Do you experience bloating during your periods? Doctor reveals the cause and how to reduce it

Dr Karan Rajan shared a video in which he talked about why some people experience bloating during their periods, the causes of bloating, and how to reduce it.

If you are someone who gets menstruation periods every month, there's a chance you may have experienced bloating as one of the symptoms. For some, the bloating sometimes may get severe. So, how can you deal with it?

Period bloating is a symptom which many people who menstruate experience every month. (Shutterstock)

In an Instagram video shared by Dr Karan Rajan, an NHS surgeon, on December 5, the health content creator talked about why people feel bloated during their periods, how to reduce the bloating, and why it is important to consult an expert if you have severe bloating.

‘The most common cause of bloating is…’

Dr Rajan's video begins with a woman complaining about her ‘worst period bloating ever’ and showing her enlarged belly to the camera. He explained that the female pelvis is like a ‘biological lasagna’ with ‘the spaghetti-like intestines wrapped around the gynaecological organs’. Therefore, GI (Gastrointestinal) symptoms like bloating, pain, diarrhoea, and constipation are not uncommon. Additionally, per the NHS surgeon, the most common cause of bloating during menstruation is hormonal fluctuation in estrogen and progesterone levels.

Why does bloating happen?

Now, here's where it gets interesting. According to Dr Rajan, both these hormones - estrogen and progesterone - get metabolised in the liver and then combined with other molecules to make them water-soluble. After they are water soluble, they get mixed into bile and end up in your colon. He further explained, “Once in the colon, some of these hormones can be reabsorbed into the bloodstream, which could lead to elevated estrogen or progesterone levels, which could potentially contribute to more bloating.”

How to reduce bloating?

According to Dr Rajan, if you get bloated during your period, there's one thing which might help that most people don't talk about. You can reduce your bloating by increasing your intake of soluble dietary fibre. “[It] means that fibre can bind to hormones like estrogen and progesterone in the digestive tract and reduce their reabsorption, which could lead to reduced bloating,” he explained. He suggested consuming kiwi, red beans or rajma, and oats.

According to the Mayo Clinic, some other examples of soluble dietary fibre are peas, beans, apples, bananas, avocados, citrus fruits, carrots, barley, and psyllium.

Why severe bloating and other symptoms shouldn't be ignored

However, if experience experience severe bloating, pain, and cramps, you should seek an opinion to get things like fibroids, adenomyosis, endometriosis, etc, ruled out. “For example, it's very common for endometriosis to grow in the space between the rectum and the uterus, and they're basically squished next to each other or touching. So, you can get symptoms like pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhoea because of a gynaecological condition,” Dr Rajan explained.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.