TYLER TOLMAN BLOG
What Causes Bloating | Simple Steps to Create Optimal Digestive Flow
What Causes Bloating | Simple Steps to Create Optimal Digestive Flow
People often ask me ‘What causes bloating?’, and ask for some simple steps on how to avoid it.
And I get a LOT of people saying that when they eat fruit, they feel bloated, or even feel sick. I want to explain why someone might have this experience, and if you are having a similar experience what you can do about it.
The Cause of Bloating Isn't Always What You Eat... Maybe Your Digestive System is Backed Up?
So let’s take the example of fruit.
Fruit is something that digests quickly. It typically only sits in the stomach for 10 -12 minutes before passing through to the rest of the digestive system. This is a fairly short transit time compared to other foods.
So if you have some kind of accumulation of plaque or back-up of slow-digesting foods already in your digestive tract, then the fruit is going to sit in there for longer than it should. This results in the fruit fermenting which causes the bloating.
The reason eating fruit would make you feel sick is that the fermentation process will also start to move any blockages in your digestive tract and in that process it could cause toxins to release. The end result is that after eating fruit you may not feel very well.
But I really want you to understand it’s NOT eating fruit that’s the problem.
It’s eating a diet of hard to digest foods and a backed-up digestive system that is causing the issues.
Sometimes there are other factors to consider, so I will say it could be a multiplicity of things, but my number one recommendation is to go through some serious colon cleansing and reassess your diet.
How to Say Goodbye to Bloating, Feel Lighter and More Energetic
If you’re feeling bloated and sick after eating fruit, I’d recommend you start a colon cleansing regime.
Consider a series of colonics and try out my 4 day Colon Cleanse. This cleanse is a mix of different fibres and clay that help clean the digestive system out. You take this every couple of hours over a 4-day period.
During the 4 days time you drink plenty of water with the colon cleanse and the fibres will move through you like a big scrubbing brush, cleaning your colon and drawing out toxins at the same time.
If your digestive system is really backed up you may need to take this process a little slower. If this is the case I suggest consuming the colon cleanse only once or twice a day over a 30 day period. During this time, also begin adding in more fibrous foods to your diet such as fruits, vegetables and salads.
Whichever way you go you will be AMAZED at what comes out. Especially after the third or fourth time you use it as things are really starting to move inside. I have known people to lose up to 12kg in faecal matter alone!!
After a colon cleanse your digestive system would benefit greatly from doing a juice fast for 7-14 days to give it a break and really let it heal.
You’d also see massive results if you did another colon cleanse after you finished the juice fast.
Eating to Support Your Digestive System and Avoid Bloating
After all this cleansing and healing it’s then time to take a look at making some sustainable lifestyle changes.
When thinking about what causes bloating, it’s also about when you eat, and what foods you are eating together.
I always recommend eating fresh fruit alone before anything else (so it can move quickly through the digestive tract without fermenting), then having greens like salad at lunch and any heavier or denser foods as an early dinner.
It also helps to eat in line with your body’s 3 natural digestive cycles:
1. Assimilation Cycle (Detox stage)
This cycle starts in the morning from 4am to noon.
The best thing we can do during this cycle is to drink a lot of water, breathe deeply, exercise to sweat and go for a walk. Basically, you want to do everything you can to make sure your four channels of elimination (defecation, urination, perspiration and respiration) are open.
During this stage, if you feel hungry eat some fruit. And if you’re feeling backed up, do an enema to help get things moving.
2. Appropriation Cycle
From noon to 8pm our bodies are supposed to be appropriating or taking in food. Now is the time to nourish your body, feeding it foods packed full of nutrition such as getting your greens in the form of a big salad or a wrap.
I don’t recommend eating too many fats or dense foods at this time, as these can slow you down too much in the middle of the day. Eating a heavy, dense lunch is what will make you feel like you need a nap by 3pm!
Ideally then have an early dinner at around 6pm (last meal of the day), because essentially we want all the food out of our stomach and into the small intestine by 8 o’clock ready for the next cycle.
3. Assimilation Cycle
During this time, 8pm to 4am, the body has entered a stage of assimilation where its focus is on taking in the nutrients through the small intestine.
Eating in tune with these 3 phases will help your digestive system work optimally.
Hopefully, that’s cleared up the topic of what causes bloating and shown you that it is not necessarily what you eat, but rather the state of your digestive system.
Fruit is your best friend so please give it another go!
To recap, first clean out the digestive system and start getting into a healthier way of living. By that I mean exercising, breathing, getting out in the sun, eating well, and being happy.
Just remember, to avoid the bloat, eat fruit in the early morning hours and separate it from the other things that digest slower and you’ll be feeling absolutely fantastic.
Thanks for reading!
