Bloating is one of the most common reasons people get in touch with me, and one of the most frustrating things to live with. That tight, heavy, distended feeling — trousers that fitted this morning and don’t by the evening — affects an enormous number of people, and it’s often dismissed as trivial.
It isn’t trivial. But it also isn’t always straightforward, and it’s worth understanding what might be behind it before assuming any single treatment is the answer.
What bloating actually is
Two different things get called bloating, and they’re worth separating.
Bloating is the subjective feeling of fullness, pressure or tightness in the abdomen.
Distension is the visible increase in abdominal size — the part where your waistband gets tighter through the day.
They often occur together but not always. Some people feel enormously bloated with no visible change; others visibly distend without much discomfort. Both are real.
Common causes
Swallowed air
More significant than most people realise. Eating quickly, talking while eating, chewing gum, drinking through straws and fizzy drinks all introduce air into the digestive tract. It’s an unglamorous explanation, but for some people it’s most of the problem.
Fermentation in the gut
Some carbohydrates aren’t fully absorbed in the small intestine and pass into the colon, where gut bacteria ferment them and produce gas. This is entirely normal — it’s what a healthy gut does — but the volume varies enormously between people and between foods.
Constipation and sluggish transit
When things move slowly, there’s more time for fermentation and more physical volume in the colon. This is where bloating and irregularity tend to be connected.
Food sensitivities and intolerances
Lactose intolerance is the most common. Others react to specific fermentable carbohydrates — the group often referred to as FODMAPs. This is genuinely individual and best identified with a dietitian rather than by guesswork or elimination diets found online.
IBS
Irritable bowel syndrome affects a substantial proportion of the population and bloating is one of its defining features. IBS is a medical diagnosis and needs to come from your GP, not from a therapist or the internet.
Hormonal changes
Many women notice cyclical bloating linked to their menstrual cycle, and changes around perimenopause. If your bloating has a monthly rhythm, that’s worth noticing and mentioning to your GP.
Stress
The gut-brain connection is well established. Stress genuinely affects gut motility and sensitivity, which is why bloating often worsens during difficult periods. This isn’t “it’s all in your head” — it’s a real physiological pathway.
Practical things that often help
- Eat more slowly. Dull advice, genuinely effective for air swallowing.
- Cut fizzy drinks. Including sparkling water, if you drink a lot of it.
- Keep a simple food and symptom diary. Two weeks is usually enough to spot patterns you’d otherwise miss.
- Stay hydrated. Particularly if you’ve recently increased fibre.
- Increase fibre gradually. A sudden jump often makes bloating worse before it makes it better.
- Move regularly. Walking after meals genuinely helps transit.
- Address sleep and stress. Less measurable, often significant.
Where colon hydrotherapy fits
I’ll be straightforward here, because this is where a lot of clinics overclaim.
Clients frequently tell me they feel lighter and less bloated after a session, and that trapped wind eases. That’s a consistent, commonly reported experience and I’ve no reason to doubt it.
What I won’t tell you is that colon hydrotherapy treats or cures the underlying cause of chronic bloating. If your bloating stems from lactose intolerance, IBS, a hormonal pattern or SIBO, a colonic doesn’t address that. It may offer relief; it isn’t a fix.
Colon hydrotherapy is a complementary therapy. It sits alongside proper investigation and sensible dietary work — not instead of them. Anyone telling you otherwise is selling something.
When to see your GP
Please book an appointment with your GP rather than a therapist if you have:
- Bloating that’s persistent and new, particularly if you’re over 50
- Unexplained weight loss
- Blood in your stool, or black or tarry stools
- Persistent abdominal pain
- A change in bowel habit lasting more than three weeks
- Difficulty swallowing, or persistent vomiting
- Unexplained fatigue or signs of anaemia
- A family history of bowel or ovarian cancer alongside new symptoms
Persistent bloating in women is also a recognised symptom of ovarian cancer, which is under-diagnosed partly because the symptoms get dismissed as digestive. If bloating is new, persistent and doesn’t come and go, please get it checked. Most of the time it will be nothing serious — but that’s a decision for a doctor, not for you or me.
I’d rather lose a booking than have someone treat a symptom that needed investigating.
If you’d like to talk it through
If you’ve had things looked at, know what you’re dealing with, and want to explore whether colon hydrotherapy might offer some relief alongside it — get in touch and we can talk honestly about whether it’s likely to help you.
If you’re curious about what a session actually involves, this guide walks through it step by step.