By Rustina
You put on your jeans, and internally sigh. It's back again. That extra full, swollen, and tight feeling. You're bloated.
Bloating can be caused by many different things like overeating, gas, water retention, swallowing air while eating, or certain food intolerances.
What Causes Bloating?
Habits like chewing gum, drinking through straws, or talking while eating can contribute to bloating.
As your body digests food, it produces gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen. If these gases are not efficiently expelled from the digestive system (like struggling digestive movement), they can lead to bloating. Consuming large meals or eating too quickly can overwhelm the digestive system causing bloating also.
Certain foods like beans, lentils, carbonated drinks, cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli and cabbage), and artificial sweeteners are common to cause bloating. Some people may even be intolerant to certain foods, such as lactose or gluten. In these cases, consuming these foods can lead to gastrointestinal discomfort and bloating.
When stool builds up in the colon and is not passed regularly (exacerbating the build up of gas too), it can cause abdominal discomfort and bloating. Some medical conditions, like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), or gastroparesis, can lead to chronic or recurrent bloating.
A woman's monthly cycle can lead to bloating also from the fluctuation of estrogen and progesterone causing a change in fluid balance and electrolytes leading to water retention.
What Helps Relieve Bloating?
Bloating is often a temporary and benign condition. It can typically be relieved by adopting healthy eating habits, avoiding trigger foods, staying hydrated, and getting regular exercise. There are some foods generally known to help relieve bloating though.
Beat the Bloating Foods:
Ginger: Ginger has natural anti-inflammatory properties and helps in digestion, reducing bloating and gas. It is great as a tea, added to dishes, powdered capsules, or even chew on a small piece of fresh or crystallized ginger.
Peppermint: Peppermint has been used to soothe digestive issues and relieve bloating for ages. You can drink peppermint tea or chew on fresh peppermint leaves. They are great to add to water bottles also.
Fennel: Fennel is known for its carminative properties, meaning it helps prevent the formation of gas and relieves bloating. The leaves provide fiber to help with bloating and the seeds use oils with carminative properties to relax the muscles and allow the trapped air/gas to move on. You can consume them raw, as a tea, or incorporate it into dishes.
Pineapple: Pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain, which helps aid the digestive process of breaking down food more effectively thus reducing bloating. Enjoy fresh pineapple as a snack or add it to smoothies.
Papaya: Papaya also contains enzymes, such as papain, that aid in digestion and alleviate bloating. This and pineapple are especially helpful with gallbladder issues. It's best to consume ripe papaya either on its own or in a fruit salad.
Cucumber: Cucumbers have a high water content and can help flush out excess fluids, reducing water retention and bloating. Enjoy them raw in salads, in your water bottle, or as a refreshing snack.
Yogurt: Go for yogurt that contains less added sugars and sweeteners but with live and active good bacteria. These probiotics promote a healthy gut and aid in digestion. Probiotics can help reduce bloating and improve overall digestive health because good bacteria actually line the walls of quite a bit of our digestive tract!
Bananas: Bananas are gentle on the stomach and can help regulate digestion. They are also rich in potassium, which may counterbalance the effects of sodium and reduce water retention and the non-gas related bloating.
Chamomile: Chamomile tea has soothing properties that can help relax the digestive system and reduce bloating. It's a popular choice for calming an upset stomach at any age.
Water: Staying hydrated is important for maintaining a healthy digestive system. Drinking enough water can help prevent constipation and reduce bloating caused by water retention. Just try not to drink while eating a meal. When our stomach fills with water, it is harder to digest foods.
That dreaded feeling of an overwhelmed waist doesn't have to keep plaguing you! You want to find out what is causing the bloating ,of course. You can try doing a food journal to see if you can locate the offenders, or track your habits (using a straw, too much Netflix & Couch time, etc). Some of the common offenders to watch for are: gluten, fructose (especially from sweeteners), lactose, constipation, troubles swallowing, hormones, stress, beans, broccoli, onions, and especially carbonated drinks.
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