Every person in the world gets a massive food belly after consuming a bunch of carbs or overeating.
That food bump eventually goes down later in the day or is gone when you wake up, so there's no reason to run to the doctor.
But when is your bloated stomach cause for concern? Here are eight reasons why your bloated stomach may be indicating a serious health condition.
1. Irritable Bowel Syndrome
If your bloating comes and goes, and is accompanied with pain, constipation, diarrhea, or vomiting, you could be suffering from IBS. This disorder is quite common, but unfortunately incurable.
When certain foods don't sit well in your gut, one may develop IBS. Most people who have this condition have no choice but to avoid eating grains like oats, some bread, cereal bars, and vegetables that produce a lot of gas like broccoli and cabbage.
2. Trapped Gas
It's quite uncomfortable and, often times, embarrassing, to feel the need to pass gas regularly. If a trip to the bathroom doesn't solve your problems, then you might need to make some changes to your diet.
Avoid eating foods like beans, broccoli, cabbage, prunes, and apples. Also remember to chew your food to allow for it to break down faster in your digestive tract, before it starts producing gas.
If you find that you can't pass wind, you may need to book an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible.
3. Constipation
We all have irregular bowel movements from time to time, but if your constipation lasts for more than a four days, it's definitely cause for concern.
It may be that you're not drinking enough water, getting to the bathroom on time, or have had a drastic change in your diet.
Whatever the case may be, consult your doctor to take the right course of action.
4. Diverticulitis
This disease causes the pouches on the wall of the colon to get inflamed or infected, causing severe pain and bloating.
It's said that a low-fiber diet plays a role in causing this condition. Your intestines are working way too hard to push the stool, so consuming a lot of water and eating high fiber foods like oatmeal will slowly mitigate the pain.
That being said, consult with your doctor in case you have an infection.
These next reasons are things most people never consider:
5. Crohn's Disease
Your abdominal pain and bloated stomach may be caused by a gluten-intolerance, which affects your ability to absorb nutrients.
Try avoid gluten for a while and see how you feel. Nevertheless, it's probably best to get a second opinion from a medical professional.
6. Fluctuating Hormones
Some women get extremely bloated when they're menstruating or in the early stages of pregnancy.
Doctors recommend that women exercise more and drink plenty of fluids during this time in order to get their bowels moving.
7. Rapid Weight Gain
Those extra pounds that you seem to gain out of nowhere go straight to your stomach. This can all be fixed with regular exercise. Intense cardio workouts will burn the fat, and muscle strengthening exercises like planking will tone your muscles.
If you're having trouble losing weight, check out 7 Mistakes You're Making At Night That Are The Cause Of Your Weight Gain.
8. Cancer
The last thing you want to hear is that your bulging stomach is caused by a dangerous tumor. Unfortunately, this has been the case for many people who have gone to the doctor complaining of bloating and stomach pain.
A few weeks ago, doctors diagnosed a teenager with constipation, but they later found out she had a 12 inch, 7 lb tumor in her body.
Bloating may be a sign of ovarian, pancreatic, colon, uterine, or stomach cancer. If you're at a risk for inheriting a cancer gene, talk to your doctor immediately.
