Bloating

01Jul

What is it?

Abdominal bloating, commonly known as distension is a gastrointestinal issue characterised by symptoms of trapped gas, abdominal pressure and fullness. Bloating can usually occur at the same time as functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome and functional constipation. Other causes of bloating can include food intolerances, eating too much and too quickly, eating too much fibre that your body isn’t use to or even swallowing air when eating, drinking or chewing gum.

How to prevent bloating?

• Keep meals small and moderate – never leave a meal feeling full.
• Eat slowly, savouring every bite and chewing until your food is tiny.
• Food combine- eat proteins and carbohydrates separately and fruit alone.
• Eat clean, healthy food – fruit, vegetables, whole grains and natural oils such as nuts and oils.
• Drink plenty of water but away from meals.
• If introducing fibre, introduce it slowly (oats, avocado, fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds).
• Avoid carbonated drinks such as sparkling mineral water, alcohol like beer and soft drinks.

 

Natural ways to treat it?

• Probiotics – restoring good gut bacteria into your belly
• Fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kefir
• Dietary changes – food combining*, remove sugars from diet

*Food combining is a principle that says when digestion is slow or impaired we should eat foods together that support an easier digestion process. Therefore, you shouldn’t eat protein and carbohydrates together as they are both hard to digest and also compete needing very different enzymes. Just eat protein with greens as a meal or carbohydrates with greens (but don’t eat simple carbohydrates as anything white is just sugar). This principle also means eating fruit by itself as it digests faster, moving it through the system and not getting caught behind a steak where there is potential for rotting to take place, causing gas and then bloating.