Bloating is that queasy feeling that often accompanies either a hangover, or a few days of excessive eating. Typically, you notice you’re bloated when your stomach feels distended and you perhaps have an accompanying case of wind. We all get bloated sometimes but if you’ve got a bloated stomach that won’t go away, it may be time for some lifestyle changes.
Bloating is often associated with eating the wrong food, being too stressed, or not getting enough movement. In some cases, you may need to see a doctor – especially if you’ve been bloated for more than three weeks, make sure to book an appointment with your GP. But in milder cases, as well as getting some Gaviscon in, try one or more of the following tricks may bring you the much-expected relief.
Cook Your Veggies
Eating your broccoli, cauliflower, onions, or green peppers raw may improve your vitamin intake. But it may also cause you a bloated belly due to their high fibre content. If you have a sensitive stomach, it’s best to reach for the pan and roast or steam your veggies to break apart the fibres.
Switch to Plain Water
The fizz in coke doesn’t magically go away once you’ve drunk it, so there’s no wonder it can make you feel bloated. Plus, the negative effects of sweetened drinks on your gut don’t stop there. Sugar and sweeteners have been proven to mess with your gut microbes and favour pathogenic bacteria. Replace these drinks with plain old water and your stomach may be up for better days.
Take Your Time to Eat
When at work, don’t eat on the run or in front of your computer with an eye on what you still have to do. Instead, concentrate on your meal. Take small bites and chew everything properly. Follow this principle in the evening as well. Specialists say that if you eat too fast, you are ingesting more air and this can make you gassy.
Take a Probiotic
If you are feeling bloated more than once a week, then the bacteria in your gut may be out of balance. This often happens when you take antibiotics, but other factors like stress or sugar-rich foods can cause it. Mix things up a little with your diet and add some kefir for breakfast or a side of sauerkraut for lunch. They are natural probiotics that can help calm down things in your gut.
Become More Active
Taking a walk after dinner instead of spending the next few hours on the couch can give your digestive system a boost. If you walk, food moves faster through your stomach and intestines and the risk for gas accumulation decreases. You also burn calories, which is another plus.
Reduce Stress
Stress causes depression, cancer, diabetes, high blood sugar, and… gas! We know what you’re thinking. How am I supposed to fight stress when I have so much work to do today? You are stressing out right now, aren’t you? Well, from now on, plan half an hour every day to disconnect from the world. Meditate, do yoga, or go for a walk. At MAN v FAT, we encourage our members to find a balance between work and free time so they can reduce the effects of daily stress.
Try Some Gas Relief Exercises
Sometimes, all you can do is try and get the gas out, and some yoga poses seem to be made precisely for this. Try a few sun salutations although given the effect it often has it may be better to do this in private. Squats and twists can have the same result so give them a try if a salute doesn’t work.
Investigate Your Bloating Causes
If bloating is a recurrent problem, you may be suffering from a food intolerance. The simplest way to find out what ingredients make you feel bad is to keep a food diary. Write down what you’ve had to eat and drink for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and don’t forget snacks), along with your notes about how you felt that day. In just a few weeks, you may be able to identify the cause of your puffiness. The usual suspects are dairy and wheat, so keep a close eye out for them.
Avoid Sugar-Free Gum
Chewing gum is already bad for your bowels since you are ingesting so much air with almost no nutritional intake. But it can get worse if you go for a sugar-free assortment. Sugar-free products get their sweetness from sugar alcohol, a substance that has been proven to cause bloating.
Don’t Peel Your Fruits
Next time you eat an apple or a pear, put down the peeler and savour them as they are. Their skin contains insoluble fibres that help keep things moving inside your bowels. They also increase stool bulk, so you will get more regular visits to the loo.
