Dr. Oz: Why Are You Bloated?
Dr. Oz talked on his show today about an unusual reason for bloating. He asked his audience to suggest reasons for bloating in a container he called his “Bloat Bowl.” The guesses included salt, last night’s happy hour, dairy, stress, and lack of sleep.
Dr. Oz talked about how fructose intolerance may be causing your bloat and shared a plan to cut out fructose for 21 days to heal your gut and beat the bloat. (denimdave / flickr)
It turns out the cause could also be something called fructose intolerance. This is intolerance to not just high fructose corn syrup, but the fructose found in fruits and veggies Dr. Oz recommends all the time.
Dr. Oz: What is Fructose Intolerance?
Dr. Oz talked to Amanda, who recently found out she was fructose intolerance. It was hard for her to button her jeans in the morning and she couldn’t figure out what was causing her bloating until she tried cutting out fructose.
Dr. Oz also talked to integrative medicine expert Dr. Aviva Romm, who helped Amanda ditch the bloat. She said that half of Americans or even more are unable to digest fructose, the sugar in fruit. The foam in beer or soda is similar to how fructose acts in our bellies. It causes bloating, gas, and distension.
Dr. Oz: Cut Out Fructose for 21 Days
So how do you know if your fructose intolerant? Dr. Romm recommends cutting out fructose for 21 days and see if that reduces bloating. Fruit is healthy for us, but cutting back on fruit or cutting it out totally for 21 days will provide people who suspect they might be fructose intolerant with some answers.
Cut out apples, pears, berries, bananas, grapes, melons, strawberries, pineapples, and grapefruit. For that first 21 days, cut it all out completely. Later, you can enter more in if you feel like it. But you need to give yourself time to find answers.
It’s also important to cut out certain vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes, garlic, onions, and artichokes. Other vegetables are basically okay. Leafy greens (besides cabbage), mushrooms, potatoes, and yams are great for you. Focus on those for the first 21 days.
Dr. Oz: Hidden Sources of Fructose
For that first 21 days, also make sure to cut out hidden sources of fructose, including condiments, sweetened yogurt, breakfast bars and granola bars, syrup, and foods containing an ingredient called sorbitol. Sorbitol isn’t actually fructose, but it does decrease the body’s ability to digest fructose. This includes things like pudding and chewing gum. Check the label of everything you eat for fructose, high fructose corn syrup, or sorbitol.
It also might make sense for you to cut out wheat and rye. This is because gluten-containing wheat products have ingredients that can be troublesome for people with fructose intolerance. It’s okay to eat gluten-free bread, however.
Dr. Oz: Gut Healing Foods
There’s also gut healing elements that are important like a zinc supplement. You can also get it from pumpkin seeds and beef. Folate is also important, which you can get from leafy greens. Probiotics are key as well, which you can get from products like miso and unsweetened yogurt.
Dr. Oz: Reintroducing Fructose
When you go to reintroduce the fructose after 21 days, add just one at at time. Start with berries, because most people tolerate berries really well. Take note of how you feel with the berries. Are you feeling gassy or bloated or uncomfortable? Then take that one out and try another one the next day.
If you do feel bad from a certain fruit or vegetable, take it out for a few months and try adding it back in later. Some fruits you might not ever be able to have again, but most you should be fine with after you give your gut time to heal.
Leave a Reply