Do you need a nap after lunch? Do you look or feel pregnant after dinner? These may be signs that your digestive system needs help!
Digesting food takes a lot of your energy. If you don’t do it well or efficiently bloating and fatigue can occur. So what causes bloating?
Common Causes of Bloating and Fatigue After Eating:
- Stress
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Poor food choices
- Food sensitivities
- Irregular meal schedule
- Dehydration
- Lack of fiber
- Stomach acid deficiency
- Digestive enzyme deficiency
- Mineral deficiencies
- Inflammation
- Infections like SIBO or H. pylori
I’ve had many a patients that have been bloated and fatigued after meals for many years – too many years. For some patients we found they were sensitive to gluten and dairy. When they eliminated these foods, they felt a million times better. It truly was a life saver. One patient’s migraines resolved, another had significant decrease in bloating and fatigue.
Everyone is different when it comes to bloating.
Something you can try right now…
Inflammatory foods are a frequent cause of bloating and fatigue. Try a food elimination for 4-6 weeks.
- Choose one food category (Common foods to eliminate are gluten/ wheat, dairy, and sugar).
- Record your symptoms and how you’re feeling prior to this food elimination period.
- Eliminate all sources of gluten (for example) for 4-6 weeks.
- Keep a record of how you are feeling. Pay attention to your entire body – brain function, mood, joints, digestion, sleep, and especially bloating and fatigue.
- If your symptoms are improved, then you are sensitive to that food. If you feel the same, then that food category is not the primary cause of your bloating and fatigue, or other symptoms.
Each case of bloating has a unique reason. My work is to sleuth through all the possible causes and help you uncover the cause of your bloating. Thankfully, there are great lab tests to speed up the process to determine what’s going on and get you back on track to feeling better faster.
Don’t continue to waste your days being tired just because you ate lunch. Come see me, let’s figure out your digestive problems, now! Digestive health is one of my specialties.
