Causes of Bloating in Women

You've spent weeks preparing for the occasion. You've selected the perfect dress, which fits you like a glove, and then, on the big day, you are so bloated that you could pass for four months pregnant. This has happened to most of us, and it's distressing. Bloating can be caused by a number of factors, and there are ways to prevent it, although sometimes nothing works, and you just have to suffer through it.

Digestive Function

• Poor digestive function causes women to bloat. If you are eating too much fat, it takes time for the body to break it down and expel in. During this process, you can bloat. If you are lactose intolerant, this can cause bloating and gas.

Parasites

• Dr. Marcelle Pick, OB Gyn, routinely screens her female patients, who are complaining of chronic gas and bloating, for internal parasites. It may surprise you that she has found that 40 percent of these women test positive for parasites. Even if a woman hasn't left the country, Dr. Pick said it's still easy to pick up parasites from imported produce or by eating out. Salad bars are a frequent source of parasites.

Food Sensitivities

• Food sensitivities can also cause bloating and gas, according to Dr. Pick. Tests can be done to determine if an individual is allergic to certain foods. The main culprits are generally sugar, wheat and/or dairy. Taking a multivitamin helps the body keep its balance and restores health to the digestive system. Getting adequate amounts of essential fatty acids into your system is crucial because this helps reduce intestinal inflammation. Air-containing foods, such as ice cream, can cause gas and bloating.

IBS and Premenstrual

• Bloating is very common among women who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), as well as when women are premenstrual.

Bloat Foods

• "Bloat foods" include pretzels (because they are cooked in bubbly, boiling water), cabbage, beans, raw vegetables and bagels, according to Melissa Palmer, M.D., a gastroenterologist in New York City.

Another Enemy: Chocolate

• Chocolate contains diary and sugar, which are both big sources of gas, according to Barbara Frank, M.D., gastreoenterologist and clinical professor of medicine at Allegheny University of the Health Sciences MCP-Hahnemann School of Medicine in Philadelphia. If you are premenstrual and craving chocolate, think twice because it is going to exacerbate your bloating.

Other Conditions that Can Cause Bloat

• If you have some sort of blockage in your intestines, this makes the transit of food through the intestines and out of the body difficult and can result in bloating. If you are constipated, this, too, can cause bloating. Make yourself chew your food more slowly because gas and bloating are caused, in part, by swallowing air. Other more serious conditions that can result in bloating include having a tumor in your ovaries, stomach, liver, abdomen or elsewhere, and ascites, which is the accumulation of fluid in your abdominal cavity and may be the result of liver disease. As noted earlier, a parasitic infection can cause dilations of the colon and cause bloat.