram onto harmful bacteria and viruses and help them stick to the cells in the body.  As a result, people with lectin sensitivities might get sick or infected more often.  Lectins also might lead to weight gain.  Differing lectin tolerance levels might exist because of individual genetics. 

Plants are really intelligent. They defend themselves with certain chemicals, and they affect almost everyone in some way or another.  The degree to which you feel any physical effects really depends on your genetics, your detoxification pathways, and your gut flora.

Oxalates

Plants make oxalic acid for their mineral management, seed germination, and self-defense.  

You eat the plants, and the oxalic acid combines with minerals, such as calcium, in your body and gets deposited in your tissues, organs, and bones.  Oxalates can get deposited in the gut lining, causing tears and leading to Leaky Gut and inflammation.  

Foods high in oxalic acid include spinach, almonds, beans, grains, bran, seeds, peanuts, swiss chard, beets, potatoes, chocolate, rhubarb, figs, kiwi, blackberries, black pepper, cumin, and tumeric.  Your body makes the oxalates; oxalates are a metabolic waste product with no known function in the body.

Oxalates can cause stomach bloat and digestive issues, in addition to pain and connective tissue problems, nerve irritation, poor concentration, mental and emotional fatigue, mood problems, immune system reactions, thyroid disease, urinary issues and kidney stones, and nutrient malabsorption.

Gut Flora

If you have compromised gut flora, you will experience stomach bloat.  

Gut flora is what makes up the intricate community of organisms living in your digestive tract.  Your gut holds over 100 trillion of these bacteria.  They affect how you digest and process nutrients, your metabolism and your body’s immune system.  The Gut is the Second Brain.  So, in addition to a compromised gut, or Leaky Gut, causing bloat and digestive issues, it can cause an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain like Serotonin, Gaba, and dopamine.

How to Reduce Face and Stomach Bloating

Accelerated Diet Cleanse

The Accelerated Diet Cleanse includes the Accelerated Fast®, Acceleradine®, Accelerated Silver®, and additional supplements to reset the body and reverse fatty liver, improve thyroid health, heal digestive issues, and reduce bloat – all within 30 days.  This revolutionary program is not just for weight loss, it is helping support participants to: 

  • Lower insulin and blood sugar increase energy, 
  • Increase fat-burning 
  • Curb cravings for carbs and processed foods 
  • Cleanse all of the organs  
  • Quickly lose liver, visceral, and subcutaneous fat  
  • Increase the conversion of white fat into brown fat which is the “healthy” fat

Quinton

Quintessential 3.3 contains up to 78 bioavailable ionic minerals which replenishes your cells with the same highly bioavailable mineral rich bath that nourished life on earth for millions of years.  It helps hydrate the cells properly, heal leaky gut, and improve digestion.  It contains the same mineral balance as your blood plasma.

Accelerated Ancient Salt®

By just putting a pinch of Accelerated Ancient Salt® on your tongue, your cravings and appetite are suppressed, your blood sugar is lowered, and you are hydrating your cells properly.  

Accelerated Ancient Salt® is composed of raw, unbleached, unheated, unrefined ancient seabed and sea salt from pristine sources in the Andes, Himalayas and the U.S. without stabilizers, chemicals or plastics like most salts.  

Furthermore, it is charged with Scalar Frequencies to help detox the body of heavy metals and radiation.  It helps replenish electrolytes, suppress appetite and sugar cravings, lower blood sugar, alleviate nausea, and tastes amazing! It also has a strong negative charge to help “pull out” positively charged toxins, parasites and undigested fats.  

Most salts are stripped of all of the natural minerals outside of sodium, causing face bloat, stomach bloat and overall edema.  Accelerated Ancient Salt® contains over 60 of the natural minerals, balancing out the sodium.  As a result true hydration is achieved within the body, eliminating bloat.

Accelerated Fast®

Accelerated Fast® includes additional fat burning ingredients that de-fat the liver specifically; no other keto supplement incorporates these ingredients. It is lipotropic, meaning it breaks down saturated fats into unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats are easier for the body to utilize and easier for the body to convert to ketones. 

Imagine a wax candle that is solid, and when we light the candle, the solid wax (fat) turns into a liquid, which is then taken up by the wick to burn easily. Because of this property, it is able to de-fat the liver as well. It is well known that the liver is responsible for converting stored fat into ketones. It is the liver that produces the ketones from fats. 

The more a person’s liver is defatted and unclogged, the easier it is for the liver to function in all areas including producing ketones. The liver is also where the thyroid hormone converts from T4 to T3, and as the liver function becomes better, the thyroid works better as well, increasing metabolism further.  This mechanism leads to diminishing liver fat, visceral fat, and subcutaneous fat.  

Accelerated Fast® also contains HMB which is directly related to preventing muscle loss while losing body fat.  As you take Accelerated Fast® and stick to a low carb diet, you are healing your Leaky Gut, eliminating bloat in the face and the stomach, while increasing fat loss.

 

Accelerated Leaky Gut Bundle

 

Recondition, Reinforce, Rebuild

  • Reconditions and maintains a healthy gut microbiome.
  • Supports microbial diversity and short-chain fatty acid production
  • Supports a healthy immune system

 

MegaGuard™

 

MegaGuard is a meticulously crafted herbal digestive blend tailored to support the upper regions of the gastrointestinal tract. A significant contributor to bloat is deficiencies in pancreaticobiliary secretions. Cynaropicrin, an inherent bitter compound derived from artichoke leaf extract, has demonstrated its ability to enhance biliary flow, aiding in the removal of unwanted microbes from the small intestine. Concentrated gingerols enhance gastric emptying and motility by suppressing cholinergic M3 and serotonergic 5-HT3 receptors in the gut. Additionally, gingerols have been validated to inhibit gas production stemming from archaea, the microorganisms accountable for methane production within the gut.

 

Mega IgG2000 Powder

 

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is acknowledged for inducing dysmotility within the upper part of the small intestine—a distinctive characteristic of Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). MegaIgG2000 effectively binds to and counteracts a diverse range of bacterial endotoxins, including LPS.

Low Carb Diet

If you focus on eating organic and wild animal meats, eggs, wild fish, healthy fats like olive oil, coconut oil, butter and ghee and vegetables like asparagus, artichoke, romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, and celery, your bloat will diminish quickly.  It is the sugar, processed foods, and carbs that cause water retention and stomach bloat.

 

Intermittent Fasting

By abstaining from eating for a period of time, your gut is able to heal, eliminating bloat and mobilizing fat from visceral, subcutaneous and liver fat for energy.  As a result energy increases and bloat decreases.  

Eliminate the Wrong Vegetables

If you feel bloated from a certain category of vegetables, try eliminating the whole family of them for a period of two weeks; reintroduce one new item at a time and see if bloating occurs. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage contain “Raffinose” which our bodies can’t break down.  Steaming it may help depending on your body.  You can also try fermenting these vegetables.

Try a Carnivore Diet

By eliminating all vegetables and sticking with animal protein only, your gut can heal, reset and give you a baseline to work from when reintroducing vegetables and fruits.  

 

Sara Banta
Accelerated Health Products | + posts

Sara Banta is a Stanford University Graduate with a Degree in Economics and Psychology, and a certified Natural Supplement Expert & Graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Sara is the Founder of Accelerated Health Products and host of the health & wellness podcast, Accelerated Health Radio.

sara banta blog

Hi, I’m Sara Banta!
I’m a certified natural supplement expert, podcaster, Health Coach, and natural wellness expert. Each week I publish articles on the latest in cutting-edge health supplements and natural health solutions. I also interview leading experts across a wide range of health topics to transform your body, mind & spirit. I’m also the Founder of Accelerated Health Products. Join my mailing list and receive 10% off your first order.

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