By Phebe Lerner
We’ve all experienced being bloated, usually after a big meal or towards the end of the day. However, if feeling uncomfortably bloated is part of your day-to-day life, it might be worth looking into your daily routine and making a few changes to help make you feel more at ease.
First of all, what causes bloating?
The most frequent cause is gas, usually from simply swallowing air or as a by-product of our digestive tract breaking down food. Although gas is part of a properly functioning and healthy digestive system, some habits can create excess gas - such as chewing gum, eating and drinking too fast or smoking. It also happens because some foods are harder to digest than others. Here are examples of foods that may cause bloating: Beans, lentils, soybeans and peas.
These all contain sugar and fibres the body has difficulty absorbing.
FODMAP foods (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols). These have carbohydrates the small intestine has difficulty digesting, causing them to build up in our system and create excess gas. Some examples of FODMAP foods are onions, watermelon, artichokes, beets and some fruit such as apricots, cherries and peaches.
Bloating can also be linked to stress and hormones. Stress impacts the function of our digestive system, redirecting energy away from digestion and causing bloating.
Periods are another factor. During the menstrual cycle, through changing progesterone and oestrogen levels our bodies retain more water and salt, causing us to feel more bloated.
Ways to help prevent bloating:
One way to help deal with bloating caused by food is to exercise gently after eating. Yoga and walking are believed to aid digestion and help combat stress.
Drinking water or peppermint tea may also help. Water helps us pass the fibre we are ingesting. It’s recommended we drink up to two litres a day along with a fibre rich diet.
Avoiding processed foods can also reduce bloating as they often contain quantities of salt. When preparing your own food you should minimise the use of salt. Try experimenting with different herbs and spices to add flavour to your recipes instead.
Ingredients such as ginger, fennel and mint can actually help digestion and can be incorporated into your diet through teas, smoothies and in various meals.
Overall, to help prevent bloating, it’s important to promote good gut health. In fact, gut health is increasingly thought to be a key element of our overall physical and emotional wellbeing, affecting sleep, energy, our moods, the condition of our skin and how our hormones function. Research also suggests that taking care of our gut can positively impact our mental health, in some cases reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Probiotics can help with this and are found in fermented foods such as yoghurts or in dietary supplements. They are living microorganisms that introduce the type of “good” bacteria we need to maintain healthy bodily functions.
Although products like beans and lentils can cause bloating, it’s important to include vegetables in your diet as they boost gut health. By building up your intake of vegetables over time you can increase your tolerance to them and digest them better.
Bloating can sometimes make us feel self-conscious, it is important to note that a certain amount of bloating is completely natural and marks the healthy functioning of our digestive system. Some influencers, such as Bree Lenehan, have taken to Instagram to show off their bloat as a way of promoting body positivity, helping women feel more comfortable in their bodies.