How To Eliminate Bloating for Good: 7 Causes of Bloating and Their Solutions
Bloating is something so many people struggle with and it can be so uncomfortable and really affect quality of life. If you are someone who suffers from constant bloating, it is important to get to the root cause so that you can eliminate the bloat and start feeling your best each and every day!
I used to struggle with bloating daily and it was so debilitating. I was scared of wearing tight clothes in fear that I might get super bloated and uncomfortable. It was unpredictable and so painful at times that I would want to stay home. It also affected my body image and made me feel so much bigger than I was which also made me uncomfortable and confused.
Thankfully, I got to the root cause of my bloating and implemented many of these tips below. They helped me and I hope they will help you too!
In this post, I am going to be sharing tips on 7 common causes of bloating and their solutions so you can eliminate the bloat for good!
Let’s get started! Here's how you can figure out what’s causing your bloating so that you can get rid of it for good!
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7 Common Causes of Bloating and How To Fix It:
Skipping meals or going too long without eating
Skipping meals raises blood sugar and insulin and puts your digestion out of whack, especially when you are eating at different times than you normally do.
Solution: Our body loves routine and knowing when our next meal is coming. Therefore, sticking to an eating schedule can help eliminate bloating. A good schedule could be eating a balanced meal or snack with some protein every 3-4 hours to keep blood sugar levels stable. Or just be prepared. If you know it’s going to be a while until your next meal, pack a snack like some nuts, carrots with hummus, or hard boiled eggs to keep your tummy happy until your next meal.
Food sensitivities and intolerances
When you have a food intolerance, your body doesn't have the right enzymes to break down a certain food. These can be fairly easy to spot. On the other hand, when you have a food sensitivity, your body sets off a delayed immune response when exposed to a food that it cannot properly break down. Food sensitivities can be difficult to spot, especially since the symptoms usually don't occur immediately after being exposed to a food, but rather, hours or even days after.
Solution: If you think you may have a food sensitivity, there's a few different ways you can figure out what food or foods you're sensitive to. The most obvious, yet time consuming way, is by experimenting with removing foods from your diet for a few weeks and slowly reintroducing them one by one and seeing how you feel. However, this can be difficult, especially if you have no idea what food or types of food could be triggering your inflammation. If you want to take the easier route, I recommend taking a food sensitivity test to figure out exactly what foods are triggering your bloating and inflammation.
If you want to get to the root cause of your bloating, try this super easy at-home food sensitivity test to quickly figure out how your body responds to 96 different types of foods so you don’t have to go through the long hassle of experimenting! Use my link to get 15% off at checkout!
Eating too fast
The act of chewing helps to break down the food before it enters your stomach. When you are eating too fast, you are not chewing your food thoroughly which doesn't allow it to break down properly and doesn’t give your stomach enough time to begin producing stomach acid.
Solution: A good first step is to stay present when you eat and avoid distractions. Focus on tasting the food and put your fork down between bites for optimal digestion and satisfaction.
Imbalanced gut microbiome
Our microbiome has trillions of bacteria that are essential to our gut and digestive health. Having more bad bacteria than good bacteria in the gut, can cause negative symptoms such as bloating.
Solution: You can balance the gut flora by eating probiotic rich food or taking a probiotic supplement to increase the good bacteria, as well as eating prebiotic rich foods to feed the good bacteria in your gut. Some probiotic rich foods include fermented foods like sauerkraut, yogurt, pickles, kefir, and tempeh. Prebiotic-rich foods include bananas, oats, apples, asparagus, etc.
For additional gut support, I recommend the Femallay Organic Healthy Gut Chai Loose Leaf Herbal Tea - Gut Healing Blend. It has some amazing anti-inflammatory spices and herbs for your gut and digestion (and who doesn’t love a comforting chai tea?) Use the code BALANCEBYGAB for 10% off!
Dehydration
Dehydration is another common cause of bloating. When you are dehydrated, your body holds on to as much water as possible causing bloating. Personally, I always notice that I get bloated when I am dehydrated.
Solution: Carry a water bottle around with you and make sure you are drinking an adequate amount of water throughout the day. Also, try to stray away from carbonated beverages which can exacerbate bloating. Instead, opt for still water and tea for hydration.
Low stomach acid
Our levels of stomach acid can decrease as we age, although other factors like a poor diet and lifestyle factors can decrease it as well. Stomach acid helps to break down our food and without it, we are not able to properly digest our food or absorb all its nutrients. This can also lead to many other problems like an imbalanced gut microbiome and parasites.
Solution: If you think you might have low stomach acid, you can try taking apple cider vinegar before meals or taking digestive enzyme or digestive bitters like dandelion root, peppermint, ginger root, and so on to stimulate digestion.
That time of the month
If you find that your bloating comes in waves during different times of the month, it may be a result of hormone changes during your menstrual cycle. Common times to notice bloating is right before and during your period, as well as during ovulation. These are times when we have large hormone shifts that can trigger bloating.
Solution: You can decrease bloating symptoms due to hormonal shifts by staying hydrated and active and avoiding large amounts of caffeine and alcohol, especially during menstruation and ovulation. You can also avoid bloating by eating the right foods for your cycle. Check out this article to learn about the right types of food, exercise, and lifestyle changes to include in different phases of your menstrual cycle to banish the bloat and feel your best.
So there you have it! 7 common causes of bloating and their solutions. I hope these help you to get to the root cause of your bloating and finally eliminate it once and for all!
Don’t forget that occasional bloating is totally normal, but if you are finding it to be constant and debilitating, don’t ignore it! Give a few of these steps a try, and if you think your bloating may be food related, I highly recommend trying out this super accurate and affordable food sensitivity test to make the process easier! Use my link so you can get 15% off your food sensitivity test!
And for additional digestion support, try a tea like this one to promote a healthy gut and intestinal wellness.
Also, check out my FREE Hormone Balancing Smoothie Guide + My Go-To Hormone Balancing Smoothie Recipe below! Use the form below to get instant access to this guide so that you can start making healthy, delicious smoothies that balance blood sugar, hunger hormones and estrogen to keep you vibrant, energized and satiated throughout the day!
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