More Than a Feeling
When the contents of your intestines increase because of gas, constipation or an excess of liquids, you can feel bloated. You may experience an expanded abdomen, which pushes the diaphragm higher in the chest, causing increased abdominal pressure.
While you may feel that your stomach is bulging, the abdomen can react in one of two ways – either stiffening the abdominal wall or relaxing the muscles and allowing it to expand.
Sometimes, particularly with people who have irritable bowel syndrome, the intestinal tract can react to even small amounts of stimulus and expand, causing that bloated feeling.
But most people get belly bloat from normal activities. You may be taking in too much air when you eat, talk or chew gum. You may be lactose intolerant, which means your body can’t digest the vital component of dairy. Or you may have celiac disease, giardiasis (a parasitical infection) or an intestinal obstruction. Menstruation also can produce bloat. What’s causing it can only be determined with professional testing for the conditions.
NORMAL BLOATING
If it’s not an underlying medical condition, it’s time to examine some of the diet and lifestyle things that may be causing your belly bloat. Some are occasional factors, but others require you to change up the diet to combat bloat.