This is one of the most common questions I receive regarding bloating. It’s such a pressing issue for many women. As a last ditch effort to avoid bloating, some women refrain from eating. It’s a short term solution at best. Unintentional fasting leads to a viscous cycle of not eating then inhaling food due to overwhelming hunger. Of course, this leads to overeating and eating inappropriate foods which exacerbates bloating and ruins your bikini body goals.
Bloating can come from many sources. The most common sources are:
- Food intolerance
- Insufficient hydrochloric acid (HCL)
- Insufficient pancreatic enzymes
- Parasite overgrowth
- Bacterial overgrowth
- Yeast overgrowth
Women may hear about a supplement that helped a friend with bloating. Out of desperation, they order the supplement. In some cases, it’s an instant “cure” – I wish it were this easy. However, it’s not always the case. It’s more the exception, than the rule.
Decades ago, Roger Williams, PhD, wrote the book Biochemical Individuality. He’s the godfather of biochemical individuality. He says humans have vastly varying needs for nutrition. For instance, the amount of vitamin C could vary 20 fold from person to person. The same goes for supplements. Every-body is different. This includes digestive issues such as bloating.
One myth, I want to dispel is:
Probiotics are great for everyone.
In general, probiotics can be helpful for an individual. On the other hand, probiotics can make issues worse. Take for example, a person with bacterial overgrowth. A marker, D-lactate, tested in urine is an indicator of bacterial overgrowth. D-lactate is formed by the incomplete digestion of carbohydrates by bacteria overgrowth. Thus this is the woman who feels and looks pregnant after eating carbs.
Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. Acidophilus) is the most common probiotic sold and used. But in cases of bacterial overgrowth, L. Acidophilus is like pouring gasoline over a fire. The precise reason women feel worse after taking probiotics.
In most cases, bloating is a multi-factorial issue. If it was as simple as taking probiotics or supplements, women would be cured. Without assessing what’s going on in the digestive tract, randomly taking supplements is like throwing darts in the dark.
The best method to assess digestion is through a Gastrointestinal Health Panel (GHP). Yes, you have to collect your 
! This is one of the comprehensive ways to look at bacterial overgrowth, parasite overgrowth as well as yeast overgrowth. In addition, a stool test looks at the status of your immune system and inflammatory markers. As mentioned earlier, there can be so many potential causes of bloating. A GHP narrows down the causes and a targeted therapeutic plan can be designed to eliminate the bloat.
If you’re fed up with bloating, stop throwing darts in the dark! Get tested and get to the root cause of your bloating. If you’re interested in a GHP, we can test and consult remotely. You can contact my office at
info@robertyang.net. Instagram: @robertyang
