Bloating causing you problems? If you feel full, heavy or sluggish, especially after eating a heavy meal, you should know you are not alone. Abdominal bloating is very common, and can be caused by numerous factors, including poor diet, sluggish digestion or even stress. If this is you, read on to find out what you can do to help reduce your bloating.
Bloating is a common digestive complaint where the stomach feels distended or stretched. It can be a transient or a reoccurring symptom, and can greatly impede day-to-day activities. Bloating can be influenced by a range of everyday factors, including how quickly you eat, the types of foods you consume, your stress levels and overall digestive function. Supporting healthy digestion often starts with simple habits, such as eating mindfully, limiting trigger foods and choosing balanced meals. For additional digestive support, consider a digestive enzyme supplement to help breakdown dietary fats, carbohydrates and proteins.
If you’re feeling bloated regularly, here are some simple lifestyle tips you can adopt to support good digestion and reduce the occurrence of bloating.
Reduce your risk of bloating by:
- Chewing food thoroughly. Digestion starts in the mouth, so it’s important to chew food and break it down into smaller pieces. This mixes the food with enzymes in your saliva and reduces the burden on the stomach.
- Eating mindfully. Staying in a calm and relaxed state, and focusing on eating is important for proper digestion. Try to avoid eating while multitasking or under stress, as stress can shut down the body processes necessary for proper digestion.
- Eating slowly. As the body digests foods, it sends multiple signals between the brain and the stomach to register when you are full. Eating too quickly doesn’t give the body time to register satiety and increases the likelihood of overeating.
- Limiting trigger foods. Certain foods increase the risk of bloating. Common culprits include legumes, cruciferous vegetables (such as cauliflower and cabbage) and gluten-containing grains. Pay attention which foods trigger your bloating, and replace them with more digestion-friendly options.
- Avoiding carbonated beverages. Fizzy drinks contain dissolved carbon dioxide which is released as a gas in your stomach and intestines, leading to bloating. In addition, many drinks contain high sugar or artificial sweeteners, which can also trigger bloating in some people.
- Exercising regularly. It is important to get the body moving, even if it is only a short walk after a meal. Research shows that just 10-15 minutes of walking after a meal is associated with significant improvements in symptoms of abdominal bloating.
- Increasing raw foods in your diet. Raw foods contain enzymes that help digest the food you eat. Good examples include bromelain, found in Pineapples, or papain, found in papaya, that help the body break down proteins.
For additional support, consider Herbs of Gold Digest-Zymes which contains a blend of enzymes to assist in the digestion of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, including fibre and lactose. Digest-Zymes also contains Gentian, a herb traditionally used in Western herbal medicine as a bitter tonic to relieve symptoms of indigestion, including abdominal pain, bloating and feelings of fullness
