We’ve all suffered from digestive symptoms of some frequency, at some point in our lives. For most of us, the worst thing to experience is a bloated stomach! Do you find yourself dealing with a bloated stomach more often than you’d like? If so, it might be more than just a passing issue. Below, you can check out information about intolerances and allergies and how they could possibly relate to living with a stomach bloated. You’ll also find out how an intolerance test could help you to reduce your bloated stomach, congestion, headaches, and other symptoms that you may not have even known were related. On a day to day basis, here’s what you should know about stomach upset:
1) Understand the basics of your bloated stomach and other issues
Before you do anything else, it’s helpful to understand what is causing your bloated stomach, headaches, fatigue or other symptoms you’re experiencing. These symptoms could be the result of an intolerance or allergy, so it is vital that you consider getting a test done for each, and then get your results from the tests so that you can make adjustments to your diet-related life and enjoy yourself again.
What you are going to learn — whether it’s from an intolerance, a sensitivity, or an allergy — is that a lot of times, your seemingly unconnected symptoms actually are connected! If they are caused by an allergy then they could easily lead to something a lot more serious, including life-threatening symptoms like anaphylaxis. So, proper diagnosis is important. If, on the other hand, you have ever suffered from IBS then you will know that the symptoms can often be the result of the foods that you are eating and its relationship with your sensitive stomach.
2) Adopt a friendly diet to help you deal with your food intolerances
When it comes to a healthy diet, it is important that you find a whole food diet that is well suited to line your stomach and its needs in particular. What works for someone else may not work for you, and vice versa. If you have a bloated stomach or other symptoms like constipation then you will be looking to create a diet that is lower in fermentable carbohydrates as well as other ingredients thought to aggravate a sensitive stomach. A low FODMAP diet would be ideal, but there are plenty of other diets that you can look into as well with the help of personalized test results to guide you.
3) Sensitivity, Intolerance or Allergy?
When it comes to figuring out what’s going on, one of the hardest things is to figure out whether you’re dealing with either a sensitivity, an intolerance, or an allergy. They don’t all feel different, and a lot of times it can feel like a mystery, as far as what’s going on in your body.
Typically speaking, a food sensitivity is when your body becomes sensitive to a certain food ingredient due to overexposure or simply due to a confused signal between your body and the world around you. Proper identification of it will help you adjust your portion sizes to minimise or avoid the food daily.
An intolerance is when the body reacts in a negative way to particular foods when exposed to them. It often feels similar to an intolerance, which is why the two tend to be confused with each other. If you have an intolerance, it means that your body is not equipped with the proper digestive enzymes it needs in order to effectively break down the food that you are eating. This kind of struggle creates symptoms hours or even days after you’ve eaten the food. Studies show that those who focus on self-reported and self-diagnosed food intolerances can have a lower quality of life [1]. This is simply because it can be hard to sort out and it leads to frustration when seemingly everything appears to be causing symptoms. But help is available in the form of an intolerance test for just this reason.
Also, please make sure that you do not confuse an allergy with an intolerance as it could have serious consequences. Both of these are very different kinds of responses in the body. Intolerances are uncomfortable but are not dangerous to your immediate health. Allergies can worsen from reaction to reaction, however. Anaphylactic reactions don’t always have warning signs. Studies pros that peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish are known for causing anaphylaxis, but there are many other potential food allergens that can as well [2]. Doing your research will help you understand the difference in this regard, but Test Your Intolerance Canada can always help you with any questions which you may have on understanding the difference between allergies and intolerances!
The bottom line is that there is a lot of research that needs to be done on stomach bloating. Even within the research, specialists agree that more work needs to be done in order to treat the core reason behind stomach bloating from case to case [3].
For more information on getting hold of your intolerance test to help you cope with your symptoms, check out our blog.
References:
[1] Chumpitazi, B.P., Weidler, E.M., Lu, D.Y., Tsai, C.M. and Shulman, R.J., 2016. Self-perceived food intolerances are common and associated with clinical severity in childhood irritable bowel syndrome. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(9), pp.1458-1464. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212267216302143
[2] Sampson, H.A., 2003. Anaphylaxis and emergency treatment. Pediatrics, 111(Supplement 3), pp.1601-1608. Available at: https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/111/Supplement_3/1601.short
[3] Schmulson, M. and Chang, L., 2011. The treatment of functional abdominal bloating and distension. Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics, 33(10), pp.1071-1086. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2036.2011.04637.x
