PROCESS OF ELIMINATION: GAS & BLOAT – Part 1

PROCESS OF ELIMINATION: GAS & BLOAT – Part 1

Posted on February 7, 2015

Two of the biggest digestive complaints we hear from clients involve gas and bloating. At Iyasu, this makes perfect sense to us, given the various origins of these symptoms. Let’s look at some of the possible healing methods we can use to help alleviate gas and bloating: Elimination diet, thorough mastication, proper food combining, blood type diet, smaller meals, colonics, bio electric lymphatic drainage, digestive enzymes, mental perspective, emotional perspective, and spiritual perspective (the latter 3 topics will be discussed in the next blog).

One of the biggest culprits for gas and bloating is our diet. Often our bodies react to something that we have just put in our mouths and it responds with gas and bloat. Some of these foods may include: acid producing foods, fried foods, sugar, cow or all dairy, carbonated drinks, wheat, corn, processed foods, alcohol, coffee, cruciferous vegetables, garlic, chewing gum, and any other foods that your body cannot metabolize. Raw foods can also contribute to gas and bloating even though enzymes are present to digest them – some may include cellulose, which our bodies do not break down. To determine if one of these foods is causing the digestive discomfort, we suggest an elimination diet that can prove quite revealing.

Elimination Diet: An elimination diet can be just the thing to determine if your body is unhappy with a particular type of food. For some people this may seem like a cruel joke, as many of these gas-producing foods tend to be foods we love to eat. A funny joke I heard years ago went something like this – “Why are health food nuts so skinny? Because healthy food tastes awful!” I actually think healthy food tastes wonderful and when our body gets used to eating them, we start to crave them. With an elimination diet, the client would avoid eating certain foods for a period of 30-90 days (the length of time depends on the severity of the symptoms and how long they have had them). Afterwards, he/she would slowly introduce one of the foods they eliminated previously, about every 4 days, and experience the effects of the food. If their body responds with gas and bloat, this would be a food the client should probably avoid. We at Iyasu believe in substitution rather than elimination – it helps the client stay out of deprivation mode. If there is a food you love, we will do our best to offer a healthy alternative to you.

Some of you may be saying, “Yes, I knew that and I avoid those things and I still get gas and bloating…what’s up?” Good question and the answer may lie in any of the following or a combination thereof.

Eliminate undigested food – two ways: Digestion starts in the mouth, with proper mastication. Simply put this means – chew your food thoroughly. You might want to chew each bite 40-50 times per bite before swallowing. This alerts your body that digestive enzymes need to be released to aid digestion.

Since the number of metabolic enzymes that we will have for life is determined when we are only fetuses, it would make sense that the addition of supplemental digestive enzymes can be helpful when dealing with gas and bloating. Iyasu uses Transformation Enzymes because they are pure, of the highest quality and broad spectrum – formulated to help us digest as many different types of foods as possible. This can keep the digestive system calm when we are eating well and alleviate digestive symptoms when we are not.

Eliminate improper food combining: Years ago I read the book “Fit for Life” by Marilyn and Harvey Diamond. Reading this book introduced me to proper food combining. It was a concept that resonated with me immediately. When I experimented with how I combined my foods, I discovered that my digestion was much better. It made sense to me because they assert that different types of foods digest at different rates. A simplified version goes like this – eat fruit alone first thing in the morning until about noon; do not combine proteins and starches; eat protein with vegetables and starches with vegetables. There is a wonderful, free, downloadable food-combining chart that you might find helpful – http://abhealthshop.com. It explains in detail exactly what combinations promote a healthy digestive system.

Eliminate creating an acidic body – Alkaline-Acid Food Chart: At the same web address above, you can also obtain a free alkaline-acid food chart. Another cause of gas and bloating relates to how acidic our body is at any given time. Foods that are high in sugar, for example, contribute to an acidic condition in our body and tend to lead to more gas and bloating. Let’s say someone has bacteria or a yeast issue in their body. The more sugar we eat, the more we feed the bacteria and/or yeast and this can cause gas and bloating. In order to keep our blood clean and promote a healthy alkaline-acid balance in our body, it’s important for us to pay attention to the foods we introduce to our internal environment.

Eliminate foods our body cannot metabolize – Blood type diet: Growing up I experienced a lot of digestive problems. I had to go to the hospital when I was younger for a couple attacks of gastritis. About 14 years ago Dr. Gochette introduced me to “Eat Right 4 Your Type” by Peter D’Adamo. My body has never been the same. As a blood type ‘O’, I realize that I grew up eating all the wrong foods. When I say wrong, I mean foods that my body could not metabolize properly. As a result my body responded with gas and bloating. Today, as long as I eat foods that my body can metabolize, my digestion is calm, I am able to maintain my weight and I feel great!

Eliminate large meals: Smaller meals several times a day can help reduce gas and bloat simply because we are alleviating the amount of food our body has to digest at one time. Think about it this way: which would be easier to digest – a steak, potato, vegetables and rice at one meal or a steak and salad at one meal and rice and vegetables at another? (For some of you eating a steak would not be easy for your body to digest but you get the idea of what I am saying, and we can address that issue in another blog!).

Eliminate incomplete evacuation – Colonics: Colon hydrotherapy sessions may be helpful to release gas in the bowels. Many clients have reported to us the relief they feel after receiving a session. They also noticed that when the waste material is released during a colonic, the subsequent gas is reduced and their bowels move easier as well.

Eliminate trapped blood proteins – Bio Electric Lymphatic Drainage: The blood protein research taught by Dr. Samuel West shows that blood proteins stuck in between the cells can cause inflammation and bloat. Once these blood proteins are trapped, the only way to remove them is the lymphatic system. Since the lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump, it requires daily effort on our part to ensure the lymphatic system is functioning optimally. A bio electric lymphatic drainage session can stimulate the lymphatic system and encourage trapped blood proteins to get pulled out of the interstitial spaces and re-enter the circulatory system. We can discuss the different ways to move the lymphatic system daily during a session.

Even if you have been living with the symptoms of gas, bloat and/or constipation for a long time, it doesn’t mean that you are destined to live with it forever. At Iyasu, our main priority is to educate each client on choosing a lifestyle that encourages the health and healing of their body. When we make choices that support self-healing, our body heals its self!

Contact us today at www.iyasucolonics.com
to see if our unique approach is appropriate for you!