5 Tips on How to Relieve Bloating Naturally
Be it a big Christmas meal or a natural response of your body, bloating is not to be taken lightly, no matter the cause. You don’t even have to eat a large meal to feel this way. Studies show that 1 in 10 Americans suffers from bloating regularly and that bloating even affects dogs, not just humans. It can also be caused by stress, worrying and PMS in women.
However, when talking about food, if the quantity doesn’t matter, quality does, as this symptom is caused by your diet. Left untreated, it can lead to serious discomfort and unaesthetic and even painful swelling of the abdomen. There are certain types of medication you can take both prescription and over the counter, but, before you jump to drugs, why not try some natural remedies? Here is a list of some of the best solutions to bloating found in nature.
#1. Being careful with food
As mentioned above and as you probably already know, bloating is directly related to food intake. Here are the main things related to food you should avoid, in order to take care of the bloating symptom naturally:
- Never overeat. This is one of the worst things you can do to your body and it will affect not only your stomach and intestines, but it will also put a strain of the rest of your organs and affect them on the long term.
- Stay away from rich food, especially the type that has fat in it. It can make you feel unnecessarily full and it will take a very long time to digest. This, in turn, will lead to bloating, headaches, sleepiness, stomach ache and indigestion.
- Don’t eat too fast. This means that you have to take your time and chew all the food properly, so that you don’t over exhaust your stomach. Also, it will prevent you from overeating, because satiety signals from the stomach reach the brain in 20 minutes, therefore, you need to make your meals longer than that.
- Don’t eat fruits after a meal. The digestion process that is already happening in the stomach will turn the fruits in a mass of acid which will create a lot of gas.
- Try not to drink anything cold while you are eating, not even in summertime. Room temperature drinks are best when talking about mealtime.
- Reduce your salt intake, because it leads to water and other liquids retention.
- Never eat processed foods, because they are very high in fats, sugars and salt.
- Try to avoid drinking any kind of liquids for 30 minutes after you’ve finished your meal. Ingesting liquids will dilute the acids in your stomach trying to quickly break down the food and slow down the process. The slower the process gets, the more likely it is you’ll get gas from it.
- Here are a few foods that are hardest to digest and which you should, by means of consequence, avoid: butter, rich sauces, citrus fruits, artificial sugar found in sugar-free items, beans, cabbage, sodas, pastries, candy, spicy foods and dairy products. The idea is not to give them up entirely, because some of them are really good for you, but to reduce them.
#2. Avoiding bad habits
Another great way of keeping bloating at bay is by tweaking our daily habits and letting go of the ones that are harmful and which allow far too much air to enter the stomach. Normally, the only gulps of air that should make their way towards the stomach should be the ones taken in with food. Here are some nasty habits that increase the normal air intake and lead to bloating.
- Drinking through a straw;
- Chewing too much gum;
- Drinking sodas all the time;
- Sucking on hard candy and lollipops;
- Breathing exercises for relaxation and meditation which are improperly done;
- Talking fast and loud;
- Breathing through the mouth;
- Smoking, which causes all sorts of problems, but which has recently been linked to bloating.
#3. Food as natural remedy against bloating
If all the above haven’t worked for you and your case of bloating so far or if you haven’t gotten around to trying them, this can only mean that you are now bloated. Here is where the remedies on how to relieve bloating after eating come in. Luckily for us, they are found in nature, are part of our daily diet, can be quite delicious and you may even have some sitting right now in your kitchen cupboards. Here are some remedies on how to relieve a bloated stomach.
- Garlic has been found by some studies to stimulate digestion, which means it will actually help the stomach and the digestive system to break down certain foods. It is also known to be antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral.
- Melons, given the fact that they are made of 92 per cent water, are a perfect way of fighting against bloating. They also help eliminate one of the primary causes that lead to gas and bloating, salt, by simply flushing it out of the system.
- Pineapples have an enzyme called bromelain, which breaks down protein. This means that it too promotes a healthy digestion and helps the body in a tight spot such as bloating.
- Yoghurt has selected good bacteria, which, when joined with the natural bacteria found in your stomach and intestines will create an army to fight off hard to digest foods and flush out chemicals, sugars and salt out of the body.
- Drinking tea is a millennia old treatment for many ailments and, as it turns out, for bloating as well. When feeling all swelled up and gassy in the abdominal area, try drinking a warm cup of ginger, peppermint or fennel tea. You may also take all these plants in the form of a supplement but, for this, it might be best to refer to your doctor first.
- Eat some simple spices to help speed the digestive process along and reduce the bloating you feel. You can try dissolving a bit of ginger, cumin or pepper in a glass of water and drinking it.
#4. Sports help to relieve the pain and pass the gas
Another great way of putting an end to the painful gas and bloating sensation you have is by doing some light sporting exercises. Because this will happen after you eat, do not go running or swimming, but, instead, try some easy movements, such as these.
- Lie on your left side and breathe deeply. Since the stomach is tilted to the left of the body, you will make sure all the acid and digestive juices concentrate in one spot to help break down the foods you ate at a brisker pace.
- Try breathing deeply for 5 minutes, through your nose, not your mouth, so as to force the stomach to start doing its work and relax the other muscles.
- Go for a medium brisk walk for 30 minutes or so. If you want and feel up to it, you can also do a few jumping jacks or even some twists. It will help increase your overall blood circulation. Also, your heart will be beating faster and you will finally release the gas. However, these exercises might put a bit more strain on you than usually, therefore, if you don’t feel good after a few jumping jacks or if you feel like your stomach is trying to regurgitate, stop. It’s better to lie down on your left side, as stated above.
- When looking for tips and tricks on how to relieve bloating and constipation fast, there are also a few easy yoga positions you can try, even if you haven’t done yoga before or if you don’t practice it on a regular basis. They are the child’s pose, the wind-relieving pose, the supta vajrasana and the peacock. You can find information, videos and tutorials about each of them online.
#5. Aromatherapy
A very easy and pleasant way of battling bloating, gas and even constipation is via aromatherapy. This relates to that type of bloating that appears from a bad combination of unfortunate foods, stress and worrying. The best oils you can burn for this particular ailment are orange, rose, cinnamon and basil. They also help if you are a woman suffering from PMS, which might also be the cause of intestinal bloating or severe pains in you lower belly, especially overnight when the body is not in motion.
You can use them singularly in a bowl of water or try mixing them for optimized effects. Apart from that, you can also purchase bottled oil mixes, specifically designed for the trouble you have.
Here are the top 5 ways on how to relieve bloating fast. They work for constipation and painful gases as well. Since they are natural and easy remedies, you can try them all the next time you feel bloated and see which one works best for you. If at first you don’t succeed, don’t get discouraged. Remember every person’s body is different and responds to different things.
