What Is Bloating And How Do You Reduce Or Eliminate It?
Have you ever felt abdominal pain even when you’re not on your period? Or is your belly swollen even if you’re exercising daily and not pregnant? If you answered yes to both questions, you might be experiencing bloating. Let’s explore what it is, how to cure it, and how to avoid it.
What Is Bloating And What Causes It?
Abdominal bloating happens when your gastrointestinal tract is filled with gas or air. When experiencing bloating, you feel your stomach is swollen, tight, or full. Sometimes, these symptoms cause pain, flatulence, or rumbling in your abdomen. Other times, you belch or burp a lot.
There are a lot of factors that cause bloating. Eating and drinking too much and too fast, smoking, chewing gum, and wearing loose dentures are some of these causes. These will result in the buildup of gas in your digestive tract because you have been swallowing air.
Other medical causes also lead to stomach air. Eating disorders, female hormonal flux, food intolerance, mental stress, weight gain, heartburn, ulcer, and irritable bowel syndrome are prime examples of them.
Proven Ways To Reduce Or Eliminate It
1. Avoid carbonated drinks
Soda, beer, or other fizzy beverages bubble up when served in every kind of container including your stomach. Not to mention these drinks have a lot of sugar. Even if you say it’s of the “diet” variety, these drinks will still cause bloating because they have carbs.
2. Avoid chewing gums
When you chew gum, you’re swallowing air. Chewing gums are also made with sugar alcohol sweeteners that cause intestinal gas when consumed in excess. I suggest taking a single mint of Tic Tac if you want to freshen up your breath without swallowing air.
3. Eat less gas-causing foods
In a lot of our previous articles, we mention quite often to include beans, lentils, and whole-grains. These food types are high in fiber which produces a large amount of gas. The next time you’re eating with these ingredients, only put a little of them on your plate and add more meat. Avoid these foods during audition preparation as well.
4. Eat slowly in small portions and avoid drinking through straws
As mentioned above, eating too much and too fast can cause bloating. So you need to eat enough to be satisfied but not too full. If you’re always feeling uncomfortable after a three meals/day plan, eat 6 meals a day in saucer-sized servings and drink a lot of water after without using a straw.
5. Stay away from your allergies
Identify all your food allergies before buying at the grocery or ordering a dish at the restaurant. Always ask the waiter or waitress if the food has dairy, gluten, egg, or fructose so you can avoid bloating, farting, and the worst-case scenario - diarrhea.
6. Maintain probiotic consumption
The high concentration of bacteria in your gut gives you a lot of gas and good gut bacteria push these bad bacterias out of your stomach. When they do, you may experience more bloating, burping, or flatulence.
But when your gut is back to a healthy bacteria balance, you can say goodbye to bloating for good. Just maintain probiotic intake.
7. Medication
If dietary changes cause bloating no matter what diet type you’re following, consult a physician for your problem so they can identify your condition and prescribe a good medicine for it.
Bloating is a serious condition that could ruin your daily pro cheer activities. If you experience it every day with worsening pain, it is best to talk to a doctor for proper medication. However, if your stomach bloats because you ate something or too much, reduce your meal portions and eat healthier foods.
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