How to beat the bloat

By Victoria Lambert 700AM GMT fifteen March 2010

Bloating is a usual condition that causes annoy and annoyance Photo ALAMY

News that up to half of all probiotic supplements that enclose supposed "friendly" germ are probably ineffectual will be a blow to the thousands of women who take them to fight that dreaded womanlike condition bloating.

According to Glenn Gibson, a highbrow of food microbiology at Reading University, scarcely 50 per cent of the probiotic yoghurts, powders and capsules sole in their millions each year simply do not have the smallest of 10 million germ per sip required to have any stroke on the digestive systems.

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Bloating is a really usual condition, that causes annoy and embarrassment, but is customarily soft in origin. However, it can additionally be a predecessor of some-more critical illness. Problems movement in anticipating an in effect diagnosis given there are so most intensity causes.

"The simplest means is over-eating," says Dr Sarah Brewer, a GP from Guernsey. "Let your go through have a rest, and mostly the bloating will pass. Once you"ve ignored that, bloating is customarily associated to organic bowel disorders such as irked bowel set of symptoms (IBS), imbalances of germ in the go through that delayed down digestion, aberrant spasms and, in a little people, floppy flesh tinge in their small bowel. When this occurs, the bowel can get longer and bigger over the march of a day as it fills with food."

Another care is either competent bile is being expelled for digestion. "When the gall bladder has been removed, for example, not sufficient bile competence be expelled to digest greasy food," Dr Brewer says.

Other sufferers competence miss digestive enzymes, so the go through doesn"t dull fast enough. "You competence notice that you"re regularly magisterial after eating one sort of food, and this suggests that you aren"t producing sufficient of the suitable chemical substance for that food."

Lastly, most women will humour pre-menstrual bloating. "High levels of the hormone progesterone delayed down the movement of the bowel. It is additionally because profound women can humour distressing constipation."

Nicki Chapman, 43, presenter of the BBC One array Wanted Down Under, has suffered from bloating given her twenties. If Nicki, who lives in west London with her husband, suffers a hitch of bloating prior to a red-carpet event, the glamorous outfit she has delicately programmed gets ditched at the last notation for something safe, prolonged and black.

"I grow quite around my go through and legs, and generally my ankles, never on top of the waist," she says. At a sincerely consistent distance 14, nonetheless pear-shaped, Nicki"s weight is steady. "Even though I stay fit, go to the gym, watch what I eat (within reason), infrequently I see down at my physique and think, you don"t go to me. I wasn"t innate with ankles similar to these."

Nicki has identified a couple of triggers together with eating as well most bread, fizzy drinks, and being pre-menstrual. A Holland & Barrett addition of dandelion base has supposing a little relief.

"Mild diuretics such as dandelion base can help," says Dr Brewer. "I additionally suggest that sufferers eat some-more twine and splash some-more water. A addition of magnesium is additionally really beneficial for a indolent bowel, and artichoke remove can assistance furnish some-more bile."

If the condition persists and fails to reply to dietary restrictions, and over-the-counter remedies, Dr Brewer urges women to see their GP. Bloating can prove critical illness, together with go through cancer (accompanied by symptoms such as weight loss and worry swallowing), liver or kidney damage.

* Pre-menstrual bloating

Holland & Barrett Dandelion Root,

�6.49 for 100 capsules.

0870 606 6605, www.hollandand barrett.com

* Sluggish digestive process after carbs

Udo"s Choice Ultimate Digestive Enzyme Blend

�6.99 for twenty-one capsules.

0845 8720370, www.energiseforlife.com

* Difficulty with greasy dishes

Healthspan Artichoke Extract

�5.95 for 120 tablets. 0800 73 123 77, www.healthspan.co.uk

* Lazy bowel

Cal Mag Citrate

�10.95 for 90 tablets.

0845 602 6744, www.nutricentre.com

* Hormone imbalance

GLA Ultra (Starflower oil)

�5.99 for 90 capsules.

0800 107 5757, www.healthydirect.com