A blanket over the fire hides the smoke for a little while. And so do a lot of digestive support aides. You and I are detectives on this one. What is causing the abdominal bloating, gas, burping, indigestion, the feeling you swallowed a whale? That’s enough now let’s go to work.
1. The stomach makes hydrochloric acid and it’s job is to break down proteins.
Saliva breaks down starches with an enzyme called amylase. The pancreas breaks down vegetables into their carbohydrate and fiber components. Fats are broken down for further digestions as well as the finishing of proteins.
If you do not have enough hydrochloric acid you can belch. The stomach is supposed to be acidic and if it loses its acidity it turns too alkaline – you will belch.
if the poorly digested proteins do not move out fast enough, they can cause bacteria to grow and you will get distended.
Iron helps make hydrochloric acid. Could you be low in iron? The blood test ferritin measures iron in storage. Is your iron in storage at it’s optimal level. Think of gas in your gas tank, are you good?
As we get older we make less hydrochloric acid. I do not recommend trying hydrochloric acid pills without a health care providers guidance.
2. A high fat diet with a weak gallbladder or one that is removed. The pancreas has to work significantly harder to break down fats when the gallbladder is not there to help. The intestines get overwhelmed.
3. Pollutants, especially toxic metals. Water, foods – tuna is high in mercury, lead, arsenic? We come in contact with a lot of toxins and if we are not at our best, they can store in the intestinal lining and disrupt your digestion.
So before we run any tests, let’s make sure we’re asking the right questions first:
* Your occupation
- Where do you live? How close to industry? Are you down wind?
- Water source?
- How long as this been going on?
- Could you be low in iron?
- Could you be low in hydrochloric acid product by age?
Then I would run tests, but only after being a detective.
Toxic and essential metals: metabolic interactions with the gut microbiota and health implications
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1448388/full
Before I do a digestive test I want to be a detective and find out why. You have the symptoms of an inflamed digestive tract. We know that. What we don’t know is why; check out the report from the lab we use.