Bloated After Eating? Here’s What Your Gut Is Trying to Tell You

Your gut is talking to you all the time, through every symptom and every nuance of how you feel on a given day. But understanding what it’s actually telling you can take some time and practice. 

Through my work as a functional medicine practitioner, I have learned a ton about how to decode messages from the gut. Everybody is different, but there are some key signs and signals that we can all use to help us figure out what’s going on with our digestion. 

Which brings me to today’s topic. What’s really going on when you get bloated after eating? I’ll really be focusing on chronic post-meal bloating—not just the occasional episode after a heavy dinner or at a specific point in your hormonal cycle, but bloating that seems to happen no matter what you eat, or that doesn’t seem to follow a logical pattern. 

If you’re already eating well, and even a healthy meal gets you distended, this is for you. Let’s break down what’s really going on, and how to find relief that sticks. 

Bloating After Meals: What’s Going On?  

When bloating shows up after eating (including healthier or lighter meals), something is going on with your digestive process. It could be that you’re struggling to process a specific but surprising component of your meal, or there may be a deeper issue with how your body is breaking down food. 

One thing that I know is frustrating is that often people who are health-conscious and making positive, intentional dietary choices might actually be more likely to develop bloating. If your gut microbiome is imbalanced (which you might not be aware of), the things we think of as gut-friendly foods like fiber-rich vegetables and fermented foods can actually be triggering. 

But the good news is, once we look more closely at what’s going on with your digestive tract, we can almost always solve the problem. 

Here are some of the most common reasons why you might feel bloated or “look pregnant” (believe me, I hear this all the time) after eating. 

You Have SIBO And/Or a FODMAP Intolerance

One of the most common causes of bloating that I see in my functional medicine telehealth practice relates to SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) and related conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Those with an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine may be triggered by foods that are high in a category of carbohydrates known as FODMAPs: Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols. (1)

These types of sugars, found in many generally healthy foods including apples, garlic, and cabbage, resist digestion and are instead fermented by gut bacteria. This is normal, but if you have an overgrowth of bacteria, you’re feeding the problem. 

If you’ve ever noticed that you actually seem to get less bloated or feel better when you eat something like fast food, this is likely the reason why. The good news is that a low FODMAP diet has been shown to improve symptoms. (2) SIBO can also be treated and resolved, and in most cases people are able to enjoy healthy high FODMAP foods again. 

This might be you if: You’re experiencing other symptoms such as constipation or diarrhea, stomach pain, fatigue, or brain fog, and you often feel worse rather than better when you eat healthier. 

You Need To Breathe 

Your body has a mode for digestion: it’s commonly called the rest and digest state. When you’re in this state, your body is releasing the stomach acid, digestive enzymes, and saliva that you need to properly digest food and absorb nutrients. 

But there’s a competing nervous system mode, and this is your fight or flight mode. When you’re stressed, your body goes into this mode in order to protect you from danger. And in order to focus its resources on protecting you, your body essentially puts a pause on any systems that aren’t required for fighting the danger. This includes digestion. 

In our modern world, we’re under so much stress all the time that it’s really common to be eating when we’re in fight or flight mode instead of rest or digest mode. This means insufficient production and release of stomach acid and digestive enzymes, leading to symptoms like bloating. 

While it’s not a complete cure for chronic stress, one surprisingly effective tip is to take a minute or two to focus on your breath and shift into a state of mindfulness and calm before you eat. 

This might be you if: You live a fast-paced lifestyle, you’ve been experiencing chronic stress, and/or you tend to eat on the go or in a rush. 

Your Gut’s Rhythm Is Out Of Sync 

Your gut microbiome actually has its own circadian rhythm, with different types of bacteria showing up to work at internally programmed times throughout the day and night. (3) This is based on your body’s understanding of when you’ll be awake and eating, and when you’ll be sleeping. 

If you’re always eating at different times, or snacking late at night, your gut’s circadian rhythm may be out of sync with your eating habits, making the team of bacteria showing up to aid in digestion less effective. 

This might be you if: You’re on a different eating and sleeping schedule every day, or you often eat late at night. 

You Have a Hidden Food Sensitivity 

Bloating is a very common symptom of food sensitivities. The challenge is that many people don’t know that they have a food intolerance (or what it is). The absolute best way to figure this out is by following an elimination diet. 

Some of the most common culprits are gluten and dairy products, but sometimes the trigger is harder to find. Eggs, nightshade vegetables, lentils and other legumes, high histamine foods, and high salicylate foods are a few other possible sensitivities that may be behind your bloating (and likely other symptoms). 

This might be you if: You eat a generally healthy diet, and only certain meals seem to trigger your bloating and other symptoms, but you haven’t been able to find the common thread. 

You’ve Hit a Tolerance Threshold Without Realizing It 

This relates to food sensitivities. But sometimes, you’re not reacting to one specific food but to the total load your body has to process. This tolerance threshold or “bucket” concept applies to many different kinds of sensitivities, with one clear example being histamine. 

You may be able to tolerate high histamine foods a lot of the time. But if you’ve had a stressful day and you have one too many fermented foods on your plate that night, this might cause your bucket to overflow and trigger symptoms like bloating or distension. 

This might be you if: You can’t find a clear pattern related to what you eat, even after trying an elimination diet. 

Functional Medicine Solutions For Post-Meal Bloating 

While the best plan is individualized, there are several things you can do right now to help support digestion and reduce bloating. 

Start The Digestive Process Before You Eat 

This is an incredibly important and underestimated place to start. Digestion starts in your mind. When you see, smell, or think about food, your body starts to respond by secreting digestive enzymes, stomach acid, and other substances we need for digestion. And remember, if you’re in a state of stress, this process basically shuts down. 

So before you eat, pause, and take 3-5 slow, deep breaths. You may also want to incorporate a gratitude practice for the food you’re about to eat. Basically, you’re giving your nervous system a cue to shift into the rest and digest mode. 

Support Natural Stomach Acid and Enzyme Production 

In some cases, you may need a bit of extra help to get your digestive juices flowing. There are several natural strategies and supplements that can help stimulate the production of stomach acid and enzymes when your system is on the sluggish side. 

Try: A splash of apple cider vinegar mixed with water before eating Incorporate bitter greens into your meal (like arugula or dandelion) Herbal bitters including ginger, dandelion, or burdock root (you can find both ginger and dandelion in my Balance blend)

Probiotics can also help to support stomach acid and digestive enzyme production, and to support overall gut and digestive health. 

Try Intermittent Fasting 

Your digestive system needs space and time between meals to clean up and function properly. Working in a consistent and moderate fasting window helps your gastrointestinal system reset and may reduce the likelihood of bloating. 

READ MORE: A Guide To Intermittent Fasting To Heal Your Gut

Follow An Elimination Diet

I touched on it above, but this is the best way to figure out if there are any specific healthy foods (or categories of foods) that are triggering your symptoms. 

The basic process is to eliminate any potentially problematic foods, all together, for a period of time. Begin reintroducing them one at a time, and track whether or not you get bloated. 

If you think you may have SIBO and/or a FODMAP intolerance, you can follow a low FODMAP diet as an elimination diet. 

You can read my full guide to following an elimination diet here. 

Track Broader Patterns

Beyond an elimination diet, you might want to track other diet and lifestyle factors that could be contributing to bloating because of stress or the bucket concept. This might include logging your sleep habits or when you’ve had a particularly stressful day. Try not to obsess over every detail (and remember we all get bloated sometimes), but a simple journaling practice can help you to identify patterns you might otherwise have missed. 

Don’t Forget About Bio-Individuality   

There are other possible causes of bloating after eating, including hormonal imbalances and other gut conditions, but these should provide you with a good starting point. To really get to the bottom of your individual case, I would recommend setting up a consultation with a functional medicine expert who can run gut microbiome and other specialized testing, and really look at all of the pieces of your puzzle together. 

As one of the first functional medicine telehealth clinics in the world, we provide webcam health consultations for people around the globe.

Sources

• Dukowicz, A. C., Lacy, B. E., & Levine, G. M. (2007). Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth: a comprehensive review. Gastroenterology & hepatology, 3(2), 112.
• Algera, J. P., Demir, D., Törnblom, H., Nybacka, S., Simrén, M., & Störsrud, S. (2022). Low FODMAP diet reduces gastrointestinal symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome and clinical response could be predicted by symptom severity: A randomized crossover trial. Clinical nutrition, 41(12), 2792-2800.
• Voigt, R. M., Forsyth, C. B., Green, S. J., Engen, P. A., & Keshavarzian, A. (2016). Circadian rhythm and the gut microbiome. International review of neurobiology, 131, 193-205.