7 Reasons You’re Bloated and Constipated That Have Nothing to Do With Food
If you get more bloated as the day goes on and feel like you look 5 months pregnant by dinner time, even though you eat clean, here’s what you need to know:
Chronic bloat and constipation isn’t a food problem.
This common pattern happens when digestion is sluggish, minerals are depleted and the thyroid is running slow: these imbalances impair how well your body breaks down food and moves it through your digestive system.
As a holistic nutritionist, I see this all the time with clients: women who eat clean, take probiotics, digestive enzymes and magnesium but still feel bloated and constipated, no matter what they eat.
Let’s break down what’s really going on.
First: What is a “Normal” Bowel Movement?
Many of the women I work with don’t even realize they’re constipated because they’ve gone years only having a bowel movement every 2–3 days and assumed that was normal.
Add in childhood conditioning (“girls don’t poop”), holding it in at school or work, and rushed mornings, and the digestive system slowly adapts to not eliminating regularly.
Over time, this slows gut motility and contributes to bloating, gas, hormone imbalances, and skin issues — all signs of compromised gut health.
An optimal bowel movement:
Happens daily without straining or any discomfort
Feels complete (no urge to go again)
Looks like a smooth “snake” (Type 3–4 on the Bristol Stool Chart)
Now, let’s break down the 5 most common causes of bloating and constipation that have nothing to do with food.
1. Chronic Stress & a Dysregulated Nervous System
I want you to take a moment to think about your typical morning.
Are you relaxed enough to have a bowel movement or do you wake up, hit the ground running and rush out the door with a coffee in hand? I’ve been there, I get it.
When the body is in fight-or-flight, digestion slows down. Blood flow is redirected away from the gut, intestinal muscles tighten, and peristalsis (the wave-like motion that moves waste through the intestines) is suppressed.
We need to be in a calm, rest-and-digest state to eliminate properly.
If stress is high and chronic, especially first thing in the morning, it can impact the movement of food and waste through the digestive system and reduce bowel movement frequency — a major driver of poor gut health.
2. Slow Gut Motility
Motility refers to how efficiently food and waste move through the digestive system. If you’re bloated and constipated, you likely have slow motility, which means food and waste are sitting in the gut longer than they should.
This leads to food fermenting and creating gas, pressure, and inflammation.
What causes slow motility?
Chronic stress
Years of “holding it in” which trains the bowels not to eliminate regularly
Mineral deficiencies since minerals are needed for motility
Low digestive enzymes and low stomach acid
Slow thyroid function (even if it’s normal on blood work)
3. Minerals for Gut Health
Hydration is important for motility but it’s not just about drinking water. We need minerals like sodium, magnesium and potassium to absorb water properly and prevent constipation — all of which are foundational for gut health.
Minerals are also needed for:
Digestive enzyme and stomach acid production
The contraction and relaxation of muscles in the intestines
Your gut works kind of like a conveyor belt: muscles in the digestive tract contract in waves (called peristalsis) to keep things moving. When you’re lacking minerals and you’re not making enough digestive juices, the conveyor belt slows down which leads to sluggish digestion, bloating and constipation.
Some of my favorite ways to get minerals in are:
Adding a small pinch of sea or Celtic salt to water
Adding trace mineral drops to your water. These help your cells absorb water so that you’re properly hydrated, helps your cells generate energy and keeps the conveyer belt in your gut running smoothly
Coconut water and aloe vera juice, are two of my favorite mineral-rich drinks. They are packed with potassium which is important for supporting gut health and motility. I love to use coconut water as the base for smoothies.
4. Low Stomach Acid & Digestive Enzymes
One of the most common root causes of bloating and constipation I see with holistic nutrition clients is reduced digestive function. This is a core focus of functional nutrition for gut health.
Reduced digestive function is a fancy way of saying that food isn’t being broken down properly in the gut, nutrients aren’t being well absorbed, and waste isn’t moving efficiently through the gut.
Digestive enzymes and stomach acid are the digestive juices that we need to break down our food and absorb the nutrients from it. These are especially important for the breakdown of proteins and fats which we need for good thyroid function, hormone health and energy production.
In my holistic nutrition practice, I run functional stool tests with clients. One of my favourite parts of the GI Map stool test is that we can actually see markers for these digestive juices. I also use HTMA mineral testing to identify mineral imbalances that impact digestion and motility.
5. Cortisol Imbalances and Gut Health
Cortisol imbalances are another major contributor to bloating and constipation. Why? Stomach acid and digestive enzyme production is suppressed under chronic stress.
Gut motility will also slow down when cortisol is too high.
6. Low Thyroid Function (Even With “Normal” Labs)
Something most women aren’t aware of is that thyroid function plays a huge role in gut health and motility.
The thyroid regulates how fast food moves through your digestive system and when thyroid function is slow, motility slows down which leads to bloating, gas and constipation.
Slow thyroid function is something I see with a lot of clients, even when it doesn’t show up on blood work. Standard reference ranges for blood work are extremely wide and usually based on optimal male numbers which means a lot of women end up being told their thyroid is normal even when they present with a lot of hypothyroid symptoms.
Supporting thyroid health is an important part of functional nutrition for gut health, especially for women who eat clean but still struggle with bloat and constipation.
7. Gut Bacteria Imbalances (Dysbiosis)
Another root driver of bloating and constipation I see on functional stool tests is imbalances in gut bacteria. This usually means there’s an overgrowth of opportunistic bacteria and low levels of beneficial bacteria.
We call this dysbiosis because there’s low levels of beneficial bacteria and an overgrowth of bacteria that we don’t want. This increases inflammation and leaky gut which will contribute to a lot of gut and hormone-related symptoms.
Beneficial bacteria are extremely important for motility and at the same time, many opportunistic bacteria in the gut are gas producing and can actually slow down motility.
A lot of my clients have this combination of low stomach acid, low digestive enzymes, low beneficial bacteria and overgrown opportunistic bacteria. This is a recipe for bloating, gas, constipation or loose stools, food intolerances, and skin issues like acne or eczema.
The Gut-Hormone Connection
Constipation isn’t just uncomfortable, it also has a profound effect on your hormones.
When waste sits in the colon too long, toxins and hormones (like estrogen) recirculate in the body and can be reabsorbed. This contributes to hormone imbalances like estrogen dominance which causes PMS, painful periods, heavy periods, breast tenderness and weight gain.
This hormone-gut connection is incredibly important and so often overlooked.
As a result of the way our conventional health care system works, most people are so used to going to a gastroenterologist for their gut issues, an endocrinologist for their thyroid issues and a gynaecologist for their female hormone issues.
This approach often leaves people stuck in a cycle of trying to fix their symptoms without much success because nothing in the body happens in isolation.
The gut, hormones and the nervous system are constantly communicating with one another, and dysfunction in one area often drives symptoms in another area.
Elimination Diets Aren’t the Answer
A lot of my clients have been dealing with digestive issues for a long time and are often stuck in a restrictive cycle with food. Elimination diets can calm symptoms temporarily, but they don’t address the real reasons why someone is reacting to foods, feeling bloated all the time or struggling with constipation.
In my 1:1 program, I take a functional nutrition approach, using tools like the GI Map stool test and HTMA mineral testing to uncover what’s really driving digestive health symptoms and create a plan that corrects the root causes of chronic digestive issues.
No matter how long you’ve been dealing with any of these symptoms, you don’t have to keep cutting out foods, or spending money on random supplements and hoping something will work.
If you have a growing list of food sensitivities, your energy crashes in the afternoons, or you’re constantly bloated no matter what you eat — these are signs from your body that you need deeper support.
What to do next:
To help you start connecting the dots, in episode 5 of The Nourished Way podcast, I break down the five most common causes of bloating and constipation that have nothing to do with food—and everything to do with stomach acid.
And if you’re ready to go deeper, stop guessing, and actually fix the root cause of your digestive symptoms, this is exactly what we do inside my 1:1 program.
We use functional labs like blood work, HTMA, and the GI-MAP stool test to uncover what’s really driving your symptoms and then use the results to create a plan to restore your gut health, energy, and hormones.
By the end of our 6 months together, you’ll finally understand what your body really needs to thrive and have the support, guidance and strategy to eliminate symptoms for good, without another restrictive diet.
👉 Listen to the podcast: 7 reasons you’re bloated and constipated that have nothing to do with food
👉Apply to work 1:1 together if you’re ready for a personalized plan and real, long-term results.
