Bloated Stomach, How to Eliminate Abdominal Bloating?
What is Bloating?
Bloating is swelling of the abdomen resulting in an increased waist diameter due to retained fluids or gas. As a symptom, the patient feels a full and tight abdomen, which may cause abdominal pain and is sometimes accompanied by increased stomach growling, or more seriously, the total lack of it.
This is a completely different thing than being fat. When you’re fat your tissues have an abnormally high percentage of fat cells that increase your size. But, when you’re bloated your tissues have a normal percentage of fat cells. You are just swollen due to excess gas and fluids. Abdominal bloating
While reducing your calories and increasing your exercise are commonly thought to get rid of fat cells, they won’t help when your problem is bloating.
Symptoms of Abdominal Bloating:
Here are the most common symptoms of bloating:
- Stomach distention.
- Feeling gassy.
- Excessive belching.
- a sensation that resembles overeating.
- General discomfort.
- Fullness and tightness in the abdomen.
- Abdominal pain.
- Change in gut size.
- Food sensitivity.
- Indigestion.
Causes of Abdominal Bloating:
There are many causes of bloating, including diet, irritable bowel syndrome, lactose intolerance, reflux, and constipation. Specific medical conditions like Crohn’s disease or bowel obstruction can also contribute to the amount of stomach bloating experienced.
Common Causes of Abdominal Bloating Are:
- Overeating.
- Gastric distension.
- Lactose intolerance, fructose intolerance, and other food intolerances.
- Food allergy.
- Irritable bowel syndrome.
- Partial bowel obstruction.
- Gastric dumping syndrome or rapid gastric emptying.
- Gas-producing foods.
- Constipation.
- Visceral fat.
- Splenic-flexure syndrome.
- Menstruation, dysmenorrhea.
- Polycystic ovary syndrome and ovarian cysts.
- Alvarez’ syndrome, bloating of unknown or psychogenic origin without an excess of gas in the digestive tract.
- Massive infestation with intestinal parasites.
- Diverticulosis.
- Celiac disease.
- Certain medications, such as phentermine.
- Occurs in some due to salivary hypersecretion and dehydration.
- Ovarian cancer.
How to Eliminate Abdominal Bloating:
You’ve been eating right and exercising, doing all the things experts say you should do in order to lose fat and get healthy. But when you step on the scale, you get a nasty shock: you’ve gained 5 pounds! What did you do wrong?
Absolutely nothing. Everyone experiences unexpected weight gains from time to time. These are caused by water retention, also known as bloating. Bloating can be very discouraging to dieters, but it’s important to remember that the weight gain is temporary. You can lose the water weight as fast as you gained it by following these simple rules:
1. Reduce Your Carb Intake:
Carbohydrates give us quick energy, but they also make us retain water. When stored in the body, carbohydrates attract water. The end result is a puffier appearance, tighter clothes, and a few extra pounds on the scale.
To reduce bloating:
- Eat fewer carbs. Note that this does not mean you need to eliminate all carbohydrates.
- Simply avoid sugar, starch, and any product made from refined white flour.
- Instead, eat protein, healthy fats, vegetables, and products made from ground flax seed.
- You will see a visible reduction in your bloating after one to two days.
2. Use Up Your Glycogen Reserves:
- Carbohydrates are stored in our muscles as glycogen.
- Glycogen combines with water to puff muscles up and make them look larger.
- While this is desirable for competitive bodybuilders, the typical dieter doesn’t want to look any bigger than they already are.
- To do that, you will need to make sure you’re burning through those glycogen reserves.
The strategy is simple:
- Eat fewer carbs and exercise more.
- Do a mixture of cardio exercise and strength training.
- and eat only protein and healthy carbohydrates, like fruits and vegetables, to fuel your workouts.
3. Drink More Water:
Quick make a fist. Do your hands feel tight and puffy? If you wear rings, do they leave deep impressions on your skin after you remove them? These are sure signs of bloating, probably stemming from dehydration. Water is a sure cure for this type of bloating.
- When your body doesn’t have enough water, it starts to hold on to every bit of fluid it has access to.
- This causes the fluid to build up inside you, leaving you bloated and sluggish.
- To overcome this survival mechanism, you will need to drink a lot of water.
- How much is a lot? At least 64 oz over the course of a few hours.
- You can tell your dehydration is being corrected when you start to pass clear urine.
4. Cut Out The Extra Salt:
Sodium is a necessary mineral, but a diet heavy in processed and fast foods (ie, the typical Western diet) provides far more sodium than is necessary or healthy. The human body requires only 500mg of sodium daily, but many of us routinely take in 6,000mg or more each day!
- All of this extra salt can have a detrimental effect on your health and your waistline.
- Sodium acts as an irritant to your muscles and organs. In order to dilute this effect, your body will retain water.
- This is why excess salt consumption leads to bloating in so many people.
- To avoid this, eat as many wholes, unprocessed foods as possible.
- Use potassium chloride as a salt substitute.
- and drink plenty of water to flush your system.
5. Caffeine:
- Caffeine has both a laxative and a diuretic effect.
- Simply put, it makes you pass waste materials and fluids at a faster rate.
- If you need to look your best for a special event, but haven’t been able to lose the bloat, drink some coffee along with 64 oz of water.
- This should get things moving!
Remember that caffeine is simply a quick fix, and should not be used as a long-term weight loss strategy. This method will result in a loss of temporary water weight only. Go back to your healthy diet plan as soon as possible, and follow the preceding tips to keep bloating at bay. Abdominal bloating
Bloating can make you look and feel bad, but these tricks will help you fit into your skinny jeans in no time!
6. Stop Drinking Liquids During Meals:
You need at least 30 minutes before eating to stop drinking liquids in order for your body to be able to produce sufficient amounts of stomach acid to properly digest your foods. If this can’t take place then you will find that you will suffer endlessly from digestive problems. As well drinking during or within 2 hours following a meal will also cause problems that will end up in gas, bloating and other digestive problems.
7. Dessert:
- For those of you that absolutely have to have dessert, it’s ok.
- Just eat it at least an hour after your meal is done.
- You see, by mixing sugar with the rest of your food you create fermentation in your stomach.
- That produces gas which is one of the main causes of bloating.
- By the way, that includes fruit. Especially fruit.
8. Don’ t Mix Fruit With Any Other Kind of Food or Drink.
- Eat it all by itself.
- Then wait at least 20 minutes, preferably 30, before eating another type of food.
- Doing this will prevent fermentation from occurring in your stomach.
- No fermentation. No gas. No bloating.
9. Slow Down and Chew Your Food:
- Eating fast can cause you to take in the air which will bloat your stomach.
- Slow down when eating and thoroughly chew your food.
- You should not swallow until your food is almost completely liquid.
To train yourself to eat slower,
- Put down your fork after each bite.
- It will help if you don’t watch television while eating.
- You need to concentrate on your food and your eating habits.
- You will find that when you slow down and chew your food completely that you will also eat less.
10. Use Probiotics:
These beneficial bacteria will help your body to digest foods more effectively once they reach your colon and more importantly these bacteria are needed to break down the substances in foods that cause gas, to begin with. You can actually add probiotics to beans with a little water for example and leave them overnight and by the next morning, the component that causes gas in the bean will have been eliminated.
11. Candida Cleanse:
The most common cause of chronic digestive problems is a yeast known as Candida Albicans. This fungus grows in approximately 90% of the world’s population, generally, if you have any health problems whatsoever or have ever had to use antibiotics you have a Candida problem. The symptoms caused by it are almost endless.
However,
it is especially problematic when it comes to digestive problems, specifically those of gas and bloating. If you read the suggestion above regarding probiotics then you realize that these good bacteria actually help the digestive process and reduce symptoms like gas. Well, when you have a Candida overgrowth your good bacteria are suppressed by this yeast, and until it is until control you will continue to have digestive problems.
12. Avoid Salty Food & Alcohol During The Menstruation Period:
Do not put too much salt in your food during menstruation period as salt causes high water retention, which results in a gas problem. Besides, try to avoid alcohol consumption during your PMS as it may swell your digestive tract, resulting in the bloating problem.
13. Organic Ginger:
Drinking ginger tea or adding freshly grated ginger root to your foods is one of the best remedies for gas. Try adding some fresh ginger to your next stir-fry or smoothie.
14. Acupuncture:
Acupuncture has an effect on every system of our body especially our metabolism. Regular acupuncture treatments can help to regulate your bowels and digestive system to keep everything balanced and running smoothly.
15. Peppermint Tea:
Peppermint helps to relax digestive muscles. If you are not a particular fan of peppermint tea, peppermint capsules work great as well.
16. Hot Water:
Easy enough and it works. About a half a cup of hot water should do the trick.
17. Exercise Daily:
- Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes every day, it helps in reducing the bloating problem.
- You can start with some very simple exercises like regular walking around your home and workplace or yoga after a big meal.
- This exercise will improve your digestion by moving the food through your intestine, resulting in relief from bloating pain.
If you find this article useful, don’t forget to share it with your friends and family, as you might help someone in need. Thanks.
Disclaimer: “Nothing in this article makes any claim to offer cures or treatment of any disease or illness. If you are sick please consult with your doctor.”
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