Top Five Tips On How To Avoid Bloating
Sometimes, despite the fact that you’ve been religiously exercising and have stuck with that tricky diet for months, it seems that there is just no way to achieve the flat tummy you’ve been working towards. You’ve lost the extra weight but at certain times you still look and feel like you’ve just swallowed a football! Does this sound familiar?
Any sufferer of bloating knows that a swollen tummy is just one of many symptoms associated with this most unfair of afflictions, some of which can cause real discomfort. If you are living with symptoms like this you should visit your doctor for advice as it may be a sign that something else is wrong that needs to be treated.
Meanwhile we have been looking at ways that you can help to beat common bloating caused by issues such as diet and stress, we hope that our top five tips may be helpful for anyone looking for solutions to this annoying problem.
Avoid stress. Stress can cause so many problems and bloating is just one of them. This is due to the hormone cortisol which leaps into action when we are stressed causing a number of affects – one being cravings for fats and sugars. One of the best ways to control the level of cortisol in the bloodstream is just a few minutes of physical exercise everyday.
Take your time. With the busy lifestyles that many of us lead it is very easy to get into bad habits that may cause us to rush meals. When you eat quickly you may unwittingly swallow air along with your food, which then gets trapped and causes bloating. Try chewing your food 30 times before swallowing, you may not wish to stick with this discipline but it is a great way to become more conscious of the way that you eat and to adjust it accordingly.
Walk it off. While we are not suggesting that you head straight for the gym after your dinner some gentle exercise following a meal will help to release trapped air in your GI tract. Consider a 10 minute stroll to the shop if you feel bloated after a meal and you should notice a difference.
Little and often. Eating smaller portions is kinder to your tummy so try having 4-5 small meals a day rather than 3 large ones. It is important that you keep your portion sizes under control if you get into this habit but it can be really helpful for both bloating and weight gain as it also keeps your metabolism ticking over nicely and prevents the kind of hunger that can lead to large portions.
Diet. Some foods simply cause bloating no matter how you eat them. Avoid fried and spicy foods, excess salt and high carbohydrate foods (such as pasta and bread), fizzy drinks, alcohol, tea, coffee, acidic citrus fruits or juices and sugar substitutes if you suffer from bloating. Chewing gum should also be avoided, as it can cause you to swallow air.
We hope these tips have been helpful.