Bloating, indigestion, and feelings of fullness despite not actually eating is a serious problem that plagues millions of Americans each year.  Many are left in the dark about why this problem is occurring in the body.  Mainstream medicine will often combat such conditions with anti-acids or antibiotics with little to no success.

This is because bloating is a sign of intestinal inflammation, candida overgrowth, and poor diet.  Bloating only occurs when the gut microbiome is imbalanced and is overrun with pathogenic fungus, yeast, and bacteria.  For those who have never heard of candida before and would like to know more about how this pathogenic fungus can wreak havoc in the body, be sure to go to our candida homepage for a detailed and thorough explanation.

With that said, if you suffer from chronic bloating, there is a possible solution to this problem.  However, before we get into some of the solutions and strategies that can be used to combat bloating, let’s first discuss how candida can cause this embarrassing condition.

How Candida Causes Bloating

It’s important to understand that candida is a pathogenic fungus which can take over the gut microbiome when the conditions are right.  This pathogenic fungus operates on a sugar metabolism and requires sugar in order to thrive and multiply.

In order for candida to process this sugar into usable energy, it must first go through an extensive metabolic process.  When candida feeds on sugar, it ferments it and releases over 70 toxic byproducts into the body.  However, this fermentation process is what causes intense and chronic bloating in individuals.  As well as releasing toxic byproducts into the body, this fermentation process also causes the release of gaseous substances which causes bloating and intestinal pain.

The best analogy to think of is beer brewing.  When the yeast in the beer feed on the sugar present in the grains, gases, bubbles and byproducts are released.  If we were to seal off the container in which the beer was being brewed in, it would burst due to the gaseous build up.

Luckily, your stomach can’t burst when under immense amounts of pressure that occurs during this fermentation process caused by candida.  Instead, your stomach well expand in order to house these gaseous substances and will cause bloating and feeling of fullness.

It’s for this reason that most individuals suffering from chronic bloating often feel the need to belch or fart.  This is the body’s way of trying to rid itself of these gaseous substances and can be extremely effective if you’re not worried about looking like a disgusting pig.  Unfortunately, this problem will continue to occur until you inhibit the growth of candida; despite how many times you may fart or belch!

Bloating and Low Stomach Acid

Chronic bloating is often a symptom of not only candida overgrowth, but low stomach acid levels as well.  Those suffering from candida overgrowth typically have a stomach that is far too alkaline.  It’s important to understand that the stomach needs to be at PH of 2.0 or lower in order for optimal health.

When the PH of stomach rises, poor health and digestive problems can arise.  This is because fungus, bacteria, and yeast are able to survive in an alkaline environment extremely easy.  It’s for this reason that the human body was designed to have an acidic stomach.

This acidity that should be present in the stomach helps naturally neutralize pathogenic bacteria, yeast, and fungus that can cause serious digestive problems if given the chance.  Unfortunately, if you suffer from chronic bloating, it’s a good chance that your stomach acid PH is way too high.

Again, the fermentation process caused by candida can naturally raise the PH of the stomach acid.  Also, many of the toxic byproducts that candida releases into the body, such as ammonia, naturally raises the PH of the stomach and makes it more habitable for this pathogenic fungus to thrive and multiply (1).

We highly recommend anyone dealing with intense and chronic bloating to change their diet immediately.  If you haven’t done so already, go to our candida diet protocol page for an easy to follow diet plan that can help eliminate and inhibit the growth of candida.

Be Cautious of Antibiotics

Anytime you are dealing with a fungal overgrowth such as candida, it’s important that you exercise caution with antibiotics.  There is no denying that antibiotics can help kill off pathogenic bacteria, yeast, and fungus, but, it also kills off the good bacteria.  Typically, individuals will notice immediate improvements in their digestion and chronic bloating after taking antibiotics.

However, this relief is usually short lived and symptoms often return stronger than before.  This is because candida can protect itself from antibiotics using bio-films and essentially remain dormant until the antibiotics have left the system (2). Unfortunately, when it moves out of these protective bio-films, it’s able to flourish and regrow at a much faster rate due to the lack of good bacteria keeping in check.  As mentioned before, taking antibiotics will naturally kill off the good bacteria which can help keep candida under control.

It’s for this reason that we do not recommend antibiotics.  We understand the importance gut health has towards overall health and how causing alterations in the gut flora can cause serious and hard to reverse health problems.  Instead, we recommend changing diet and using anti-candida foods and herbs in order to naturally inhibit the growth of this pathogenic fungus.

The Worst foods for Bloating

If you’re suffering chronic bloating, there a several foods that you will definitely want to steer clear of.  These foods can aggravate a candida condition and can make symptoms such as bloating much worse.  As a rule of thumb, anything high in sugar and high in starchy carbohydrates will typically make chronic bloating worse.

Below is a small list of foods that can contribute to chronic bloating and feeling of fullness in the body.

• White Sugar
• Sugary Fruit
• Starchy Vegetable Carbohydrates
• Grains, Wheat, Pasta, Cookies, Sweets, etc.
• Processed Foods
• All Forms of Alcohol
• Vegetable Oils (except coconut and olive oil)

The foods listed above are the biggest culprits when it comes to chronic bloating.  These foods can contribute to a candida condition by naturally increasing the fermentation process.  Also, processed foods and vegetable oils, although low in sugar, can cause intestinal inflammation and further aggravate a candida overgrowth.

Many of the foods on this list may make up a large portion of your diet.  If so, it’s imperative that you drop these foods from your diet and follow our candida protocol in order to help initiate positive changes in the body.

Also, knowing how hard changing the diet can be for some individuals, we developed our Crush Candida Diet Recipe Cook Book in order to make this transition as smooth possible.  You will find over 20 different anti-candida recipes in this cook book that are not only healthy, but taste amazing too! 

For some, our candida cook book can be a game changer since it can help you stay true to the anti-candida diet protocol.

Useful Tools for Stomach Boating

As well as changing diet, there are simple, yet effective strategies that can be used in order to naturally reduce symptoms of bloating.  It should be made clear that these strategies are not a substitute for good diet.  Using these strategies without changing your diet will have little to no effect.

Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

Raw Apple Cider Vinegar can be great for anyone dealing with chronic stomach bloating.  This is because raw ACV naturally contains anti-fungal properties which can help shut down the fermentation process caused by candida.  In fact, it’s not uncommon to see positive changes in your waste size and digestion after consuming raw ACV for several weeks.

For best results, take 2 tablespoons of raw ACV and dilute it in a liter of spring or filtered water.  You can then drink this solution throughout the day.  Many notice almost immediately the positive changes this drink can have on bloating.

Bitter Herbs

Although not tasteful, consuming bitter herbal teas or foods can be a great way to combat bloating.  This is because bitter foods naturally stimulate the vagus nerve on the back of the tongue which signals to stomach to produce more stomach acid.  This increase in stomach acid production can help with bloating caused by candida fermentation.

Bitter foods and herbs also help facilitate in digestion and can help increase nutrient absorption due to increased levels of stomach acid.  We personally like Chinese bitters and Swedish bitters.  Both are typically sold in an easy to take liquid extract.  Simply placing a few drops of these extracts on your tongue can initiate the production of stomach acid.