cool article on Ways to beat the bloat - shout out NutriCentre!
Activated Charcoal- contributes to reducing excessive flatulence after eating. Taken after each meal, charcoal is able to absorb hundreds times its own weight in toxins.
Peppermint– has an anti-spasmodic and calming effect. This helps with any gas that may be present in your gut to escape, leaving you less bloated. Try drinking a peppermint tea as a tasty alternative to your usual tea!
Drink your food and chew your soup! Chew food a minimum of 30 times! This should be mixed with enough saliva for you to almost drink it! Chewing enough not only stimulates the secretion of digestive juices needed for proper digestion. It also ensures that your food is properly mixed with saliva and is swallowed with less gas. Unbroken down food in the gut leads to many problems. One of which is gas! Liquids foods such as soups and smoothies should also be chewed. If you do not chew it, then your body will not produce adequate enzymes!
Drink 30 minutes before each meal- ensuring good hydration will allow your body to make sufficient Hydrochloric acid. The 30 minute gap will make sure that there is no water in your stomach to dilute the Hydrochloric acid. Avoid drinking water with or immediately after a meal as this will dilute the hydrochloric acid and make digestion less efficient.
Lactase enzyme- if you are intolerant to the milk sugar lactose, then the consequences will be excess gas and bloating. Adding a lactase enzyme may be necessary for those who struggle with this milk sugar.
Live Cultures– the micro-organisms in our gut play an important role. They especially help with the digestion of lactose. Try taking a daily culture supplement such as Symprove to ensure you have enough in your gut.
Get screened- if you constantly suffer from excess gas, ask you GP or natural health practitioner to screen you for food intolerances and other gut related disorders.
Ensuring that you are visiting the toilet regularly will go a long way in helping to reduce bloating. The backlog of faeces in your gut will putrefy, not only making you feel full and uncomfortable, but also producing bad smelling gas. The minimum amount we should be visiting the toilet is once a day, but preferably 3 times per day.
Exercise- getting your body moving also gets your bowels moving. Exercising helps to move any trapped gas along on its way and tighten up stomach muscles, which help with abdominal extension.
Hydrate- making sure that you are drinking plenty of hydrating liquids such as water, coconut water and fruit or herbal teas. This will ensure that stools soft and easy to pass.
Oats! Including oats in your diet provides you with fibre and an increase in faecal bulk. Having extra faecal bulk will aid in regular illumination. Make sure that you are consuming 7-9 portions of vegetables and fruit too! Try porridge for breakfast with flax seeds and berries!
Relax!- constipation is a common phenomenon among the stressed! When cortisol and adrenaline is released, our body diverts its resources into your brain and muscles, leaving your digestive system neglected. Make sure that you always eat in a relaxed state, and try to decrease your life stressors!
Another reason why people feel bloated is due to water retention. Retaining water, especially around your belly is not only uncomfortable but unsightly.
Cut out salt-salt is your worst enemy for water retention! It is completely unnecessary to be added into foods! We need our water to be inside our cells for hydration, and consuming a high salt diet draws water out of your cells and into your tissues. A certain degree of salt is needed; however no more than what is naturally found in foods.
Dandelion tea- Switch your usual beverage for dandelion tea. It makes a delicious brew especially just before your menstrual cycle!
Leaks, garlic and onions! Often water retention is due to hormonal issues. Ensuring that your liver is working efficiently will ensure the correct metabolism and detoxification of hormones. Leaks, garlic and onions are sulphur containing foods. Sulphur is required by the liver for the detoxification process.
