You’re not pregnant and you haven’t gained weight, but your jeans are straining at the waist. So what’s going on? Here are the most common causes, we'll look at five of them, one per day.
IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME
Could be the cause if: You’ve been bloated on and off for a long time and have also experienced symptoms including pain, constipation and/or bouts of diarrhoea. A common bowel condition, IBS is a functional disorder, which means there’s nothing wrong with the structure of the bowel itself, but the way the gut works is abnormal. Peter Whorwell, professor of medicine and gastroenterology at the University of Manchester, says: “We think the gut is over-sensitive in IBS sufferers so its normal processes cause the symptoms.”Bloating is one of the most disruptive side effects of IBS. Some women go up a couple of dress sizes and even need different clothes depending on whether or not they are bloated. For many, it tends to worsen towards the evening, so it can disrupt your social life. There’s no cure for IBS, but you can manage the symptoms.“Cutting out cereal fibre eases symptoms by between 30% and 40% in the majority of sufferers,” says Professor Whorwell. This means avoiding wholemeal bread, oats, muesli, digestive biscuits, cereal bars and all breakfast cereals other than Rice Krispies, but white bread, cakes, cream crackers and most biscuits are fine.Try doing this for three months to see if it helps. Probiotics may also ease symptoms. Try Activia yoghurts, as the probiotic strain they contain has been shown to help IBS.You could also try a supplement such as BioCare Acidophilus (£20.90 for 60 capsules, www.biocare.co.uk), and it’s worth seeing your GP.Doctors can prescribe medication for you, such as anti-spasmodics, laxatives and anti-diarrhoeals.“There’s no problem taking laxatives and anti-diarrhoeals in the long term if you have IBS,” adds Professor Whorwell.
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