HOW TO STOP BLOATING AND PREVENT IT NATURALLY.
Who would like to know how to stop bloating?
I bet that everyone who experienced it at least once.
It’s actually hard to stop it but easier to prevent.
The severity of bloating varies from mild discomfort to severe, and it can affect the quality of life significantly.
Bloating has been first described by Alvarez of the Mayo Clinic in 1949.
A study shows that in the USA, 15-30% of the general population experienced bloating. Similar results are in Asia (15-23%)
Data also shows that women typically have higher rates of bloating than men according to the reports of IBS. (1)
In this post, I will point out symptoms, causes, and possible remedies to get rid of bloating for good.
BLOATING SYMPTOMS
Bloating ranges from mild to severe but is challenging to quantify and almost impossible to standardize occurring symptoms.
Most of the time, it is a sensation of fullness, heaviness, tightness, or discomfort.
Bloating occurs in conjunction with other gastrointestinal disorders, such as IBS. According to the study, up to 50% of patients who experienced bloating also had IBS syndrome. (2)
BLOATING CAUSES
There can be many reasons standing behind bloating, but most of the time it comes down to dysfunction of the small intestine caused by constipation, water retention or both.
WATER CONTENT
It’s a fact that slowly absorbed short-chain carbohydrates, such as fructose and mannitol, considerably increase the volume of water in the small intestine.
It can further lead to the relatively rapid production of gases such as hydrogen.
COLONIC CONSTIPATION AND REDUCED BOWEL MOVEMENTS
Reduced bowel movement frequency and colonic constipation cause gas handling, leading to symptoms of bloating.
HOW TO STOP BLOATING AND PREVENT IT?
Bloating is usually an effect of a few factors.
Therefore there is no quick fix or just one remedy that solves a problem.
Let’s focus on the most effective solutions that may help to bring relief.
Diet
The first and most possible reason for bloating is a poor diet.
Ingredients that in most of the cases create problems are:
- trans fats
- preservatives
- sugar
- milk
- alcohols
- allergens as gluten, soy, almonds, peanuts,
- too much insoluble fiber
- FOODMAPs
FOODMAPs is a group of poorly absorbed short-chain carbohydrates. Fructooligosaccharides (fructans), galactooligosaccharides, lactose, fructose, sorbitol, and mannitol.
Let me ask you
Have you ever experienced bloating after overeating fruits?
- That’s because of fructose.
Do you get constipation after dairy products?
- It’s because of the lactose.
Eliminating food high in FODMAP is usually the first step to prevent bloating.
PROBIOTICS
Several publications showed that probiotics effectively reduce bloating due to the presence of Lactobacillus.
These are “friendly” bacteria that live in our digestive, urinary, and genital systems without causing disease.
Their role is to convert sugars, such as lactose, into lactic acid.
LACTOBACILLUS is also in some fermented foods like yogurt or sauerkraut.
Adding probiotics to a daily diet will help to digest food easier and therefore avoid constipation which usually leads to bloating.
HOW TO STOP BLOATING WITH FOOD RICH IN NATURAL ENZYMES?
Food naturally packed with enzymes also can be helpful.
Certain enzymes occurring in food help to break down proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Therefore broken macros are easier to process and pusher throughout the digestive system.
HOW TO STOP BLOATING WITH MOVEMENT?
”IF YOU DONT USE IT YOU LOSE IT”
Benjamin P. Hardy wrote brilliantly in his article published on TheLadder.com.
”Human beings, like tomato plants, are organic structures that need constant nourishment. Without a nourishing environment, it doesn’t matter how much potential you have. If you are in a dark room for long, you will wilt and potentially die.”
LACK OF ACTIVITY LOWERS BMR
The higher Basal Metabolic Rate the more efficient your system is. Cardiovascular, nervous, muscular, and digestive systems work in divine order. One depends on another.
You probably know it but I am going to repeat again…
- Regular activity can significantly contribute to better bowel movements.
- Regular cardio exercises prevent cardiovascular diseases.
- Intentional exercising boosts hormones that have an impact on the nervous system.
BUT IT’S NOT ONLY ABOUT AN INTENTIONAL WORKOUT
A properly planned training program that forces you to burn during sessions somewhere between 400 – 700 kcal is mandatory.
Apart from that also you need to take care to walk, move and just be active throughout the day and focus on NEAT.
Non-exercise activity thermogenesis it’s the energy expended for everything we do during a day. I wrote about it in the post about belly fat.
Sitting all day long and working out for 30 minutes to an hour daily it’s better than nothing but it’s not enough. Move more.
THESE WERE MY TIPS ON HOW TO STOP BLOATING AND PREVENT IT.
Let’s list them one more so you won’t forget.
To stop bloating and avoid it in the future, try to:
- not consume high FODMAP food
- take probiotics
- eat food that contains natural enzymes
- move more
I hope that these tips were helpful and you’ll use them for your benefits.
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