by Dr. David Pollack
A little bloating might just seem like the side effect of a large meal. With Thanksgiving already fast 
approaching, many will feel a distended belly. However, for a lot of people, bloating doesn’t just happen during the holidays or an occasional night out—it is a daily, if not constant, event. Bloating is primarily the result of poor digestion. It can be mild, such as a bit of abdominal discomfort, or very severe, such as with abdominal distention that many compare to late-stage pregnancy. Often, it is painless but some do have significant discomfort. In all cases, this often innocuous symptom is causing major negative health effects.
When food is not completely digested as a result of deficient digestion, it is not broken down in to the proper particle size. These large mal-digested food particles cause several damaging events. First, the undigested particulate remains in the gut longer than it is designed to be. As a result, the different varieties of bacteria and yeast making up the gut flora have an increase in their food supply. This causes the overgrowth of these microorganisms and subsequently their waste products, which include toxins and a variety of gases that can cause bloating and a myriad of negative symptoms, from aches and pains to headaches to fatigue to weakened immunity.
The second event is partially caused by the first in that these overgrowing intestinal microflora cause weakness and damage to the gut lining itself. This creates the situation known as leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut syndrome is created when large undigested food particulates have the capability to cross the protective gut barrier and enter the bloodstream. The large compounds are now in the blood stream. Those compounds are perceived by the immune system to be foreign material. When foreign material is in the body, particularly the bloodstream, the immune system is activated to get rid of it. This process increases inflammation systemically (throughout the body); this is called the inflammatory reaction. Our mild, insignificant bloating can then be the cause of any and all inflammatory disease, from heart disease to cancer to autoimmune and thyroid disorders, among many others. This is often the critical cause of many of our most concerning and serious health problems.
There are several main reasons why we have poor digestion. It can simply be that one of the digestive organs is not functioning optimally, such as the stomach; small intestines; gall bladder, or lack thereof; pancreas; liver; or large intestines. Whichever organ it may be, there are natural, safe strategies to repair it and improve its function. Besides the direct digestive reasons for poor digestion, there a few others, including hormone imbalance, stress, anxiety and depression. Our mental state has a direct effect on our digestive lining as described by the Nobel Prize-winning research of Hans Selye. There are ways to improve our health and digestion and truly prevent disease.
Source: Dr. David Pollack, of Pollack Wellness Institute, located at 66 Commack Rd., Ste. 204, Commack. For more information, call 631-462-0801 or visit PollackWellness.com.
