5 Reasons You Have Gas and Bloating

Do you suffer from gas or bloating?

There are over 30 million google searches on the topic, making it a common complaint.

Gas and bloating are uncomfortable and can be downright painful. It’s also embarrassing, especially if your gas is stinky or malodorous.

Running to the bathroom to pass gas takes time out of your day and it can be a source of embarrassment or social awkwardness if you don’t leave a room in time.

Lastly, the tightening of your clothes as the day goes on can also make you feel self-conscious and irritable.

Do these symptoms sound like you?

We talked about the social aspect of gas and bloating, but what about the more important piece, what does gas and bloating indicate about your health?

When you have gas or bloating it means something; it’s unhealthy to have these symptoms.

Gas and bloating is an indicator of digestive imbalance. Such an imbalance results in the cells of your body not being adequately fed or fueled, and that can lead to disease over time.

It is, therefore, critical to get to the root cause underlying these symptoms.

There are 5 main reasons:

1. Low stomach acid

Health Hack: If you tend to develop gas or bloating within an hour after eating, it can be indicative of low stomach acid. We’ll discuss later in the blog how low stomach acid negatively affects your health.

2. Low pancreatic enzymes

Health Hack: If you develop gas more than an hour after eating, it’s considered indicative of low pancreatic enzymes. These enzymes help you break down (digest) all your food, with special enzymes targeting carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.

3. Infections

Gas, bloating, low stomach acid, or enzyme imbalance can lead to infections of the stomach or intestines. We’ll delve more into this below.

4. Thyroid imbalance

Those with thyroid issues can develop gas and bloat as a secondary effect of their thyroid problem.

5. Microbiome or probiotic imbalance

There are 10 trillion organisms in your gut that help you to properly digest, eradicate toxins and pathogens, plus protect you from the disease. We address this in more detail later in this blog.

You now know 5 root causes, what should you do about it?

Let’s explore each one in detail so you know what your options are to reverse these.

Low Stomach Acid

Your stomach is designed to be a bag of acid that facilitates the digestion of your food. Many things can cause low stomach acid, which then causes maldigestion and malabsorption.

1. Use of antacids – millions of Americans use antacids, whether over the counter or prescription. It is a multi-billion dollar industry. Most have no idea of the side effects which include increased risk of infection, osteoporosis (brittle bones), and nutrient deficiencies including protein and B vitamin malabsorption.
2. Infections – there is a circular problem or “Catch-22” associated with antacids and infections. Insufficient acid opens the door to bacterial and other types of infections, taking hold in your body. A common bacterial infection of the stomach, H. pylori, actually slowly destroys your stomach’s ability to make acid while increasing your risk of stomach cancer and ulcers.

These medications can also lead to bacterial overgrowth within the small intestine, called SIBO, that affects not just digestion, but the absorption of nutrients and can lead to a leaky gut.

Symptoms such as fatigue, memory loss, shortness of breath, depression and a feeling of pins and needles can all be associated with a vitamin B12 deficiency, associated with SIBO and low stomach acid.

3. Aging – it’s tough to have much control over this point, but as you hit your 40s, 50s, and 60s it’s wise to assess your levels of stomach acid so that you can act appropriately to keep your digestion functioning optimally. We provide such testing.

Solution for your low stomach acid

You can take stomach acid, betaine hydrochloride, under a doctor’s supervision, to “prime the pump” of your stomach’s acid levels, thus regaining normal function, digestion, and overall health.

You should work with a competent functional medicine practitioner to understand how long you will need to supplement your acid levels plus any additional steps you need to take.

A competent practitioner will also look at other variables including infections or hiatal hernia.

Low Pancreatic Enzymes

Pancreatic enzymes are made by the pancreas and delivered to the small intestine where they are activated to help you digest all your food, carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Their actions allow nutrients to then be absorbed by the cells of your body.

When the enzyme levels are insufficient, your ability to absorb nutrients is highly compromised. A few things can cause low pancreatic enzymes.

1. Conditions such as celiac disease, diabetes, inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease, autoimmune diseases such as lupus and stomach ulcers can all result in a deficiency.
2. Infections, specifically bacterial infections can lead to insufficiency
3. Medications – there are several linked to pancreatic insufficiency including tetracycline, sulfasalazine, pentamidine, azathioprine, thiazide, valproic acid, and more. If you’re taking these, find a practitioner who can address options to more natural methods, if possible.
4. Gall stones – this is something that needs to be addressed medically if the stones have gotten too large or are blocking the duct of the gall bladder. A blockage can result in pancreatic enzymes unable to get to the small intestine to do their work.
5. Alcohol consumption – typically this is heavy consumption, so if you fall into this category you need to get the assistance you need to terminate this behavior before it compromises your health beyond your ability to recover.

The problem with low pancreatic enzyme production is resultant nutrient deficiency, including low iron, vitamin B12, folate, calcium and more.

Solution for you low pancreatic enzymes

You can supplement with pancreatic enzymes under the supervision of a qualified functional medicine practitioner, who will also be able to evaluate any underlying causes, such as those mentioned above, that need to be addressed concurrently.

Infections

There is a circular association between infections, low stomach acid, and decreased pancreatic enzymes. One can cause the other.

Low stomach acid increases your risk of infection. So too does low pancreatic enzymes.

Infections themselves can also cause low stomach acid and low pancreatic enzymes.

That may sound confusing on the face of it, but we need acid and enzymes to digest our food such that it is not “sitting around” in our stomach or intestines putrefying or rotting. Such inefficient digestion of food can be a breeding ground of infection.

Unfortunately, once you have an infection, that too can lead to a lessening of stomach acid and pancreatic enzymes.

A common bacterial infection of the stomach called H. Pylori has been linked to low stomach acid. It can create symptoms such as burping, bloating, nausea and burning on an empty stomach.

The infection can also be the cause of stomach ulcers, heartburn, and reflux.

H pylori have been linked to NSAID use, including Motrin, Advil, aspirin, etc., so if you are taking these medications regularly that needs to be addressed by getting to the root cause of where your pain is coming from.

Solution for infections

You can take control of the problem by addressing both ends of it. Identifying if an infection is present, plus diagnosing the existence of low acid or enzymes, and effectively treating all conditions present.

Infections don’t always require an antibiotic. And, if possible, it’s always best to use a more natural approach of herbs and other nutrients.

The natural approach will avoid the long-term negative consequences of antibiotics, including weakening your immune system and the unfortunate annihilation of the wonderful microbes or probiotics that make up your microbiome.

It’s important to work with a certified Functional Medicine Practitioner who can evaluate all aspects of digestive health.

Thyroid Imbalance

Thyroid disease and the autoimmune condition Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, are common, affecting tens of millions of Americans.

Most people don’t realize the strong connection between the gut and the thyroid. Your body makes a hormone called T4 which needs to be converted into the active form T3. This conversion happens in your gut. But if the health of your microbiome or good bacteria is not balanced, this conversion can be affected negatively.

The same issues in your gut that can be causing gas and bloating can contribute to the malfunction of your thyroid.

Solution for your thyroid imbalance

If you have thyroid disease or Hashimoto’s autoimmune disease, working with a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner is the best place to start.

Such practitioners are trained to get to the root cause and will not ignore your digestive tract as so many conventional doctors will. If you visit an endocrinologist with a thyroid condition you will typically only receive synthetic thyroid medication.

Here at Root Cause Medical, as an example, we use bio-identical hormones for your thyroid, plus we analyze your digestive function thoroughly. We also evaluate the adrenal glands that work closely with your thyroid. That’s what you need; you deserve to be treated as a whole person, not just a part.

Microbiome imbalance

Your microbiome is composed of 10 trillion organisms found in your intestines. We are only just realizing the vast importance of these organisms that outnumber our human cells by 10 times.

To give you perspective, as a human you possess more microbial DNA in your body than you do human DNA. Interesting, isn’t it?

The solution to microbiome imbalance

The importance of a healthy and balanced microbiome is clear. Considering its vast size, we are still learning a great deal about the system.

What we do know makes it very clear that its health is intimately tied to the health of our entire body and protects us against disease including brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and dementia. The ability of the healthy microbiome to keep disease causing genes “turned off” is truly exciting.

Appreciating the value of a healthy microbiome is something we most definitely put emphasis on here at Root Cause Medical. Evaluating its current status is part of most patient’s programs, and designing the correct lifestyle and food choices consistent with its optimal function is a big part of what we do.

Conclusion

The good news is that it’s not difficult to naturally treat gas and bloating.

With that said, the digestive tract is large and complex. You absolutely need to find a clinician with the depth of experience who can target the right areas to evaluate. Nothing works in a vacuum in your body and the digestive tract epitomizes this statement.

Evaluating for food sensitivities, low stomach acid, deficient pancreatic enzymes, infections and more, should all be part of the comprehensive, natural program you deserve to regain your ideal digestive health and full body health.

Are you ready to get healthy?

If you’re tired of having digestive problems, including gas and bloating, I’d like to hear from you and offer you help.

Contact us for a Free Consultation – Call (408) 733-0400.

If you are not local to us you can still receive help; our Destination Clinic treats patients from across the country and internationally.

We help the world’s busiest people regain, retain, and reclaim their health, energy, and resilience.

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