Eat Slowly So You Don’t Gulp Air
When you finally get home after a long day, you’re totally famishedwe get it. But that doesn’t mean you should scarf down your dinner in a hurry. Eating too quickly causes you to swallow excess air, which can lead to uncomfortable gas and bloating. Slowing down the chewing with your mouth closed, on the other hand, can have the opposite effect. Fight off the urge to engorge your entire meal by snacking on something like a small piece of fruit or an ounce of nuts before dinner is ready.
Check For Any Food Allergies And/or Intolerances
Allergies and intolerances arent always something that people are aware of. In fact, they can evolve and become more prevalent as you age, and although not as severe as a peanut allergy or lactose intolerance can be, an unrecognised allergy or intolerance can cause mayhem to your body and its digestive system. Food intolerances are very common and can include lactose , fructose , eggs , wheat and gluten .
If gluten is the thing causing you trouble, youre in luck, as restaurants and food manufacturers are becoming increasingly aware of gluten intolerance and are providing a wide range of gluten-free options as part of their menu and range of stock. You can see your doctor for more information on allergies and intolerances, and to determine if you may have one.
Dont Multitask While Eating
According to the Cleveland Clinic, more Americans than ever are eating in front of their phones and TVs. Distracted eating often results in a higher intake of calories. Faster eating, which we tend to do while distracted, also introduces more air into the digestive system, causing you guessed it bloating.
How To Reduce Bloating Quickly
Belly bloating is uncomfortable and can be quite stressful. Youre not just left feeling fat, but you can struggle to fit into clothes, and you may even see some weight gain on the scales. You just feel so sluggish and want to curl up until it goes away.
Some women suffer from it just during their time of the month, but you may have it after every meal. In some cases, it can appear for what seems like no reason, and youre left wondering what you can do to get rid of it.
The good news is you dont just have to wait for your body to behave. Youre not a slave to your hormones or your bodily functions. It is possible to reduce bloating, and you can do it quickly.
Step 1: Flex Your Gut Muscles
First, find a flat surface. A yoga mat or a bed will work.
Lie down, face up, and hug your knees like this.
Hold it for a few seconds, and then let go.
Repeat 2-3 times to free your legs.
Now, repeat one more time but this time, hug your knees as tight as you can.
Breathe out, and raise your head to your knees.
Try to hold for 5 counts.
If you can do 5, push for 10.
If you can do 10, push for 15.
Relax, breathe in again.
Here is a guided video for you.
If you want to try something a little more advanced, try this variation instead.
How Do I Get Rid Of Bloating Fast
For quick results, grab a water bottle and hit the streets for a . Walking helps get your stomach contents moving and water does, too.
Stay clear of carbonated water and drinks, though, as the bubbles sometimes add air to the stomachand you dont want that.
Remember that getting rid of bloat fast isnt always super simple and its not always a quick fix. But if you are feeling full and tight in the abdominal area, the best thing to do is to get moving!
Rule Out Wheat Allergies Or Lactose Intolerance
Food allergies and intolerances can cause gas and bloating. But these need to be confirmed by your doctor. Many people self-diagnose these conditions and unnecessarily eliminate healthy dairy and whole grains from their diets. If you suspect you have an or intolerance, see your doctor for tests.
You may benefit from reducing the amount of the suspected food or eating it with other foods. In the case of dairy, it can help to choose aged cheeses and yogurts, which are lower in lactose.
Continued
Why Do You Get A Bloated Stomach
Bloat sneaks up on you in surprising ways, depending on what you eat, certain habits you have, and even specific medical conditions. For example, bloating can be a result of digestive distress from eating certain foods , eating habits that cause you to take in more air, and even certain conditions such as a weak heart or being pregnant can all contribute to water retention.
Women can also retain water while they’re menstruating. Those who have irritable bowel syndrome can also experience uncomfortable bouts of bloating after eating foods that contain or during moments of stress.
Home Remedies For Bloating
Home Remedies
That feeling when your jeans just dont fit like they did last weekwomen know it well. Being more prone to bloating than men, women are likely to experience several of these days each month around the time Mother Nature arrives for her monthly visit. Although bloating is normal, the feeling is still unpleasant. Thankfully, there are some easy at-home remedies for reducing bloating.
Don’t Sleep Immediately After A Meal
Going to sleep immediately after a meal doesn’t allow your body any time to process the meal, says Dr. Sonpal. He recommends going for a walk after eating in order to produce the energy needed to digest the food. “Going to bed right after eating cripples your digestive process, slowing down the breakdown of your food,” he says.
Step 5: Try Home Remedies
While over the counter medications can be good for your bloating, they may not be the best for your overall health. Theres the problem of not knowing all the chemicals used in the medication. How do you know what its doing to your heart, your brain, and other organs?
Home remedies are natural, and they are so much cheaper. You can use ingredients that you likely already have in the cupboards. If you need to buy something, its not going to be as expensive as medications and trips to the doctor.
Some home remedies have helped women deal with that time of the month, bloating from constipation and even the pain felt due to Crohns disease and other medical conditions.
Here are just a few home remedies to try before you start buying any medication.
Get Rid Of Constipation Fast At Home Long
If you have a little bit of time, you can try a laxative the night before.
The two most commonly used, natural laxatives include senna leaves and isabgol.
Senna leaves work by contracting the colon, so your waste moves.
Isabgol adds more mass to push your waste. Isabgol side effects can be painful so itss better to find an alternate.
Both are certified safe in small quantities, but will only provide temporary relief.
If you are looking to get rid of constipation at home, permanently, you may want to start by reading this guide.
Eat At Regular Intervals
Many people experience bloating directly after a big meal. It is possible to avoid this by eating several smaller meals each day, which can help to keep the digestive system moving.
Swallowing food quickly can introduce air into the digestive tract. Drinking from a straw can also lead to people swallowing more air, which in turn leads to gas and bloating. People who have bloating should avoid using straws if possible and try eating slowly to avoid swallowing air during meals.
How To Get Rid Of Belly Bloat Fast
Need to know how to get rid of belly bloat in 24 hours? Maybe you have an event coming up soon and have to wear a nice dress. Or maybe youre trying to lose the massive bloating after a weekend of bad eating. Or maybe youre sick of your stomach looking like theres a balloon in it.
Theres no doubt the belly bloat is both unsightly and uncomfortable. The thought of having to wear a skin-tight dress with a bloated belly can be nerve-racking. Nobody wants to look like theyre 8 months pregnant because they have a bloated stomach.
Even if youre skinny or have lost weight you can still have a bloated stomach that sticks out as far as your chest. Ive seen people who have abs you can still see even though their stomach is ballooned out. Its easy to become frustrated even though youve lost weight but your gut is still way bloated.
And just cutting more calories isnt going to be the answer. To undo the damage and to help reduce bloating youre going to have to stop it at the source. Water retention is one of the main causes of a bloated stomach but its not the only one. To get over constantly being bloated you need to uncover some of the hidden culprits.
Here youll discover how to lose your belly bloat fast. Youll be able to discover a solution for your bloated stomach here even if youve tried everything else with failure. Now lets get into it so you can finally lose that belly bloat.
Table of Contents
Reducing The Need To Fart
Farting is the way the body releases swallowed air and other trapped gasses. The positions listed above may help relieve gas temporarily, but many people also look for ways to reduce the need to pass gas.
While it may be impossible to make farts disappear completely, there are some ways to reduce the number of times a person has to pass gas each day.
Many foods increase the amount of gas that results from the digestion of food. Beans are well-known culprits, but these pulses contain many nutrients so should still be included in a healthful diet.
Soaking beans before cooking them may help reduce in some people, while others may want to limit the quantity of beans they eat.
Cutting down on other foods that cause gas may help as well. This includes foods high in sulfur or certain fermentable carbs and fibers, such as:
- cauliflower
- beer
- carbonated drinks
Dairy foods, including cheese and ice cream, may also cause gas, especially for people who are sensitive to lactose.
Another important tip is to chew all food slowly and with a closed mouth. A lot of trapped gas is swallowed air, which is more likely to happen if a person eats quickly or with their mouth open.
Only Drink Water Or Tea
When people are bloated, they tend to skimp on water because they think it will make their bloating worse. Since water retention is the body’s way of holding onto fluid so it doesn’t dehydrate, the opposite is true. Drinking lots of water signals the body that it no longer needs to hold onto every last drop to stay hydrated. “Fluids, specifically water, are absolutely key for optimal digestion,” says Isabel Smith, MS, RD, CDN, registered dietitian and founder of Isabel Smith Nutrition.
These Are The Common Symptoms Of Bloating:
Pooping will feel almost impossible because your stool will be hard like pebbles
You will tend to pass a lot of gas when you are bloated
You will burp. A lot.
Youll experience stomach cramps
Your abdomen and not the stomach will increase in size
Another belly bloat symptom is that even after doing a number two, your belly will still full.
Essential reading: How to Overcome Emotional Eating
Take Time To Meditate
The older, wiser, less-bendy sister of yoga, meditation is an amazing activity that people can reap major rewards from. A 2014 study in Eating Behaviorsfound that individuals who meditate are less likely to overeat or give in to emotional eatingand this is key if you want to stay on track with your anti-bloat plan over the next day. To get started, unroll a yoga mat or sit on a carpet in a sunny room and take five uninterrupted minutes thinking about something that you’re grateful for.
Yoga And Sleeping Positions
Yoga can stretch the stomach and digestive tract to release trapped gas and relieve bloating. Yoga poses that relieve gas include wind-removing pose, supine twist, cat-cow pose, and happy baby.
The best sleeping positions to relieve gas include keeping your head elevated, sleeping on your left side, and lying face down.
Read more:
Get More Active Every Day
Exercise helps your body move stool and gas out of the colon and may make bowel movements more regular. Exercise also releases extra sodium from the body through sweating, which can help to relieve water retention.
It is vital to drink plenty of water before and after exercising to stay hydrated, as can make constipation worse.
How To Get Rid Of Belly Bloat Once And For All
Bloating affects most women and for some, its a persistent condition. But, all is not lost. You can get rid of belly bloat, as easy as ABC. Men are no exception to bloating- they also suffer from it just not as much as women, and theres a reason for that.
Women suffer more from belly bloat than men because, a womans intestines are longer than a mans, plus, women experience hormonal fluctuations throughout their lives.
The change in hormone levels in women happens at various stages in life such as puberty, menstruation and menopause. During this time, the body will hold on to water, which may cause bloating.
Other factors may cause bloating in the stomach we shall discuss them in detail as we go along.
I am pretty sure you just want to know the best way to get rid of belly bloat, but they say prevention is much better than cure.
Essential reading: 10 worst foods that cause bloating and gas
It will be wise of us to learn about what causes bloating in the stomach, the common belly bloat symptoms, foods to avoid if you regularly suffer from bloating and finally, how to beat belly bloat.
Most of us want quick fixes such as detox drinks to get rid of bloating. And quite often, quick solutions tend to work, but only for a short time.
And a few days later, the same problem comes back to bother us, and we go back to square one.
How To Prevent Gas
Gas pain can just be a nuisance or be due to a medical condition such as celiac disease or irritable bowel syndrome, possibly requiring the aid of a medical professional. But in general, preventing gas pain is something that can be prevented by altering lifestyle habits and diet. The following are some tips you can start doing today to prevent stomach pain:
- Stop chewing gum, as you tend to swallow more air doing so
- Avoid smoking
- Chew with your mouth closed to avoid swallowing excess air
- Cut out gas triggering foods from your diet
- Avoid straws, as they are sucking a lot of air in as well
- Incorporate more exercise into your daily routine
- Avoid the consumption of carbonated beverages and food known to cause stomach upset
- Eat fewer fatty foods
- Read labels
- Temporarily cut back on high-fiber foods
These 23 natural remedies can help you finally get relief from embarrassing gas and painful bloating.
Related: Gastritis diet: Foods to eat and avoid, dietary plan and recommendations
Emily Lunardo studied medical sociology at York University with a strong focus on the social determinants of health and mental illness. She is a registered Zumba instructor, as well as a Canfit Pro trainer, who teaches fitness classes on a weekly basis. Emily practices healthy habits in her own life as well as helps others with their own personal health goals. Emily joined Bel Marra Health as a health writer in 2013.
Don’t Multitask When Eating
“I’m almost never just eating a mealI’m also on my computer or watching television or scrolling through my phone,” admits Lindsey Metrus, Byrdie’s senior editor. After a lifetime of bloat, she decided to try traditional Chinese medicine to ward off some of her discomfort. It turns out, the distraction was part of the problem. “Multitasking with some sort of digital distraction leads to overeating or scarfing down food hurriedly, which translates to poor digestion. It’s also one of the main reasons people face spleen qi deficiency,” according to Emma Suttie, D.Ac., AP.
Metrus continues, “I made it a point to enjoy as many meals as I could peacefully and undistracted, focusing on chewing each piece of food since breaking down foods before they get to the spleen means the spleen has less work to do.” Not only will chewing slowly encourage healthier digestion and, in turn, less bloat, but it will also speed up your metabolism .
Ease Into A Yoga Pose
Once the dessert is cleared, find some space to give your body a nice stretch. Gentle poses like Childs pose or Cat/Cow can help relieve abdominal discomfort associated with bloating, Doyle says. Hold each pose for five deep breaths , and continue repeating until you feel some relief, she says. Allow your belly to expand fully with each inhale, Doyle says. This helps to activate your bodys parasympathetic nervous system, or rest and digest mode, which is calming and will allow you to better digest your food.
How To Get Rid Of Gas
Often, your gas is caused by what you eat. Food is digested primarily in your small intestine. What is left undigested is fermented in your with bacteria, fungi, and yeast, as part of digestion. This process produces methane and hydrogen, which are expelled as flatus.
For many people, changing dietary habits is enough to alleviate gas and its accompanying symptoms. One way to determine which foods are giving you gas is by keeping a food diary. Common culprits include:
- foods with high fat content
- fried or spicy food
- artificial ingredients commonly found in low-carbohydrate and sugar-free products, such as sugar alcohol, sorbitol, and maltitol
- beans and lentils
- cruciferous vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli
- or prune juice
- foods containing lactose, such as milk, cheese, and other dairy products
- fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols molecules found in a wide range of foods, such as garlic and onion, that may be hard to digest
- over-the-counter fiber drinks and supplements
Once you figure out what food is causing the gas, you can modify your diet to avoid the culprit.
If changing your diet doesnt completely do the trick, you have several options to try.
How To Prevent Bloating
You can reduce the possibility that you will feel bloated by being careful about what you eat. Avoid foods that tend to make you bloated. Make sure you chew slowly and thoroughly to make digestion easier.
Sitting up straight or taking a walk after eating can also help with digestion. These can reduce bloating by preventing your body from producing excess gas.
If youre not sure whats causing your bloating, talk to your doctor. They might suggest an elimination , in which you remove bloat-causing foods. These might include dairy products, certain grains, and/or certain sweeteners.
Step 2: Improve Your Digestive System
The next step is to focus on the food that you eat. Stop eating the foods that cause your bloating and focus on a healthy andmore importantlybalanced diet.
So the fibre in the vegetables is causing a problemits time to cut down on them and start eating other foods more. So the pasta is causing stomach swelling. Its time to cut it out and switch for foods that dont make you uncomfortable.
The simple question you need to answer is why youre doing it to yourself? You know that the bloating is caused by a specific food. Its really time that you put your health first more than the taste you get when eating the food. Just because pasta is easy to make doesnt mean its going to be easy for your body to take!
You will still need fibre, though. If you think constipation is causing your bloating, its time to help your bowels. Eat more vegetables and drink plenty of water. Soften those stool to help them pass through your system.
If you need to, then take some laxatives to help you this time. From now on, focus on drinking and eating more of the right things to avoid constipation happening again.
Its also worth avoiding food that has a lot of sodium. This type of food will lead to dehydration, and the body will start to hold onto as much water as possible. Your body may also react to inflammation and pain.
If you believe youre taking in air, look for how that could happen. Stop drinking through straws and avoid chewing gum, for example.
Proven Ways To Reduce Or Eliminate Bloating
Bloating is when your belly feels swollen after eating .
It is usually caused by excess gas production or disturbances in the movement of the muscles of the digestive system .
Bloating can often cause pain, discomfort and a stuffed feeling. It can also make your stomach look bigger .
Bloating is not the same as water retention, but the two terms are often used interchangeably. Put simply, bloating involves excessive amounts of solids, liquids or gas in your digestive system.
However, in some people, bloating is caused mostly by increased sensitivity. It just feels as if there is increased pressure in the abdomen, even though there isnt (
).
Although bloating is sometimes caused by serious medical conditions, it is most often caused by the diet and some foods or ingredients you are intolerant to.
Here are 11 proven ways to reduce or eliminate bloating.
When To See A Doctor
For most women, period bloating is unpleasant but does not stop them from being able to get on with their day.
However, if period bloating affects a womans daily life, it is a good idea for her to speak to her doctor.
If bloating does not go away after a period, it is also a good idea to talk to a doctor. Bloating can sometimes be a sign of a more serious health condition.
When Is Bloating Cause For Concern
If the above tips don’t help get rid of your bloating and you’re experiencing chronic and painful bloating, Dr. Sonpal says that could be a sign of a larger health issue like celiac disease , certain forms of cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, or a perforated GI tract. In this case, he recommends seeing your doctor or a gastroenterologist for an evaluation.
Dr. Dweck adds that while temporary and mild bloating is, again, totally normal during the second half of your cycle when progesterone is elevated, it should typically resolve with the onset of your period, or shortly thereafter. If the bloating worsens or is persistent throughout your cycle, it could be caused by an underlying condition, like an ovarian cyst, gastrointestinal distress, or even ovarian cancer, so it’s important to talk to your ob-gyn.
Does Bloating Cause Weight Gain
Bloating can cause weight gain, but typically its going to be a pound or two at most. Lets look at this further. If belly bloating causes you to gain weight, it will be because youve eaten too much, and your digestive system has some work to do.
Of course, if you consistently overeat, then you will gain weight. Looking for weight loss hacks? Watch my video for the best tips ever!
If your bloat is due to something like PMS or too much sodium causing you to feel like youve added a few pounds, its highly likely after a few hours the weight will be gone.
What Actually Is Bloating
Bloating occurs when there’s a buildup of “excessive amounts of gas and air,” explains Niket Sonpal, M.D., an NYC-based internist and gastroenterologist. “Bloating is the term used to describe when the stomach feels distended or enlarged after eating or drinking,” he tells InStyle. “It can also develop when a person eats too much, or if they have a sensitivity to a type of food.”
Bloating is also a very common occurrence during your time of the month and can include abdominal distention, cramping, fullness, and the inability to suck your stomach in, says New York-based gynecologist and Midol partner Dr. Alyssa Dweck, M.D.