Food is something meant to be enjoyed, but to some of you it somehow becomes a torture. More often than not, you are supposed to be very hungry but unfortunately feel full easily by eating a little bit only, or feel sick, or have abdominal distention after eating, worse still, sometimes accompanied with burning sensation. Picture that how embarrassed it would be if you burp up the bad smell of food in public or have Diarrhea right after eating.

As far as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is concerned, stomach swelling or abdominal bloating can be treated with many herbal formulas, in which Cao Dou Kou (Katsumadai Seed) is one of essential components, especially in the cases caused by pathogenic dampness and cold.

WHAT CAUSES BLOATING AFTER EATING?
Gas and bloating is one of common symptoms in diseases of digestive tract, such as Chronic Gastritis, gastroptosis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), duodenal stagnation syndrome, and functional dyspepsia, often accompanied with symptoms like abdominal discomfort and pain, belching, and Constipation or diarrhea. Besides, it might also associate to lactose intolerance, celiac disease, food intolerance, surgery, and stress, etc.

Katsumadai Seed

From the perspective of TCM, if you feel bloated right after the meal, chances are that the culprit is the deficient cold in spleen and stomach. The reasons are twofold: firstly the stomach, impaired for various reasons, fails to regulate the normal functions of descending and ascending qi, which ends up leading to stagnation in this place; secondarily a weakened gastrointestinal system can result in this condition as you grow older. In addition, to some degree liver is also related to belly bloating after eating as the liver’s functions of conveyance and dispersion tend to be weakened when you are in a bad mood.

PRINCIPLE OF TREATMENT 
The treatment in western medicine is quite straightforward – prescribe the relevant drugs once the disease is confirmed. By contrast, the strengths of TCM rest on the overall treatment – give prescription based on the diagnosis of your constitution, which is beneficial to remove the root causes while curing the apparent symptoms. Apparently the latter could lower the frequency of recurrence.

According to the causes, this condition can be classified into two main patterns – deficient abdominal distention (after eating or drinking) and excess abdominal distention (before eating). The former is related to delayed gastric emptying (DGE) and divided into two different types of deficient yin and deficient qi; the latter is related to excessive gastric acid secretion (hyperchlorhydria). In addition, if diarrhea or constipation accompanied, it may involve spleen too. Therapies include tonifying middle-Jiao and Qi while harmonizing stomach, tonifying middle-Jiao and Qi while tonifying spleen, and tonifying spleen while dredging liver to smooth Qi.