Bloating - what causes it and how to get rid of it!
Jul 14, 2021
You know that feeling. You try to button your jeans that fit fine two days ago but suddenly won't secure. You look in the mirror and have a flashback of being 5 months pregnant. You're bloated and it sucks!
Bloating is unfortunately something that we all deal with from time to time. Even men! There are many reasons for bloating including your menstrual cycle but we're going to skip discussing that for today and dive into a few other reasons that could be causing bloating.
What causes bloating?
- salt - we need salt but it can be over done and can cause water retention as well as serious bloating. Being aware of what is in your food and limiting your packaged foods will help to reduce sodium in your body.
- Too many simple carbs at once. That means too much sugar, processed foods etc. Simple carbs are broken down fats and enter the blood stream quickly. So when you have a lot of simple carbs they’ll enter the bloodstream fast and can cause water retention and bloating. Pair simple carbs like fruit with healthy fats and proteins to slow down the breakdown process. Try to limit processed foods or pair them with whole foods.
- Air! How much air are you swallowing? If you chew a lot of gum, you’ll have more bloating and gas. If you eat fast or drink through a straw that can cause more air in your stomach and cause more bloating.
- Sugar alcohols - sugar feee foods or low carb foods have sugar alcohols which the body doesn’t really recognize because it’s not a real food. It doesn’t know what to do with it so it either floats around in your digestive system or where’s your intestine and is turned to gas.
- Too much alcohol - alcohol can cause water retention and bloating.
- Food sensitivities can cause gas and bloating too. It’s important to pay attention to your body and what you’re eating. The most common ones are gluten, dairy (whey protein, casein protein) eggs and certain vegetables. Try cutting out one at a time or cut them all out for three to four weeks then slowly introduce them.
A few more tips on reducing bloating,
- To reduce water retention and bloating is to drink a ton of water. It seems counterintuitive but it will help flush out sodium or toxins to reduce bloating.
Eat foods that have potassium which helps flush excess sodium. - Epsom sat baths are so healing and magnesium is a natural laxative which will help to detox
Asparagus is a natural diuretic so it will help to reduce water retention and bloating. - Walking!!!! Walk after meals for ten minutes which will help aid in digestion and get the food moving through your body faster
- A digestive enzyme can help to boost the enzymes you have that break down foods
- A probiotic can help with digestion as well and can improve your gut health which will improve your bodies ability to break down food.
If you feel like it’s more than just sodium or water retention you can check with your doc for some deeper testing to figure out if you have food sensitivities
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