Bloated Stomach Pain

What Causes A Bloated Stomach?

Bloated stomach pain or discomfort is normally harmless. Bloated stomach pain often occurs simply because we've eaten too much, eaten too fast, or eaten food our stomachs have trouble digesting. Drinking certain liquids - and not just the alcoholic kind - can also contribute to bloated stomach pain.

Bloated stomach pain is something almost everyone has experienced at one time or another. This article will focus on the causes of bloated stomach pain, along with information about bloated stomach pain as a symptom of something more serious than over-indulgence.

Bloated stomach causes

Let's talk about filling our stomachs too much first.  This, of course, is known as overeating. Almost all of us have been guilty at times of stuffing ourselves until our stomach becomes bloated. Sometimes we do it just because we love taste of the food we're eating and can't stop. But it can be a major cause of stomach bloating pain.

Many medical professionals believe that the stomach actually gets full before the brain gets the message that the stomach is filled to capacity. It may take as long as 20 minutes, some believe, for the brain to send a "cease and desist" signal. 20 minutes is plenty of time for a second (or third) helping of your mom's wonderful mashed potatoes and a piece of pie or two at a holiday dinner.

Which brings us to another reason bloated stomach pain occurs.

The stomach, for one reason or another, sometimes has trouble digesting the food we eat. The digestive process suffers a glitch.

This type of bloated stomach can happen because we drop so many different kinds of food into the stomach at the same time. The the stomach has trouble digesting it all together.

Many nutritionists have begun to advocate a process called "food combining." In their thinking, your stomach works best when you only eat foods that all digest in the same manner.

Bloated stomach pain may also take place because our stomachs are "intolerant" of certain kinds of foods. In other words, there are just certain things a person's stomach won't digest well. Most people have heard of "lactose intolerance,"  which occurs when the stomach cannot properly digest most dairy products.

The consequences of bloated stomach can be extremely unpleasant. Beyond the physical discomfort, and the embarrassment those loud rumbling noises cause during your Monday morning meeting, a bloated stomach often results in gassiness and diarrhea.

Bloated stomach pain as a symptom

Chronic stomach bloating can be a sign of more serious health problems. Stomach cancer leads the list of these. If you have bloated stomach pain along with other symptoms like mild nausea, loss of appetite or chronic indigestion, see a doctor as soon as you can. These are among the early warning signs of stomach cancer.

Stomach bloating pain and discomfort can also be a symptom of a number of colon problems, especially Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS.

Even if you're good about eating reasonable amounts of food, you could still get a bloated stomach by eating food that,  as the saying goes, "doesn't agree with you."

To learn more about getting relief for bloated stomach pain, click on gas and stomach bloating relief. Also see gas bloat syndrome.