How to Heal Bloating - Part 1

What is Bloating?

Bloating is the sensation of abdominal pressure or fullness, often caused by excess gas, inflammation, or changes in the way your gut is moving. It may or may not be accompanied by visible distension (abdominal swelling) and pain.

I want to preface this by saying that it is normal to feel bloated occasionally, especially after a heavy meal or around your menstrual cycle (as progesterone makes our body retain more water). Still, persistent bloating is a sign that something along your ‘digestive chain’ needs support.

Causes of Bloating

1. Imbalanced Gut Microbiome (Dysbiosis)

Your gut is home to trillions of species of bacteria that help digest food, maintain immunity, and create neurotransmitters and hormones. When this ecosystem becomes imbalanced—due to antibiotics, medication, a diet lacking in fibre, high in refined sugars, processed foods, stress, or illness—it can disrupt the delicate balance of microbes, leading to excessive gas production and poor digestion.

Individuals with IBS or SIBO may also be prone to bloating and excessive gas, due to bacteria having migrated into the small intestine and fermenting food.

2. Food Intolerances & Poor Enzyme Function

Lactose, gluten, fructose, or FODMAPs can all contribute to bloating if your gut lacks the enzymes to properly break them down. When undigested food ferments in the gut, it produces gas and draws in water, leading to bloating and discomfort.

3. Constipation

Slow-moving bowels can trap gas in the digestive tract. You don’t need to feel “backed up” to be constipated! If you are not passing a full, easy-to-pass stool at least 1–3 times per day, it could be contributing to your bloating, as toxins and hormones may be re-absorbed through the intestinal wall and create systemic inflammation.

4. Hormonal Fluctuations

Progesterone and oestrogen can slow digestion and cause water retention, which is why you may feel more bloated before your period. However, persistent bloating outside of this window may point to deeper hormonal or gut imbalances. I see many cases where a hormonal imbalance is being caused by a struggling liver, sluggish bile, and the Estrobloom within the gut being out of balance. This affects your body’s ability to detoxify and excrete oestrogen correctly, contributing to a hormonal imbalance.

5. Poor Bile Flow – Liver and Gallbladder

Your liver and gallbladder are crucial for breaking down fats, regulating hormones, removing toxins, and promoting motility. Everything we consume or come into contact with—molecules in food and drink, chemicals in our skincare and cleaning products, clothing, pollutants in the air, water, or near industrial sites—must be processed through the liver. All fat-soluble toxins are then packaged into bile, where they bind to bile salts and phospholipids and are sent to the gut via the bile duct. From here, they are eliminated through the stool.

Signs bile isn’t flowing freely

• Bloating or nausea after fatty meals
• Greasy, pale, or floating stools
• Pain or tightness under the right rib cage
• Constipation
• Clay-coloured stools
• Hormone imbalances (PMS, heavy periods, clotting)
• Skin breakouts or rashes
• Chronic fatigue or brain fog
• Bitter taste in the mouth

If your liver is under stress, you may experience

• Waking at 2–3 am consistently
• Increased sensitivity to chemicals, perfumes, or alcohol
• Headaches and migraines
• Irritability, mood swings, or low tolerance for stress
• Acne
• Itchy skin or liver spots
• Slow metabolism
• Weight-loss resistance, and the ‘liver roll’ – a roll of fat sitting just below your bra line

6. Low Stomach Acid

Hydrochloric acid (HCl) is a potent, acidic secretion that is essential for breaking down food, defending against pathogens, and activating digestive enzymes such as pepsin.

Stomach acid is made from a combination of chloride, hydrogen, potassium, zinc, vitamin B1, and amino acids. Nutrient deficiencies or low electrolyte intake can deplete stomach acid, as well as consuming excess alcohol, large volumes of water during and around meals, refined sugar, and chronic yo-yo dieting.

Symptoms of low stomach acid

• Bloating or fullness after meals
• Burping or reflux (often these are caused by too little acid, not too much!)
• Feeling like food ‘sits’ in your stomach
• Seeing undigested food in stools
• Chronic iron or B12 deficiencies
• Poor appetite or early satiety
• Acne, rosacea, or skin inflammation
• Candida, SIBO, or parasite overgrowths

7. Stress and the Gut–Brain Axis

Your gut and brain are in constant communication via the vagus nerve; your stress (emotional, mental, or physical) and overall mindset about food play a significant role. When you are calm, safe, and present, your brain tells your gut: ‘It is safe to digest. Turn on the stomach acid, release the enzymes, and move food along’. When you are anxious, rushed, fearing the food on your plate, or worried about the effect it may have, the message turns into: ‘Danger. Shut down digestion and divert all blood to the muscle. We are preparing to fight or flee’.

The flow-down effect of fearing food, or having negative beliefs around food

• Fear of reacting to a food, or telling yourself “I really shouldn’t have this” triggers low-grade stress.
• This activates your sympathetic nervous system, which turns off our rest-and-digest parasympathetic nervous system.
• Blood flow is therefore diverted away from the gut.
• Enzyme and stomach acid secretion decreases.
• Overall motility then slows, creating bloating, gas, fermentation, and possibly constipation.

The flow-down effect of rushing meals or eating on the go

• The cephalic phase of digestion becomes ‘short-circuited’.
• Having the cephalic phase shortened doesn’t give the stomach appropriate time to create enough stomach acid for the meal.
• Having lower stomach acid, therefore, can lead to bloating and undigested food.

The flow-down effect of perfectionism or guilt around eating

• Overthinking every food choice, or being anxious or stressed that ‘this will make me gain weight’, can lead to poor digestion despite it being a healthy choice.
• This can result in higher cortisol over time, which diverts blood away from the digestive organs and affects your ability to digest food appropriately.
• High cortisol levels also deplete stomach acid and harm the gut bacteria and lining.
• Perfectionism or chronic dieting can also lead to a disconnection from your body’s natural hunger and fullness cues, which can impact your perception and intake of food in the long run.

Looking Ahead

In this post, we explored the many underlying drivers of bloating, from an imbalanced microbiome and sluggish motility, low stomach acid and enzymes, poor bile flow, food sensitivities, hormone shifts, and your overall stress and food mindset.

These are areas we can investigate to see where your digestive system may be under pressure. Bloating is a message from your digestive chain that can be alleviated with the right approach.

In part two, we will explore my “Brain-to-Bottom” framework—a whole-body, step-by-step approach to resolving bloating at its core. You’ll learn how to support each part of the digestive chain, from nervous system regulation and stomach acid production to bile flow, the microbiome, and beyond.

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