March 4, 2025 • 19 mins
Why You Still Have Belly Bloat (Even After Going Gluten-Free)
In this episode, Dr. Emily Kiberd delves into why you might still experience persistent belly bloat despite a gluten-free diet and taking your thyroid medications. Many ladies with Hashimoto's find that food sensitivities are only a small part of the puzzle.
Dr. Kiberd explores hidden culprits such as gut infections, like H. pylori and SIBO, which are often overlooked and can exacerbate symptoms.
In this episode, you'll learn:
✅ Why food is not the enemy—if you’re still bloated after going gluten-free, your gut health is the real issue.
✅ How SIBO, H. pylori, and low stomach acid are major causes of bloating that are often overlooked.
✅ Why testing matters! I'm a test don't guess kind of gal and I'll share how to test.
I invite you to join my free, in-depth Gut Masterclass, where I'll will guide you through steps to heal your gut and beat the bloat for good.
Sign up here for the Free Gut Masterclass where you'll learn:
- What to do when your thyroid medication and changing your diet aren't making you feel better (or helping you lose weight)
- How stealth gut infections that go hand-in-hand with Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism
- How to test for these infections (hint: its not a test found in your endo's office)
- The 3R approach to healing your gut
- Why certain gut infections look similar and the importance of a "test, don't guess" approach
Jump on in, it's free!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
What's up, beautiful ladies, Dr.
(00:01):
Emily Kiberd here.
Today, we are going to dive into whyyou still have belly bloat despite going
gluten free and taking your thyroid meds.
Let me know if this sounds like you.
This might resonate on a very deep level.
I know it did when I was firstdiagnosed with Hashimoto's.
You've cut out the gluten, the dairy,Maybe even the processed foods, but you
(00:24):
still wake up feeling bloated by the endof the day You look like you swallowed
a balloon or maybe you're six monthspregnant and you're like what gives?
Today we're gonna dive into the culpritsbehind belly bloat that go way beyond
food sensitivities And trust me, this issomething that most doctors miss when it
(00:46):
comes Hashimoto's We are going to focus onH pylori which is a bacterial infection,
highly transmissible in the stomach.
How this can lead to slow stomachacid and why that can affect and
drive up your thyroid antibodies.
We're going to focus on SIBO, smallintestinal bacterial overgrowth.
(01:08):
If these words sound like aforeign language, It's okay.
I got you.
We're going to talk about whyeliminating gluten is not enough.
There is tons of researcharound why to eliminate gluten.
But if you're still having belly bloat,despite eliminating gluten, there
could be an underlying root cause.
There could be one of theseinfections driving inflammation
(01:30):
in the body, driving your TSH up,driving your thyroid antibodies
up, and preventing you From fullyhealing, fully feeling like yourself,
fully feeling like your best self.
So if this episode resonateswith you, I've got something big
coming up next week, next Tuesday.
It is my gut masterclass.
(01:53):
And normally this is a paid masterclassfor 27 and then it gets bumped up
to 97 and this time around we'regonna do it for free because so
many women need this information.
We'll go deeper into how to heal yourgut, beat the bloat for good, how to
(02:14):
test not guess, you know, I'm a bigtest, not guess girl, how these gut
infections could be driving, couldbe the driver of your Hashimoto's.
And so instead of chasing after hormones,more thyroid hormones, more HRT, if
you address this, the things in thisepisode and the things we're going to
(02:34):
talk about in this gut masterclass,Thyroid hormones could come back
into optimal range, into balance.
I'm going to drop thelink in the show notes.
Go check it out.
It's free.
It's 100 percent free.
So if you just show up, digest,learn, get more information, you can
then start to ask better questions.
I'm a big believer that.
(02:56):
The better questions you ask,the better answers you get.
So if you go to a doctor's appointmentand you're not getting good answers,
but you don't know because youaren't asking the right questions,
this is where frustration compounds.
I'm such a big believer thateducation is empowerment.
All right, so let's break it down.
(03:19):
This myth of just go gluten free ifyou have Hashimoto's and all your
bloating will magically disappear.
Well, cutting out glutencan be helpful 100%.
There are so many research articlesshowing that gliadin, the protein
found in gluten can lead to leaky gut.
That there's actually testingyou can do with a GI map that
(03:42):
can look at gliadin antibodies.
Is your body creating antibodies toGliadin, the protein inside gluten,
but just know cutting out gluten can behelpful, but it's not the whole story.
And so many women with Hashimoto'sstill feel bloated because food
sensitivities are only a little piece.
It's like the tip of the iceberg interms of the healing Hashimoto's puzzle.
(04:06):
And really.
the bigger issue is gut dysfunction.
So today we're going to coverthree hidden gut infections that
could be causing your bloat.
And if you're like, um, aren't you goingto talk about this in the master class?
We are, but I'm going to give you alittle snippet today so that when you
come to the master class, you're not like,whoa, this is like a foreign language.
(04:28):
You've already heard some of the terms.
You will have alreadyheard some of the language.
And when you come to the masterclass, you'll be like, oh, okay.
Oh, this makes even more sense.
Oh yes, yes, yes.
I get it.
Okay.
So the first one I want to address is the.
H.
pylori.
H.
pylori.
Helicobacter pylori.
(04:49):
We're going to start with thisone because this starts High
up in the digestive tract.
It starts in the stomach.
It's a bacterial infection That burrowsthink of it as like a little spiral it
burrows into the stomach lining and willlower our own Stomach acid production.
Why does that matter when we eat food?
(05:10):
We need our stomach acid to breakdown the food so that as the food is
going through the intestine It's notgoing through as these big chunks
and making it really hard for Uh,the rest of the digestion to happen.
The stomach acid breaks down the food.
Stomach acid also helps kill offthings that we don't want in our gut,
bacteria, um, viral load, all the things.
(05:35):
So, why does H.
pylori cause bloating?
H.
pylori, this bacteria thatburrows into our stomach
lining, can slow our digestion.
It creates this overgrowthof bad bacteria.
Some of the symptoms might be burping,acid reflux, bloating after meals,
those are like the most common signs.
(05:55):
So anytime someone comes to me inmy one on one functional medicine
practice and they're like I'm burping,I get some reflux after I eat.
I get bloated after I eat, on tothe differential diagnosis goes H.
pylori.
Some of the signs would be chronicreflux or GERD, nausea, burping, feeling
(06:16):
full, even after like the smallestmeal, a history of stomach ulcers.
So in a very small percentage, H.
pylori can lead to peptic stomachulcers, even stomach pain.
and then an even smaller percentagecan lead to stomach cancer.
So it is so important to rule out,to figure out, okay, do I have this?
(06:38):
Is this inside of me?
It is highly transmissible.
You can get it from kissing someone.
from sharing utensils from going to arestaurant and they don't wash their
utensils properly and the personwho used the spoon before you had H.
pylori and now there's H.
pylori on that spoon.
It can even be passed, there's a articlethat came out recently showing that H.
(06:59):
pylori can get pushed up intothe air if someone Did a number
two and flush the toilet and yourtoothbrush is in near the toilet.
And then those H pylori particlesthat are aerosolized go up into
the air and get on your toothbrush.
You brush your teeth andnow you have H pylori.
Gross, right?
(07:19):
So here's how you test for it.
There's different ways.
There's a stool test called a GI map.
There's a breath test and there'sa more invasive test, which
is an endoscopy with a biopsy.
That last one is the GILD standard.
I think it's a little invasive.
I like to use a GI map to check for H.
(07:40):
pylori in the clients I work with.
How do you address H.
pylori?
You can use herbs, supplements like masticgum, DGL licorice root, and then there
is also a conventional treatment of twoantibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor.
The supplements are a longer treatment.
(08:03):
Treatment, 60 to 90 days.
The conventional meds, shortertreatment, 10 to 14 days.
There's different reasonsto choose one or another.
that's another conversationfor another episode.
And then, because H.
pylori decreases our own stomach acidproduction, sometimes we need to help
support that stomach acid productionwith some betaine HCL or helping produce
(08:31):
digestive enzymes by either takingdigestive enzymes for a supplement
or something to help produce our owndigestives like A little bit of apple
cider vinegar 10 minutes before you eat.
So if this is you like, Oh,I'm burping out of nowhere.
I have some reflux, some GERD, I getbloated after meals, even if they're
(08:54):
itty bitty, you will want to address H.
pylori and why is thisimportant for Hashimoto's?
There's a lot of research out thereshowing that women with Hashimoto's
are more susceptible to an H.
pylori infection becausewe have low stomach acid.
I have seen in my personal practicewith clients that when you address H.
pylori, energy comes back, brainfog lifts, fatigue goes away.
(09:20):
Bloating goes away.
Thyroid antibodies come down.
Thyroid labs come backcloser to an optimal range.
And we didn't really do anything else.
We didn't touch thyroid hormones.
We didn't touch, any sort of medication.
We just addressed H.
pylori.
So there is a biginterconnection between the two.
Number two, hidden rootcause of belly bloat.
(09:41):
We're going to talk about stomach acid.
As you heard, very closely related to H.
pylori.
But when stomach acid is too low tobreak down food, this can lead to gas,
bloating, and fermentation of your food.
If food sits in the stomach too long,which can happen with Hashimoto's
because Thyroid hormones, when theyare underactive, make everything
(10:05):
slow down, including our digestion.
When food sits in the stomachtoo long, like food's not moving
through our digestive tract quickenough, fermentation happens.
Gut bacteria starts to eat thatfood for a longer period of time,
and then we get fermentation, whichleads to gas, which leads to bloat.
This can trigger the slowness ofthe food, slow motility through the
(10:27):
digestive tract, can trigger bloating.
A bacterial overgrowth called SIBO,small intestinal bacterial overgrowth,
can also lead to malabsorption, theinability to absorb the nutrients
from the foods that we're eating.
So here's some signs that youmight have low stomach acid.
Bloating or fullness right after you eat.
(10:50):
Signs of undigested food in your stool.
Chronic iron and B12 deficiencies.
So how do we start to address this?
A little bit of the Band Aid approach, butis still necessary, would be two things.
One, chew your foodthoroughly, eat slowly.
(11:12):
Put yourself in a regulated nervoussystem state before you eat.
I know this is very challenging for themothers, I'm a mother, where your kids are
like wanting to sit on your lap, they'refighting, during dinner and you're just
like, Oh my God, can I just eat in peace?
But it's so important becausedigestion starts High up.
(11:34):
It is a north to south process as mygirl, Alison Morris, Food by Morris says.
It actually starts in the mouth andit actually starts in the brain.
So when we are in this calm,regulated state, we chew our
food thoroughly to baby mush.
30 to 60 chews per bite.
Who does that?
Very few people, myself included.
And we're eating slowly andwe're in this calm state.
(11:55):
Digestion is better.
Bloating gets better, evenwith that one little tip.
Ways to supplement.
Would be to add betaine HCL, stomachacid, the first 10 minutes we eat.
Another way to help produceour own stomach acid to help
(12:16):
stimulate it would be apple cidervinegar 10 minutes before we eat.
If you are having any sort ofhistamine response, like you're
living a mold, which 98 percent ofthe women I see in my functional
medicine practice have mold exposure.
I wouldn't recommend somethingthat is more high histamine
like a vinegar, something that'sfermented like apple cider vinegar.
(12:37):
So, those would be the twowith a little bit of a caveat.
And, super important, thoseare a little bit of band aids.
You always want to get to what is theroot cause driving low stomach acid.
That's then leading to your bloat.
One of those we mentionedin number one, H.
(12:58):
pylori.
So going back to 30, 000th of view,top three hidden causes of belly bloat.
We talked about H.
pylori, a stomach bacteria,highly transmissible.
Number two, low stomach acid,potentially caused by H.
pylori or SIBO or malabsorption.
And number three is SIBO, whichis guiding you along the path.
(13:21):
So SIBO, small intestinalbacterial overgrowth.
What is this?
This is a bacteria.
This is when our natural bacteria in oursmall intestine, our large intestine,
should migrate into the small intestine.
And when there is slow motility,like food is moving slowly through
(13:41):
the digestive tract, this can causefermentation, gas, and bloating.
Why is it causing bloating?
The bacteria in our gut Breaks down food.
It can break it down tooearly, producing excess gas.
This gas is in the form ofhydrogen or a methane gas.
Bloating can get worse throughout the day.
(14:03):
Especially after eating highfiber or high carb foods.
So this is a very key differentiator.
If you're eating a carb, high carb food.
Or you're eating a high fiber food.
So I hear this all the time.
Women come to me and they're like, ohmy god, I get so bloated when I eat
vegetables, but everyone says to eatthe rainbow, have lots of diversity,
(14:23):
eat lots of vegetables to get the fiber.
But every time I do, I bloat.
A little alarm in my braingoes ding, ding, ding.
We got to check for SIBO.
So signs you might have SIBO.
bloating after eating, especially carbs,or when you're increasing your fiber,
constipation, diarrhea, or both, whichI like to call consterea, where you're
(14:47):
swinging between constipation anddiarrhea, gas and burping that is chronic.
So those would be somevery definitive signs.
Now you're like, okay, maybeI need to go check for SIBO
this small intestinal bacterialovergrowth How do we test for it?
(15:08):
There is a SIBO breath test.
It is a lactulose or glucose testTypically in the doctor's office,
they'll do a two hour test whereyou drink this glucose solution.
It's gross.
And then you breathe into a bagevery 15 minutes for two hours.
I like to do a three hour test.
It's a little more sensitive.
(15:29):
Definitely don't do a one hour test.
So how do you start to address SIBO?
You can start to do dietarychanges, looking into a low
FODMAP or elemental diet.
There are antimicrobials that you can use.
There's also antibiotics like rifaximin.
The data shows that about 55percent of people who address
(15:51):
their SIBO have a reoccurrence,and it comes back again and again.
And here's the thingthat no one's looking at.
There is natural bacterial overgrowthor bacteria in our small intestine.
Ask the question why?
Why is it in overgrowth?
Is it getting put into a place ofdysbiosis or unbalance due to a parasite?
(16:22):
I see that often.
Is it getting driven?
Those are the two that if someoneis treating SIBO again and again,
I often say SIBO is a symptom.
Get to the root cause.
Don't just address it again and againwith antimicrobials and antibiotics.
That is the Band Aid approach.
Look at what is the driver.
(16:42):
Mold parasites are often the common two.
So going back to top three hiddencauses of belly bloat, it is
more than just going gluten free.
It is more than just food.
And some of the top three causesthat we start to look at, and there's
obviously more, but I just don'twant to overwhelm you, would be H.
(17:05):
pylori, low stomach acid, SIBO.
And so just know likefood is not the enemy.
If you're still bloated aftergoing gluten free, your gut
health is probably the real issue.
SIBO, H.
pylori, low stomach acid are all majorcauses of bloating that are often
overlooked by conventional medicine, butyou know, when I work with clients, these
(17:30):
are non negotiables that we look at.
To get to the root cause of bloatingbecause oftentimes we look at our
belly and we're like, is that fat?
Is that adipose tissue?
Am I getting a muffin top because I'mfat or because I'm bloated, right?
And so sometimes our new norm of Mybelly fat is actually bloating and
(17:51):
you can actually lose weight just byaddressing the bloating alone Testing
matters test don't guess Get a SIBObreath test, a GI map stool test for H.
pylori, try a betaine HDL challenge,which I do with one on one clients.
So if you suspect gut issues, starttracking your symptoms, write them down.
(18:14):
Work with a provider like myselfto test, not guess your gut.
And then begin supporting your digestionwith simple steps like chewing your food,
using digestive bitters to your advantage.
And if you want to go deeper, joinme for the Gut Masterclass next week.
It is a deep dive into gut health.
We'll go step by step on how toheal, test, rebuild your digestion.
(18:39):
We'll talk about belly bloat,how to get rid of it for good.
We will also talk about How, there'sso much more we can do that is
outside the conventional realm.
More than just get anendoscopy, get a colonoscopy.
Yes, those are important.
Those are tools, butthey're not the only tools.
(18:59):
And so to get really clear on the dataof what you're working with, it's really
a test on guest approach, which iswhat I do with my clients, but we'll
talk about this in the gut masterclass.
Check out the link.
The link is in the show notes.
Thank you for tuning in.
If you found this helpful, educational,inspiring, subscribe, share with a
(19:23):
fellow Hashimoto's sister, maybe it'syour actual sister, cause it's genetic,
maybe it's your mama, anyone who'sstruggling with bloat, and I will see
you inside the Gut Masterclass next week.
It is free.
Until then, keep listening toyour body, stay strong, and I'll
catch you in the next episode.
What's up, beautiful ladies, Dr.
(00:01):
Emily Kiberd here.
Today, we are going to dive into whyyou still have belly bloat despite going
gluten free and taking your thyroid meds.
Let me know if this sounds like you.
This might resonate on a very deep level.
I know it did when I was firstdiagnosed with Hashimoto's.
You've cut out the gluten, the dairy,Maybe even the processed foods, but you
(00:24):
still wake up feeling bloated by the endof the day You look like you swallowed
a balloon or maybe you're six monthspregnant and you're like what gives?
Today we're gonna dive into the culpritsbehind belly bloat that go way beyond
food sensitivities And trust me, this issomething that most doctors miss when it
(00:46):
comes Hashimoto's We are going to focus onH pylori which is a bacterial infection,
highly transmissible in the stomach.
How this can lead to slow stomachacid and why that can affect and
drive up your thyroid antibodies.
We're going to focus on SIBO, smallintestinal bacterial overgrowth.
(01:08):
If these words sound like aforeign language, It's okay.
I got you.
We're going to talk about whyeliminating gluten is not enough.
There is tons of researcharound why to eliminate gluten.
But if you're still having belly bloat,despite eliminating gluten, there
could be an underlying root cause.
There could be one of theseinfections driving inflammation
(01:30):
in the body, driving your TSH up,driving your thyroid antibodies
up, and preventing you From fullyhealing, fully feeling like yourself,
fully feeling like your best self.
So if this episode resonateswith you, I've got something big
coming up next week, next Tuesday.
It is my gut masterclass.
(01:53):
And normally this is a paid masterclassfor 27 and then it gets bumped up
to 97 and this time around we'regonna do it for free because so
many women need this information.
We'll go deeper into how to heal yourgut, beat the bloat for good, how to
(02:14):
test not guess, you know, I'm a bigtest, not guess girl, how these gut
infections could be driving, couldbe the driver of your Hashimoto's.
And so instead of chasing after hormones,more thyroid hormones, more HRT, if
you address this, the things in thisepisode and the things we're going to
(02:34):
talk about in this gut masterclass,Thyroid hormones could come back
into optimal range, into balance.
I'm going to drop thelink in the show notes.
Go check it out.
It's free.
It's 100 percent free.
So if you just show up, digest,learn, get more information, you can
then start to ask better questions.
I'm a big believer that.
(02:56):
The better questions you ask,the better answers you get.
So if you go to a doctor's appointmentand you're not getting good answers,
but you don't know because youaren't asking the right questions,
this is where frustration compounds.
I'm such a big believer thateducation is empowerment.
All right, so let's break it down.
(03:19):
This myth of just go gluten free ifyou have Hashimoto's and all your
bloating will magically disappear.
Well, cutting out glutencan be helpful 100%.
There are so many research articlesshowing that gliadin, the protein
found in gluten can lead to leaky gut.
That there's actually testingyou can do with a GI map that
(03:42):
can look at gliadin antibodies.
Is your body creating antibodies toGliadin, the protein inside gluten,
but just know cutting out gluten can behelpful, but it's not the whole story.
And so many women with Hashimoto'sstill feel bloated because food
sensitivities are only a little piece.
It's like the tip of the iceberg interms of the healing Hashimoto's puzzle.
(04:06):
And really.
the bigger issue is gut dysfunction.
So today we're going to coverthree hidden gut infections that
could be causing your bloat.
And if you're like, um, aren't you goingto talk about this in the master class?
We are, but I'm going to give you alittle snippet today so that when you
come to the master class, you're not like,whoa, this is like a foreign language.
(04:28):
You've already heard some of the terms.
You will have alreadyheard some of the language.
And when you come to the masterclass, you'll be like, oh, okay.
Oh, this makes even more sense.
Oh yes, yes, yes.
I get it.
Okay.
So the first one I want to address is the.
H.
pylori.
H.
pylori.
Helicobacter pylori.
(04:49):
We're going to start with thisone because this starts High
up in the digestive tract.
It starts in the stomach.
It's a bacterial infection That burrowsthink of it as like a little spiral it
burrows into the stomach lining and willlower our own Stomach acid production.
Why does that matter when we eat food?
(05:10):
We need our stomach acid to breakdown the food so that as the food is
going through the intestine It's notgoing through as these big chunks
and making it really hard for Uh,the rest of the digestion to happen.
The stomach acid breaks down the food.
Stomach acid also helps kill offthings that we don't want in our gut,
bacteria, um, viral load, all the things.
(05:35):
So, why does H.
pylori cause bloating?
H.
pylori, this bacteria thatburrows into our stomach
lining, can slow our digestion.
It creates this overgrowthof bad bacteria.
Some of the symptoms might be burping,acid reflux, bloating after meals,
those are like the most common signs.
(05:55):
So anytime someone comes to me inmy one on one functional medicine
practice and they're like I'm burping,I get some reflux after I eat.
I get bloated after I eat, on tothe differential diagnosis goes H.
pylori.
Some of the signs would be chronicreflux or GERD, nausea, burping, feeling
(06:16):
full, even after like the smallestmeal, a history of stomach ulcers.
So in a very small percentage, H.
pylori can lead to peptic stomachulcers, even stomach pain.
and then an even smaller percentagecan lead to stomach cancer.
So it is so important to rule out,to figure out, okay, do I have this?
(06:38):
Is this inside of me?
It is highly transmissible.
You can get it from kissing someone.
from sharing utensils from going to arestaurant and they don't wash their
utensils properly and the personwho used the spoon before you had H.
pylori and now there's H.
pylori on that spoon.
It can even be passed, there's a articlethat came out recently showing that H.
(06:59):
pylori can get pushed up intothe air if someone Did a number
two and flush the toilet and yourtoothbrush is in near the toilet.
And then those H pylori particlesthat are aerosolized go up into
the air and get on your toothbrush.
You brush your teeth andnow you have H pylori.
Gross, right?
(07:19):
So here's how you test for it.
There's different ways.
There's a stool test called a GI map.
There's a breath test and there'sa more invasive test, which
is an endoscopy with a biopsy.
That last one is the GILD standard.
I think it's a little invasive.
I like to use a GI map to check for H.
(07:40):
pylori in the clients I work with.
How do you address H.
pylori?
You can use herbs, supplements like masticgum, DGL licorice root, and then there
is also a conventional treatment of twoantibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor.
The supplements are a longer treatment.
(08:03):
Treatment, 60 to 90 days.
The conventional meds, shortertreatment, 10 to 14 days.
There's different reasonsto choose one or another.
that's another conversationfor another episode.
And then, because H.
pylori decreases our own stomach acidproduction, sometimes we need to help
support that stomach acid productionwith some betaine HCL or helping produce
(08:31):
digestive enzymes by either takingdigestive enzymes for a supplement
or something to help produce our owndigestives like A little bit of apple
cider vinegar 10 minutes before you eat.
So if this is you like, Oh,I'm burping out of nowhere.
I have some reflux, some GERD, I getbloated after meals, even if they're
(08:54):
itty bitty, you will want to address H.
pylori and why is thisimportant for Hashimoto's?
There's a lot of research out thereshowing that women with Hashimoto's
are more susceptible to an H.
pylori infection becausewe have low stomach acid.
I have seen in my personal practicewith clients that when you address H.
pylori, energy comes back, brainfog lifts, fatigue goes away.
(09:20):
Bloating goes away.
Thyroid antibodies come down.
Thyroid labs come backcloser to an optimal range.
And we didn't really do anything else.
We didn't touch thyroid hormones.
We didn't touch, any sort of medication.
We just addressed H.
pylori.
So there is a biginterconnection between the two.
Number two, hidden rootcause of belly bloat.
(09:41):
We're going to talk about stomach acid.
As you heard, very closely related to H.
pylori.
But when stomach acid is too low tobreak down food, this can lead to gas,
bloating, and fermentation of your food.
If food sits in the stomach too long,which can happen with Hashimoto's
because Thyroid hormones, when theyare underactive, make everything
(10:05):
slow down, including our digestion.
When food sits in the stomachtoo long, like food's not moving
through our digestive tract quickenough, fermentation happens.
Gut bacteria starts to eat thatfood for a longer period of time,
and then we get fermentation, whichleads to gas, which leads to bloat.
This can trigger the slowness ofthe food, slow motility through the
(10:27):
digestive tract, can trigger bloating.
A bacterial overgrowth called SIBO,small intestinal bacterial overgrowth,
can also lead to malabsorption, theinability to absorb the nutrients
from the foods that we're eating.
So here's some signs that youmight have low stomach acid.
Bloating or fullness right after you eat.
(10:50):
Signs of undigested food in your stool.
Chronic iron and B12 deficiencies.
So how do we start to address this?
A little bit of the Band Aid approach, butis still necessary, would be two things.
One, chew your foodthoroughly, eat slowly.
(11:12):
Put yourself in a regulated nervoussystem state before you eat.
I know this is very challenging for themothers, I'm a mother, where your kids are
like wanting to sit on your lap, they'refighting, during dinner and you're just
like, Oh my God, can I just eat in peace?
But it's so important becausedigestion starts High up.
(11:34):
It is a north to south process as mygirl, Alison Morris, Food by Morris says.
It actually starts in the mouth andit actually starts in the brain.
So when we are in this calm,regulated state, we chew our
food thoroughly to baby mush.
30 to 60 chews per bite.
Who does that?
Very few people, myself included.
And we're eating slowly andwe're in this calm state.
(11:55):
Digestion is better.
Bloating gets better, evenwith that one little tip.
Ways to supplement.
Would be to add betaine HCL, stomachacid, the first 10 minutes we eat.
Another way to help produceour own stomach acid to help
(12:16):
stimulate it would be apple cidervinegar 10 minutes before we eat.
If you are having any sort ofhistamine response, like you're
living a mold, which 98 percent ofthe women I see in my functional
medicine practice have mold exposure.
I wouldn't recommend somethingthat is more high histamine
like a vinegar, something that'sfermented like apple cider vinegar.
(12:37):
So, those would be the twowith a little bit of a caveat.
And, super important, thoseare a little bit of band aids.
You always want to get to what is theroot cause driving low stomach acid.
That's then leading to your bloat.
One of those we mentionedin number one, H.
(12:58):
pylori.
So going back to 30, 000th of view,top three hidden causes of belly bloat.
We talked about H.
pylori, a stomach bacteria,highly transmissible.
Number two, low stomach acid,potentially caused by H.
pylori or SIBO or malabsorption.
And number three is SIBO, whichis guiding you along the path.
(13:21):
So SIBO, small intestinalbacterial overgrowth.
What is this?
This is a bacteria.
This is when our natural bacteria in oursmall intestine, our large intestine,
should migrate into the small intestine.
And when there is slow motility,like food is moving slowly through
(13:41):
the digestive tract, this can causefermentation, gas, and bloating.
Why is it causing bloating?
The bacteria in our gut Breaks down food.
It can break it down tooearly, producing excess gas.
This gas is in the form ofhydrogen or a methane gas.
Bloating can get worse throughout the day.
(14:03):
Especially after eating highfiber or high carb foods.
So this is a very key differentiator.
If you're eating a carb, high carb food.
Or you're eating a high fiber food.
So I hear this all the time.
Women come to me and they're like, ohmy god, I get so bloated when I eat
vegetables, but everyone says to eatthe rainbow, have lots of diversity,
(14:23):
eat lots of vegetables to get the fiber.
But every time I do, I bloat.
A little alarm in my braingoes ding, ding, ding.
We got to check for SIBO.
So signs you might have SIBO.
bloating after eating, especially carbs,or when you're increasing your fiber,
constipation, diarrhea, or both, whichI like to call consterea, where you're
(14:47):
swinging between constipation anddiarrhea, gas and burping that is chronic.
So those would be somevery definitive signs.
Now you're like, okay, maybeI need to go check for SIBO
this small intestinal bacterialovergrowth How do we test for it?
(15:08):
There is a SIBO breath test.
It is a lactulose or glucose testTypically in the doctor's office,
they'll do a two hour test whereyou drink this glucose solution.
It's gross.
And then you breathe into a bagevery 15 minutes for two hours.
I like to do a three hour test.
It's a little more sensitive.
(15:29):
Definitely don't do a one hour test.
So how do you start to address SIBO?
You can start to do dietarychanges, looking into a low
FODMAP or elemental diet.
There are antimicrobials that you can use.
There's also antibiotics like rifaximin.
The data shows that about 55percent of people who address
(15:51):
their SIBO have a reoccurrence,and it comes back again and again.
And here's the thingthat no one's looking at.
There is natural bacterial overgrowthor bacteria in our small intestine.
Ask the question why?
Why is it in overgrowth?
Is it getting put into a place ofdysbiosis or unbalance due to a parasite?
(16:22):
I see that often.
Is it getting driven?
Those are the two that if someoneis treating SIBO again and again,
I often say SIBO is a symptom.
Get to the root cause.
Don't just address it again and againwith antimicrobials and antibiotics.
That is the Band Aid approach.
Look at what is the driver.
(16:42):
Mold parasites are often the common two.
So going back to top three hiddencauses of belly bloat, it is
more than just going gluten free.
It is more than just food.
And some of the top three causesthat we start to look at, and there's
obviously more, but I just don'twant to overwhelm you, would be H.
(17:05):
pylori, low stomach acid, SIBO.
And so just know likefood is not the enemy.
If you're still bloated aftergoing gluten free, your gut
health is probably the real issue.
SIBO, H.
pylori, low stomach acid are all majorcauses of bloating that are often
overlooked by conventional medicine, butyou know, when I work with clients, these
(17:30):
are non negotiables that we look at.
To get to the root cause of bloatingbecause oftentimes we look at our
belly and we're like, is that fat?
Is that adipose tissue?
Am I getting a muffin top because I'mfat or because I'm bloated, right?
And so sometimes our new norm of Mybelly fat is actually bloating and
(17:51):
you can actually lose weight just byaddressing the bloating alone Testing
matters test don't guess Get a SIBObreath test, a GI map stool test for H.
pylori, try a betaine HDL challenge,which I do with one on one clients.
So if you suspect gut issues, starttracking your symptoms, write them down.
(18:14):
Work with a provider like myselfto test, not guess your gut.
And then begin supporting your digestionwith simple steps like chewing your food,
using digestive bitters to your advantage.
And if you want to go deeper, joinme for the Gut Masterclass next week.
It is a deep dive into gut health.
We'll go step by step on how toheal, test, rebuild your digestion.
(18:39):
We'll talk about belly bloat,how to get rid of it for good.
We will also talk about How, there'sso much more we can do that is
outside the conventional realm.
More than just get anendoscopy, get a colonoscopy.
Yes, those are important.
Those are tools, butthey're not the only tools.
(18:59):
And so to get really clear on the dataof what you're working with, it's really
a test on guest approach, which iswhat I do with my clients, but we'll
talk about this in the gut masterclass.
Check out the link.
The link is in the show notes.
Thank you for tuning in.
If you found this helpful, educational,inspiring, subscribe, share with a
(19:23):
fellow Hashimoto's sister, maybe it'syour actual sister, cause it's genetic,
maybe it's your mama, anyone who'sstruggling with bloat, and I will see
you inside the Gut Masterclass next week.
It is free.
Until then, keep listening toyour body, stay strong, and I'll
catch you in the next episode.
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