Meno-belly?
Whilst the term 'Meno-Belly' is often used by women feeling frustrated whilst navigating perimenopause and menopause to describe the change in body and shape and increased distribution of fat around the belly area (a discussion for another day), it may also be caused by digestive bloating.
Your gut and digestive function are affected by your hormones so when they're shifting and changing a lot during this phase of life, digestive symptoms such as reflux, bloating, constipation or diarrhoea can show up and we might not initially link them to our hormones.
Changing hormones also impact the make up of your microbiome which has an influence on everything from digestion itself through to mood and immune function.
It's also not uncommon to develop intolerances or sensitivity reactions to food which previously didn't cause anu issues. So if you're noticing that certain foods don't seem to agree with you anymore it's worth paying attention and adjusting your diet if needed.
Another reason that you might start to notice digestive symptoms like reflux, heartburn, bloating or bowel changes is that your threshold for stress might change during this phase of life. Your tolerance to stress may become lower and changing hormone levels also impact how your body responds to stress itself and to the stress hormone cortisol.
When you're stressed you simply cannot digest effectively because your body goes into fight or flight, releasing cortisol and adrenaline, switching off digestive acid and enzyme production (needed to breakdown and digest food) and sending your blood flow away from your digestive system and towards your limbs so that you can escape the threat (or the cause of the stress).
Your body doesn't differentiate between genuine life threatening stress that you literally need to run to escape from the day to day stressors of dealing with difficult teenagers or colleagues or the overwhelm that you feel when you think of your to-do list.
So what can you do?
Finding ways to manage stress is crucial. One of my favorite strategies is breathwork using specific techniques to switch off the stress response. These are easy to learn and work quickly so that you can use them both acutely when you need them in the moment and also consistently as a practice which over time, increases your resilience to stress so that you can bounce back quicker when you do encounter stress.
Read about my Breath Space membership where you will find a tool box of breathing techniques plus guided breathwork classes designed to reduce stress: https://blossomwellbeing.com.au/breathspace-membership-introduction/ you can currently sign up for just $29 per month (normally $45). New classes are added fortnighty.
Pay attention to how you feel after eating certain foods. Keeping a food diary over a couple of weeks and writing down what you ate and recording any symptoms can help to pinpoint whether certain foods are involved. Bloating or reflux soon after or in the hours following eating are clues.
Some intolerance or sensitivity reactions might take up to three days to show up and could manifest in other ways like headaches, joint aches, sinus issues or skin issues. The link between foods and symptoms can be less obvious and harder to pinpoint so writing it all down can help you see links over time. Food intolerance testing is also helpful here and involves a finger prick blood test which is then sent to pathology to test your response to 96 commonly eaten foods
Consider your gut health and look into some gut healing if symptoms have been ongoing. There are many options to support gut health and reduce digestive symptoms whilst you're making dietary changes to support your gut health and microbiome.
If you'd like to discuss how you can improve your gut health and reduce digestive symptoms naturally or look into which foods you're reacting to through either an elimination type diet approach or food intolerance testing, appointments can be booked here: https://blossomwellbeing.as.me/
Food intolerance testing can be included in your appointment, please specify that you would like it included when filling out the booking form when you book your appointment. The cost of the food intolerance blood test ($294) payable to pathology is not included in the consultation fee.