Have you ever suddenly noticed that your pants don’t fit right or that your skirt is now bulging out just over your abdomen and nowhere else. Do you now have a baby bump that is not an actually baby bump? Don’t ignore it.

Except for the rare possibility that you just ate 20 pounds of food at one sitting, there should be very few benign reasons why your abdomen should suddenly puff up like that. Yes it is possible that you could be really constipated or gassy and just need to fart it out, but unless your stomach is really rumbling that is not really possible.

So, what are the causes of increased bloating? Let’s go over a few

First, hormonal changes can cause bloat. As our progesterone and estrogen levels fluctuate, it can lead to water retention and bloating. Estrogen in particular can cause increase in fluid retention, especially when it is out of balance.

Second, insulin resistance is a popular cause of bloating. The eternal spare tire that you cannot get rid of no matter how much diet and exercise you do. You see, in a normal healthy body, you eat the perfect type of food for your body type at least three times a day and the pancreas then secretes just the right amount of insulin to break down the food into just the right amount of glucose to then get inserted into your muscles to give you energy. When you are insulin resistant, as the result of a crap shoot genetic gift from a relative or through the natural changes of aging and menopause, there are several issues. The first is that you are probably not eating right for your body type. You are probably over carbing because that is what you crave. Or, you are meal skipping especially in the mornings because your stomach is just not ready for food. In either case, the pancreas is over secreting insulin because it sees the extra carbs and freaks out, or it stores insulin because it thinks you are starving. On top of that, your body is not using the insulin it makes because your tissues are insulin resistant. This means that all that extra unused insulin just sits in the abdominal tissue, then calls in its friends fat and salt and water and blam! The extra bloat that won’t go away. If this goes on for enough years, eventually your pancreas goes on strike and you become diabetic instead.

Third, something more serious could be going on. Abdominal bloating seemingly out of no where could be due to fluid in the abdomen. This is called ascites. This could be due to liver disease, heart conditions, kidney disease, pancreatitis, infections or even cancer.

Fourth, and most serious, it could be due to a growing tumor in your abdomen with no symptoms to tip you off except for mild decrease in appetite, constipation, or bloating.

The bottom line is, bloating out of nowhere with no specific justifiable reason should not be ignored. It can be the sign of something serious so when all of a sudden those pants don’t fit or that skirt is too tight. Get it checked out!

Dr. Katz