Bloating is so common that it causes a lot of trouble and pain for many people. Here we would like to provide you with some basic knowledge and a simple way to determine the cause of abdominal bloating yourself, so that you can prevent it at the very beginning of its formation.
First of all, let’s look at how there is gas in the intestine.
Sources of intestinal gas
Intestinal gas comes from 3 ways.
Entering the gastrointestinal tract through the mouth – air or carbon dioxide can be swallowed by talking, eating, or drinking carbonated beverages. Gas components include nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide.
From the fermentation of ingested carbohydrates – carbohydrates, especially cellulose, which are not easily broken down, are fermented by colonic bacteria to produce hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane. These gases are colorless and odorless.
The protein is spoiled – undigested protein is spoiled by the action of colonic bacteria to produce amines (histamine, cadaverine, tryptamine, tyramine and phenylethylamine), ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, indole, phenol, etc. Ammonia has an irritating foul odor, indole and tryptamine have a strong fecal odor, hydrogen sulfide has a rotten egg smell, trimethylamine and phenylethylamine have a fishy smell, and cadaverine has a putrid smell. These substances are toxic, but under normal circumstances, most of these harmful substances are excreted in the feces, and a small part is absorbed by the intestinal mucosa into the bloodstream and transported to the liver for detoxification. Therefore, they do not cause any harm to human body.
The production, absorption and excretion of gases in the intestine is a dynamic process, and if one or several of these components are out of balance, symptoms will occur.
In some disease states, there is a significant accumulation of intestinal gas and the first thing the patient feels is abdominal distension and discomfort, while the simultaneous damage to the organism is not easily perceptible.
Two basic questions about abdominal distension
Abdominal distension is the first manifestation of gas accumulation in the intestine. When bloating occurs, you can initially determine for yourself the nature of the gas in the stomach. Is it fermentable gas or putrefactive gas? If the bloating is not smelly, it is fermentable gas, as described above. If the bloating is accompanied by foul odor, it is putrefactive gas.
Then it is important to understand why there is gas accumulation. Is it indigestion or intestinal dysmotility? If the bloating is accompanied by a lot of gas, it may be mainly indigestion, while if the bloating is accompanied by little or no gas, it may be mainly reduced intestinal dynamics or even partial blockage of the intestine. The latter type is more difficult to treat. This is what is meant by “persistent abdominal distension”.
What you can do for yourself
Abdominal bloating with excessive gas and a putrid odor occurs most often in young and middle-aged people who are not eating regularly. They have irregular diets and may like to overeat, resulting in a relative shortage of digestive enzymes. Correcting bad eating habits and replenishing digestive enzymes, and increasing exercise in moderation, can usually be relieved quickly.
Abdominal distension with little gas and no odor occurs mostly in the elderly. They generally have more vegetarian diets and less activity, and many have constipation. They also often suffer from a variety of chronic diseases, such as chronic gastritis, diabetes, cholecystitis, chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver and other diseases. These patients suffer from abdominal distension for a long time, and even suffer from it. They have a distended stomach, discomfort under both ribs, and sometimes pain in the waist and back. They sit and lie down all day long. These patients are more complicated to treat and often have to go to the doctor. But there are things they can do on their own to relieve bloating. A few are offered here.
1. Restructure your diet
A large amount of plant fiber can certainly laxative, but in the case of excessive intestinal bacteria can be fermented to produce a lot of gas, if not discharged in time will cause bloating, so it is necessary to match meat and vegetables. Many elderly people like to eat foods such as sweet potatoes, glutinous rice, fava beans, rhizome, chestnuts, soybeans, lotus seeds, gorgonians, longan, lychee, melon, pumpkin, soy products, dates, honey, sugar, caramel, onions, leeks, garlic, white fruit, chili, mutton, eggs, etc., are more likely to produce gas.
2, avoid blindly “tonic”
Chinese medicine such as ginseng, astragalus, yellow essence, atractylodes, licorice, etc. are not suitable for use when bloating.
3.Appropriate exercise
Walking and lying down after meals can promote gastrointestinal emptying.
4.Medication should be appropriate
Many elderly people suffer from chronic diseases that require long-term medication, it is important to choose the appropriate medication. A typical example is chronic atrophic gastritis has been taking omeprazole and other strong acid suppressants, resulting in too little stomach acid, cellulose can not digest, into the gastrointestinal bacteria to survive increased, creating conditions for cellulose in the large intestine fermentation gas production.
As for the active treatment of chronic diseases, it goes without saying that it is very important. Many chronic diseases are characterized by intestinal flora disorders or gastrointestinal dysbiosis, all of which require the patient’s cooperation with the doctor.
The fact is that bloating is not so simple. Nor is it only related to intestinal gas. When bloating does not get better in a short time it is still necessary to see a doctor in time.