Know Your Digestion System & Cook Accordingly
Not all stomachs are created equally, so catering to your issues and patterns is key. “In individuals with IBS we’d be more likely to recommend cooked fruits and vegetables,” says Monica Auslander Moreno, MS, RD, LD/N, nutrition consultant for RSP Nutrition.“However, for certain types of constipation-related bloat, we might recommend more raw fruit and vegetables to help with transit.” The nutritionist adds that while dried fruits can be helpful in small portions for the latter condition, relying on the candy-like foods is not ideal. “Fresh fruit is generally preferred more often since dried fruits tend to have more sugar and fewer nutrients ,” says Moreno.
Broccoli And Other Cruciferous Vegetables
The cruciferous vegetable family includes broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts and several others.
These are very healthy, containing many essential nutrients like fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron and potassium.
However, they also contain FODMAPs, so they may cause bloating in some people .
Cooking cruciferous vegetables may make them easier to digest.
What to eat instead: There are many possible alternatives, including spinach, cucumbers, lettuce, sweet potatoes and zucchini.
First Why Do You Experience Bloating
“Bloating can be caused by a number of factors that lead to large amounts of air being trapped in the digestive tract,” says Rania Batayneh, MPH, owner of Essential Nutrition For You and author of The One One One Diet. Batayneh explains that there are a few reasons why you’re feeling bloated:
- what you’re eating
- how you eat
- IBS
- having an unidentified food sensitivity
- genetics
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What Causes Stomach Bloating
The last meal you ate is sitting deep inside of your belly right now, churning and breaking down in a soup of acid and enzymes. Its a digestive process that typically moves things along pretty efficiently.
Some food, though, tends to linger longer than it should in your winding intestinal track. Food that sits begins to decompose and ferment.
The result? Youre going to get some gassiness, says Czerwony.
That bloated feeling you get after eating certain foods is essentially those gasses building up internally. Basically, youre inflating like a balloon which can suddenly make you feel like youre about to burst.
Summary: How To Reduce Bloating
There isnât a single superfood that can miraculously cure bloating, however, much you eat. In fact, eating too much of any one food type can in some cases make bloating and other digestion problems worse. More important than eating any single food is consuming as wide a range of gut-healthy foods as possible.
18 June 2020
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Worst: Broccoli Cabbage Kale
Kale, broccoli, and cabbage are cruciferous vegetables and contain raffinosea sugar that remains undigested until bacteria in your gut ferment it. That produces gas and makes you bloat. But don’t shun those healthful greens just yet. “Consistently eating nutrient-rich, high-fiber foods leads to having a stronger, healthier digestive system that’s less prone to bloating,” Cynthia Sass, RD, MPH, Health contributing nutrition editor, tells Health.
So keep eating the green stuff, but limit your portions. And if you absolutely can’t part ways with even a gram of kale, steam it: “Cooking any vegetable softens the fiber and shrinks the portion as some of the water cooks out, so it takes up less space in the GI tract,” Sass says. It won’t eliminate or prevent bloating altogether, but it may make your veggies easier to digest.
Why Some Foods Cause Gas
As a general rule of thumb, gassy foods are those that contain certain types of carbohydrates, soluble fiber , or both.
These substances are not fully absorbed in the small intestine and instead make their way down to the large intestine where they are broken down by gut bacteria. The product of this process is gas.
You can avoid gas by eating less carbohydrates and soluble fiber.
It is important to know that some gas is normal and that many gassy foods, like beans and broccoli, are good for you. Try to limit your diet to the non-gassy foods only when you absolutely must remain gas-free.
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Avoid Rapid Weight Gain
Rapid weight gain is linked to bloating for several reasons.
First, a buildup of fat in your stomach area may constrain your bowels, increasing tension and contributing to bloating. Additionally, fat may have inflammatory effects, contributing to hypersensitivity in your gut .
Finally, unwanted weight gain may cause you to focus attention on your stomach area, which may increase your perception of bloating .
If you have overweight or obesity and are experiencing bloating, trying some healthy strategies for weight loss such as exercise and limiting portion sizes may be beneficial.
Summary
Rapid weight gain may contribute to bloating by increasing bowel tension, inflammation, and mental focus on your stomach area. Conversely, weight loss may help reduce these effects.
Ways To Reduce Flatulence And Bloating With Gas Causing Vegetables
Some people will be particularly sensitive to vegetables with high levels of oligosaccharides, fructans or sulfur compounds. They may need to greatly reduce or even eliminate these kind of foods to avoid gastrointestinal problems.
Replace them with healthy low gas vegetables, like butternut squash, carrots, celery, parsley, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, eggplant, spinach, Swiss chard, alfalfa and small amounts of steamed potatoes.
These veggies dont commonly cause gas and you should be able to enjoy them without experiencing bloating and excessive flatulence the next day.
The FODMAP diet can be helpful to pinpoint which particular foods are most problematic if you are having ongoing gastrointestinal upsets.
For those who experience occasional bad gas and bloating, and suspect it might be from some of the 10 gas causing vegetables listed above, the following three tips should help to minimize future problems.
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Gas & Bloating Due To Sibo
In my clinical experience, the #1 cause of severe bloating and gas is SIBO, or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. SIBO occurs when the bacteria from your colon and large intestine overgrow and colonize in your small intestine. These bacteria feed off of and ferment the undigested carbohydrates in your small intestine, causing a buildup of hydrogen and/or methane gas. If you have SIBO, you must overcome this gut imbalance before you can banish bloating and gas for good. Take this quiz to find out if SIBO is the root cause of your digestive symptoms.
Treating your SIBO is a 3-step approach that works to eliminate the overgrowth and restore your guts natural balance. My SIBO Breakthrough® Program is a step-by-step process to help you beat small intestinal bacterial overgrowth for good. With the SIBO Breakthrough® Program, not only do you get information, supplements, and a solution, you also get the support you need to take on these three steps and banish bloating and gas for good.
How To Prevent Gas From Cauliflower
Broccoli and cauliflower are two popular veggies from the cruciferous family. They are versatile and healthy but they contain something called raffinose a type of carbohydrate that gets fermented by our gut bacteria.
Along with the sulfur in those veggies, this can result in smelly gas!
If you get used to eating cauliflower bit by bit, you wont have to deal with bloating and gas from it.
Steps towards a better tolerance of cruciferous vegetables include: cooking them, chewing them well, pureeing them and eating them with herbs and spices that aid digestion.
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Surprising Foods To Fight Holiday Bloat
You came, you saw, you con sumed just a wee-bit too much of Grandmas good ol gingerbread men. Now youre determined to make your healthy eating habits even better. Thankfully, theres nothing like the clean slate of a new year to reinvigorate a little #fitspo into our daily lives. Were sharing foods that will help you beat tummy bloat and even fight gassiness. Best of all? Theyre all nutritionist-backed and big on tastiness. Between eating mindfully and following these suggestions, we officially give you permission to make your next stop: Destination Peppermint Bark.
1. Arugula: Sure, you could have just another boring romaine salad. But this zesty salad green is well worth adding to your routine. Poorly digested foods are one of the main culprits of bloating, explains Lisa Hayim, RD, M.S. in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. While many bitter flavors may help with bloating, arugula is so tasty and simple to incorporate. You just make it the base of your salad, or toss in with your protein or grain . While most greens are tough and fibrous and may cause gas formation, the bitter flavor you taste in arugula triggers the release of the hormone gastrin, which speeds up the process of fat digestion. When there is less time during digestion, there is less time for gas to be formed.
Are you ready to turn a new leaf for the new year? Tweet us your favorite healthy foods !
Onions Garlic Leeks And Shallots
Another set of vegetables that can cause gas and digestive problems are onions and the closely related garlic, leeks and shallots. These all contain high levels of fructans, such as inulin and fructooligosaccharides.
While considered a prebiotic, the fructans in onions, leeks, shallots and garlic can cause gastrointestinal issues for many people, including bloating, excessive gas and even diarrhea and an aggravation of IBS symptoms.
If you experience intestinal pain after eating a meal with a lot of onion in it then a cup of ginger tea can usually help relieve it .
Shallots, leeks, onions and especially garlic are also particularly high in sulfur compounds and can lead to some very smelly farts if eaten in excess. Eating parsley in the same meal as members of the onion family can help reduce both their gassiness and odor.
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Start Off Slowly With Problem Vegetables
The vegetables on the list above are some of the healthiest around but its generally best to start off slowly when adding more of them to your diet.
Unsoaked beans and legumes will often cause gas due to their very high raffinose content but there are some more potential solutions, including for baked beans here.
Many people find they can handle cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli and cauliflower, well if they build up of their intestinal tolerance to them over time. This involves starting off slowly with a smaller amount in meals and gradually increasing the serving size.
Generally, a mixture of vegetables will cause less problems than a whole plate of broccoli on its own. Similarly, vegetables like onions and mushrooms usually only cause flatulence in larger amounts.
Artichokes, though, do seem to have strong gas producing effects even at smaller servings and it takes a very capable digestive tract to handle them without intestinal upsets.
A broad spectrum digestive enzyme that breaks down oligosaccharides like raffinose and many other difficult to digest components of food can also be very helpful for reducing intestinal problems and excess gas.
This one is the most effective Ive found and is best taken just before a potentially hard to digest meal with a big glass of water.
When To Ask Your Doctor About Bloating
Temporary bloating is common and nothing to worry about. But if youâre troubled by bloating on a regular basis, talk to your doctor.
Physical obstructions such as scarring of the stomach opening can make it hard for food to pass through the digestive tract normally. If your doctor diagnoses a physical obstruction in the stomach or small intestines, surgery may be required to correct it. Bloating can also be caused by impaired muscle function in the digestive tract. When muscles that normally move food along donât work properly, gas can build up in the small intestines, causing bloating. In some cases, gas in the intestines may go the wrong way, returning to the stomach.
Persistent bloating or distention may also signal potentially serious conditions, such as enlargement of one of the abdominal organs or a malignancy.
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Foods That Cause Bloating
Bloating is when your belly feels swollen or enlarged after eating.
It is usually caused by gas or other digestive issues (
3 ).
Although bloating may be a symptom of a serious medical condition, it is usually caused by something in the diet .
Here are 13 foods that can cause bloating, along with suggestions on what to eat instead.
What Are Some Other Ways To Avoid Bloat
Eating the right foods is a great way to keep bloat at bay, but its not the only thing that can help.
Eat slowly
For starters, how you eat is just as important as what you eat. When you eat quickly, you swallow more air, which contributes to bloating, explains Cassetty. To combat this, make an effort to eat slowly and chew foods more thoroughly. Remember, its a marathon, not a race.
Limit FODMAPS
Its also important to limit your intake of carbohydrates known as FODMAPS, which arent well digested and get fermented, thereby producing excess gas and bloating. Examples of high-FODMAP foods are dried fruit, cauliflower, kale, and milk. People with IBS are especially vulnerable to bloating when they consume these foods, but some of these carbohydrates can cause bloating even in people who dont have IBS, Cassetty says. Sugar alcohols, for example, which are found in sugar-free candies and gum, are hard for most people to digest.
Limit processed foods
Try to keep your consumption of processed foods to a minimum, and instead focus on whole and minimally processed foods. Its important to eat a range of plant foods, including a half plate of fruits or veggies at all of your meals, Cassetty advises. This strategy helps you reduce your sodium intake and boost your potassium intake, which can help minimize bloating from water retention.” Its also a good strategy for increasing your fiber intake.
Keep the fizzy stuff to a minimum
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Take A Digestive Enzyme
The reason that vegetables are so apt to make you bloat is the specific nutrients in their makeup. The carbohydrates in some vegetables are responsible for bloating, especially among those individuals who do not make certain enzymes in sufficient amounts to digest them, explains Best. This can lead to gas and bloating, but by taking an enzyme when you eat these vegetables you can stop most of the bloating caused by a lack of enzymes. That being said, its important to speak with your doctor or a healthcare professional before integrating any new supplements into your routine in order to reduce any negative reactions or side effects that may arise.
Tips And Tricks From A Registered Dietitian
Weve all been there. As soon as you start eating more whole foods, you get hit with an unwanted side-effectbloating. You would think your efforts to eat healthier foods would result in a slimmer waistline, but instead youre having a harder time zipping up your jeans! Whats going on?
The culprit for unwanted bloating and gas is commonly fiber, a nutrient thats plentiful in natural, non-processed foods. Before you think you should cut back this beneficial nutrient, youll want to know whats exactly causing your bloating and what you can do to prevent it.
This unwanted side effect doesnt have to happen to you. The following tips can eliminate bloating and improve digestion so you can go high-fiber and low-carb without the bloat!
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Check For Lactose Intolerance
Lactose is a sugar found in milk.
Your body needs an enzyme called lactase to break down lactose. However, most people dont produce enough of this enzyme to break down lactose once they reach adulthood. The resulting condition is called lactose intolerance (
22 ):
- Increasing your fiber intake. Aim for 1830 grams per day of both soluble and insoluble fiber from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
- Drinking adequate fluids. Drink 68.5 cups per day of water and other fluids.
- Exercising regularly. Walking, jogging, swimming, or bicycling for about 30 minutes each day may help keep your bowels moving regularly.
Keep in mind that you may need to increase your soluble fiber intake with caution, as this type of fiber is fermented in your colon and may contribute to bloated feelings .
Additionally, adding fiber to your diet too rapidly may worsen constipation, so its important to increase your intake slowly. Aim for an intake of 25 grams per day for women and 38 grams per day for men .
While constipation may be relieved with medication, certain types like bulk and osmotic laxatives may make bloating worse, so talk with your doctor about your symptoms to determine whats best for you .
Summary
Constipation may cause or exacerbate symptoms of bloating. Increased fiber and fluid intake, as well as physical activity, are effective natural treatments.
39 ).
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Non Bloating Vegetables To Add To Your Diet
One way to reduce bloating quickly is to eat vegetables that are part of the low FODMAP diet.
If youre not familiar with the term FODMAP, it stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols.
A diet that is low in FODMAPs means that you temporarily restrict the consumption of certain types of indigestible carbohydrates.
When done for a short period of time, the low FODMAP diet can provide relief from a variety of digestive and irritable bowel problems.
Here are some non-bloating vegetables that are either free of FODMAPs or low FODMAP :
- Alfalfa sprouts
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