Try These Tips to Stop Bloating

            Have you ever put on a tight pair of jeans easily, but then your bloated belly prevented you from zipping them up? Well, you are not alone because bloating is an extremely common and annoying symptom, which is usually the result of a gastrointestinal problem. Bloating is never fun and is sometimes an inconvenience.

What is Bloating?

            Bloating happens when your abdomen is filled with gas or liquid, which causes you discomfort. Sometimes it is visibly swollen and interferes with social occasions or exercising. Gas, which can be a result of health conditions or the foods you eat, is your body’s negative response to something in you digestive system. It is waste attempting to leave the body, but it gets stuck and causes you to feel bloated.  

Tips to Stop Bloating:

Drink Water:

            Sometimes it is necessary to fight fluid with fluid. Staying hydrated helps proper digestion by moving food and fluids through your body. A good rule of thumb is to drink eight 8oz. glasses of water every day to stay properly hydrated. If you are going to exercise, make sure not to drink too much water right before your workout because this creates a sloshy feeling that can make the belly swell. Drink about 16oz of water an hour before your workout, but sip water throughout exercising.

Avoid Gum and Carbonation:

            Carbonated drinks like soda, beer, champagne, or anything that fizzes can promote gas in the abdomen. A lot of carbonated drinks contain sugars or artificial sweeteners like aspartame, which does not get metabolized and causes bloating. When it comes to chewing gum, you can get bloated because you tend to swallow a lot of air during the act. Sometimes chewing gum is a nervous habit that just needs to be broken. If you are bloated from either carbonation or chewing gum, try drinking peppermint tea or lemon water. These are both kind to the stomach and can help relieve bloating.

Choose Potassium & Magnesium:

            By eating potassium-rich foods, you can help balance the fluid in your body and decrease bloating. Magnesium-rich foods help to relax your intestines, making it easier for things to move through your digestive tract. It’s best to eat avocados, mangos, bananas, raw nuts and seeds, dark leafy greens, asparagus, tomatoes, and cantaloupe to incorporate potassium and magnesium in your diet. If you have a lot of water weight, avoid water weight in fruits like melons, apples, or pears. These water fruits are good if you have gas.    

Fill up with Fiber:

            Bloating can be a result of constipation, which can be remedied by eating fibrous foods. In addition to increasing your fiber intake, take a 15-20 minute walk every day to promote digestive movement. Sometimes a diet that is too high in fiber can lead to constipation, especially if you drastically changed from a low-fiber diet to a high-fiber diet. If you get constipated from fibrous foods, you can use the other techniques in this list to help relieve bloating.  

Get Your Yoga On:

            Yoga can be very beneficial in helping to reduce bloating, but it all depends on the poses. Because yoga helps to relax tension in the body, it can promote healthy circulation and movement in the body. There are 6 yoga poses that help decrease bloating more than others. Downward Facing Dog, Revolved Chair Pose, Supine Spinal Twist, Revolved Wide-Legged Forward, Revolved Side Angle Pose, and Half Lord of the Flashes are the poses to practice. They involve torso rotation and spinal relaxation.

            No one likes to feel bloated, so burst that bubble with the above tips. Let me know if these tips helped you.