Bloating is a very uncomfortable issue which affects a
surprisingly large number of people. It looks and feels unpleasant and even
though it’s temporary if it happens frequently you should definitely do
something about it. Here are a few tips which can help you flatten your stomach
starting today.
Decrease Salt
We all eat salt, it’s a necessary component of our everyday
meals. But excess salt in your diet will make your body retain water and lead
to an imbalance of salt and water in your body. What happens next? You get
bloated.
If you eat lots of frozen prepackaged foods, fast food,
snacks and similar products you’re probably ingesting more sodium than you
should. Adding salt to everything you eat is also another way you could be
taking in too much salt. Stored carbohydrates hold three times the water
that protein does, so if you are eating a lot of pasta reduce the amount of
carbs and add more protein instead.
Drink Water
You should increase the amount of water you drink on a daily
basis. Drinking water releases stored cellular fluid and this means a flatter
tummy! If your body is slightly dehydrated, it’s literally crying out for
water. It needs that water for every single process in it performs, so it
holds onto it because it does not know when it will have enough again. If
this is the reason why your belly bloats, drinking a few more glasses of water
will restore your flat belly. You should drink a minimum of half your body
weight in ounces. For example, if you weight 120 lbs, drink a minimum of
60 ounces daily.
Stop Chewing Gum
If you chew gum all the time you swallow a lot of air in the
process and this leads to bloating. You are filling your stomach with air
just as if you were blowing up a balloon. Things get worse if you’re into
sugar free gums, see the section about fake sugar below.
Stop the Fizz
Carbonated drinks are the worst when it comes to bloating.
These bubbles stay in your GI tract and become trapped and gas builds up. If
you suffer from bloating often your best choice of action is to give up all
kinds of sodas, diet ones as well.
Skip Fake Sugar
All artificially sweetened products be it chewing gums, diet
sodas, candies and even protein bars, contain sugar substitutes, sugar alcohols
or even natural products that can create excess gas and can even lead to
serious gastrointestinal problems. The only exception from this is
Xylitol, a sugar alcohol which is healthy for you because it has virtually no
effect on blood sugar and insulin level. Still, it should be consumed in
moderation.