Beat Bloating

Nutrition
1

Hi, i’ve always had bloating in my belly, which feels hard and gassy to the touch. Sometimes I can feel a kind of gurgling, like a balloon filling or whatever. Recently I cut down to good levels of lean-ness, only to see that I still kept this bloat. I’m just wondering if anyone has any ideas which could help me sort this out, I want to get rid of it. Through the years I haven’t been able to figure out what it is. For the last three weeks I strictly cut out wheat and cirus fruit, which didn’t help (admittedly I do eat oats most days, but not a huge amount anyway).

Next step for me I think is seeig if it’s a lactose intolerance, so i was going to test myself by drinking a pint of milk upon waking, then waiting for a few hours to see if i get bloated.
In the case of it being a lactose intolerance, i’d obviously cut out milk-based products, but this would be a big issue as I like protein powders, as well as yoghurt and cheese being quite big favourites, so i’d want to try using lactase enzymes at dairy-containing meals. I’d appreciate it if anyone has any ideas or feedback about using those, or other strategies to beat bloating?

Basic diet is carb cycling coming out of a cut, currently:
Medium: 159g C, 415g P, 25g F
High: 350ishg C, 335g P, 25g F
Low: 55g C, 240g P, 38g F

Carbs are breakfast, and pre, during and post training, from good sources.
Other supps i’ve been taking which might be relevant: 5g psyllium husk with about 2litres water (total water intake about 9 litres a day, i’ve found it helps), beta-alanine 1g and creatine 2g 3X per day, glutamine 5g pre-breakfast, and pre and post workout, caffeine 200mg 3x per day.
Strangely even though i put away more food, and more carbs in particular, the morning after a high day I don’t feel more bloated than normal

2

[quote]dannyrat wrote:
In the case of it being a lactose intolerance, i’d obviously cut out milk-based products, but this would be a big issue as I like protein powders
[/quote]

You don’t need to do this.

[quote]Q: If I’m lactose intolerant should I avoid whey protein?

A: Individuals with lactose intolerance should select a pure whey protein isolate, which has less than 0.1 gram of lactose per tablespoon (20 grams). This is less lactose than the amount found in a cup of yogurt and research has shown that most people with lactose intolerance have no trouble taking this very small amount of lactose. Individuals with lactose intolerance should avoid whey protein concentrates as they usually contain lactose and the amount can vary greatly from product to product.

[/quote]

3

Have you tried utilizing a complete digestive enzyme? I take one with every big meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and have had tremendous results with 'em.

4

[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:
Have you tried utilizing a complete digestive enzyme? I take one with every big meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and have had tremendous results with 'em.[/quote]

Digest Gold
And WC7, good news - Enzymatics now makes a digestive enzyme with a probiotic blend built in. Sweet shit.

5

[quote]CapnYousef wrote:

[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:
Have you tried utilizing a complete digestive enzyme? I take one with every big meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and have had tremendous results with 'em.[/quote]

Digest Gold
And WC7, good news - Enzymatics now makes a digestive enzyme with a probiotic blend built in. Sweet shit.[/quote]

No pun intended?

6

I’m tired man, I couldn’t come up with such comedic gold even if I were well rested.
Either way, we sold out of the stuff before we even put it on the shelves - literally. New product, hadn’t cleared room, someone came in and asked for it so we sold it out the back lol

7

I’m lactose intolerant so I’ve had to experiment a lot to be able to eat a bowl of ice cream now and then without suffering. NOW Foods makes a product called “Dairy Digest” that I take with some dairy products whenever I do eat them…it has worked way better for me than the stuff you can find on store shelves (Lactaid, generic lactase), and is less expensive.

Yogurt doesn’t bother me (at least not plain Greek yogurt; I’m not a fan of Dannon/Yoplait/etc.), nor does it bother many lactose intolerant individuals. Also, hard cheeses will have very low lactose and a lot of people can still eat them in moderation without a problem. Whey isolate, as Rocky2 noted, is also a great option if you want a protein shake or whatnot.

What I’m saying is that you may want to check all of these out on a case-by-case basis instead of just cutting them all out if cow’s milk bothers you.

8

[quote]Artemisia wrote:
I’m lactose intolerant so I’ve had to experiment a lot to be able to eat a bowl of ice cream now and then without suffering. NOW Foods makes a product called “Dairy Digest” that I take with some dairy products whenever I do eat them…it has worked way better for me than the stuff you can find on store shelves (Lactaid, generic lactase), and is less expensive.

Yogurt doesn’t bother me (at least not plain Greek yogurt; I’m not a fan of Dannon/Yoplait/etc.), nor does it bother many lactose intolerant individuals. Also, hard cheeses will have very low lactose and a lot of people can still eat them in moderation without a problem. Whey isolate, as Rocky2 noted, is also a great option if you want a protein shake or whatnot.

What I’m saying is that you may want to check all of these out on a case-by-case basis instead of just cutting them all out if cow’s milk bothers you.[/quote]

Can you give us a snapshot of whats in Dairy Digest? Any proprietary ingredients or something?

10

Thanks for the replies everyone.
The whey isolate thing is a good idea, I will look into that. It is a tiny bit more expensive (10%?) but i guess there’s a greater volume of protein in there (less lactose) and anyway, it’s worth it if I don’t look like i’m carrying a baby in my lower belly, while the top abs are all showing!

About ‘dairy digest’, that sounds awesome, will definitely look into that. NOW foods has a consistently awesome range IME.

I don’t really drink milk at all, but cheese in my omelettes is a must, and yoghurt with a few scoops of whey and a few squares of 80% chocolate, frozen, is as good as any ice cream to me, got to have that.

I guess the next step for me is to cut out lactose for at least a month, and see if all symptoms go.
Anyone who uses supps like complete enzymes/lactase enzyme on its own, could you break down what product + frequency you use, when and how, and describe how much it decreased your bloating? Consumer report-style. Cheers

11

PS I had a quick search of google for ‘dairy digest’ and could only find it from the US. Does anyone know of a source/ (i’m in England). Thanks again

12

[quote]CapnYousef wrote:

[quote]Artemisia wrote:
I’m lactose intolerant so I’ve had to experiment a lot to be able to eat a bowl of ice cream now and then without suffering. NOW Foods makes a product called “Dairy Digest” that I take with some dairy products whenever I do eat them…it has worked way better for me than the stuff you can find on store shelves (Lactaid, generic lactase), and is less expensive.

Yogurt doesn’t bother me (at least not plain Greek yogurt; I’m not a fan of Dannon/Yoplait/etc.), nor does it bother many lactose intolerant individuals. Also, hard cheeses will have very low lactose and a lot of people can still eat them in moderation without a problem. Whey isolate, as Rocky2 noted, is also a great option if you want a protein shake or whatnot.

What I’m saying is that you may want to check all of these out on a case-by-case basis instead of just cutting them all out if cow’s milk bothers you.[/quote]

Can you give us a snapshot of whats in Dairy Digest? Any proprietary ingredients or something?[/quote]

Busts out bottle…Something they call “BioCore Dairy Ultra” which includes proteases, lactase (from Aspergillus oryzae), and lipase (from Candida rugosa). The particular proteases (from Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae) are alleged to target milk proteins. Instructions say 1 capsule digests the equivalent of 1 cup of milk.

13

[quote]dannyrat wrote:
PS I had a quick search of google for ‘dairy digest’ and could only find it from the US. Does anyone know of a source/ (i’m in England). Thanks again[/quote]

I found a couple of places that used to carry it according to Google. Try searching “now “dairy digest” uk” (“dairy digest” in quotes, the others not) - some of them may just be out of stock, so you might call and ask if they can get it for you. Also when you run a search on “dairy digest” and look under the “shopping” results, check each site for their shipping policies. Some U.S. sites may offer very cheap international shipping.

As far as the how-what-when-why - I ate a bowl of ice cream last night, so after the first bite I took one capsule. Since it was an awfully big bowl, about halfway through I took another. If I’m eating a small amount of hard cheese or butter, I won’t bother. If I’m at the mercy of others and there’s brie on the table, or I’m out eating a burger with cheese on it, I’ll pop one discreetly with my food. Overall I probably use a few capsules a week. I’m on the Anabolic Diet, so aside from small amounts of hard cheese and butter (neither of which bother me that much), I don’t encounter dairy that much. Except for maybe a cheat meal of chocolate cake batter ice cream…

Using Lactaid prevented the, ah, offensive symptoms of lactose intolerance, but it didn’t really make me look/feel a whole lot less bloated. Dairy Digest, probably because of the additional enzymes, prevents the symptoms and the visible bloating/feeling of bloating. So I pretty much exclusively use Dairy Digest, and sometimes I’ll pop a “regular” digestive enzyme, too, before a particularly rich meal.

14

Thanks Artemisia. Long-term, i love my yoghurt and whey like i said, so i’ll probably end up using the product you mentioned to ameliorate the symptoms.

So bushy, expressed in positive terms, what would I eat on this diet?
(You said what to cut out, so everything else should be ok yes?) Or is it more of a rice, turkey, spinach, fish oil kind of plan you had in mind? Do tell

16

Danny,

I know how you feel. If you are really going to see if you have a gluten allergy though, make sure you exclude products that may be contaminated with wheat i.e. products made on equipment shared with wheat. Oats for example must be certified gluten free to ensure this. So it may not be oats that is affecting you per se. Likewise, you may find a protein powder that is low in lactose, but may be contaminated with wheat.

17

Thanks Busy, to be honest i’ll think about that. That seems like something i’d do during a short tidy-up period, like a DETOX or something.

Pathos, it seems like the more i think about it, the more complex it gets. If I make any progress i’ll let you guys in on it.

Cheers

19

I think Biotest should develop a probiotic, digestive supplement… I’d buy it!

Anyone else with me?

20

[quote]KeepAwaySheeple wrote:
I think Biotest should develop a probiotic, digestive supplement… I’d buy it!

Anyone else with me?[/quote]

Just buy Poliquin’s.