Whether it’s just a little discomfort after a too generous dinner or a permanent syndrome, bloating is an issue. Luckily, as long as there are no serious diseases involved, it’s quite easy to control bloating.
Say ‘No’ to these foods
Dairy and sugar are tummy’s worst enemies.
There are millions of bacteria in our stomach that normally do no harm, on the contrary, they are quite important for overall body health. But the thing is, these bacteria consume sugar from food and produce gas. The more sugar you eat, the higher are the levels of gas. So if your belly looks like a ball after eating, forget about white sugar and use mashed banana, dates and raisins or coconut sugar as sweeteners instead. Chocolate is a no-no as well, just saying!
Lactose in milk is basically a sugar as well. And did you know that 75% of people can’t break down lactose? So instead of simply enjoying the nutritious elements of dairy, such as protein and calcium, we end up having bloating, gas, cramping and even diarrhoea.
Avoiding sugar can be extremely difficult as it’s everywhere – in tomato sauce, in your morning cornflakes, in teriyaki marinade for meat. But you’ll be amazed at how many delicious sugar-free recipes are out there! Take this mouthwatering dairy-free and sugar-free cake, for example!
Intermittent Fasting
Often bloating is caused by overeating. The on-trend diet method has become a life saviour for many people suffering from bloating – intermittent fasting means you eat everything you want but for a limited time per day. This ‘eat-all-you-can’ time is also called the ‘window’. For example, your ‘window’ is 8 hours, so you squeeze breakfast, lunch and dinner into those 8 hours and stay away from food for another 16 hours (which is easier than it seems, considering you’ll be asleep most of that time!)
Intermittent fasting is not another diet to starve your body. You’ll most probably lose some weight at the beginning but this method is more about staying healthy and letting your stomach do its job without being stuffed again and again.
Eat salads
Boring? Maybe! But believe it or not, having a huge bowl of greens, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and, of course, the Kiwi favourite – avocado – with one of your meals is the best way to get your daily fill on fibre. Fibre helps to move food through the gastrointestinal tract quickly for better digestion. Here are some really delicious salad recipes.
Take probiotics
Probiotics can help relieve symptoms of bloating by supporting a healthy microbial balance in the gut. You can take them as supplements or eat probiotic-rich foods, such as miso, tempeh, kimchi, kefir, kombucha and sauerkraut. We can recommend local and natural MaKutchen Probiotics.
Drink a lot of water
When your belly is bloated drinking a glass of water might feel like the last thing you want to do but sipping on water actually prevents constipation – one of the main causes of bloating.
As absurd as it sounds, water also relieves water retention. Water retention can be caused by fluctuating hormone levels, hot or humid weather, sunburn and standing for long periods of time. In short, this is the way our body saves itself from dehydration. So drinking a lot of water reduces the need to keep it inside.