28 Anti-Bloat Foods to Eat When You’re Feeling Puffy
Reach for these after an indulgent holiday weekend or before a big occasion.
6 Surprising Causes of Digestive Distress
By Danielle Capalino, MSPH, RD, NLC I spend a lot of my time talking about how FODMAPs can lead to digestive distress. However, there are many other foods that can trigger uncomfortable (and embarrassing) tummy troubles. RELATED: What the Heck is a FODMAP? And issues like bloating are not just a pain—an out-of-whack digestive system seriously affects your overall health. RELATED: The Gut-Brain Connection, Explained If you suspect food is causing your symptoms, you’re probably right. Here’s what you can do: Go through this list, and if there’s something on it that’s a regular (or really major!) part of your routine, consider eliminating it for a time to see if your symptoms dissipate. Then, use that information to design a diet for yourself that takes your very own individual digestive system into account. Surprising Causes of Digestive Distress Caffeine You may notice that your morning coffee helps your morning routine along by keeping your digestive system moving. That happens because caffeine is a stimulant and can speed up your digestive tract. Unfortunately, that means it can also be a serious irritant and contribute to urgent bathroom runs and painful acid reflux. Alcohol Even if you’re drinking responsibly, a couple of glasses of wine can still lead to issues like heartburn or diarrhea, depending on your body. Carbonation Carbonated beverages taste great, but the bubbles fill your belly with excess air. This can create pressure and cause a range of consequences from acid reflux to bloating, if you’re sensitive to it. Gum Similar to drinking carbonated beverages, when you chew gum you swallow a lot of excess air. It’s also frequently made with artificial sugars that can upset your stomach. Fried Foods It’s pretty universally acknowledged that fried foods are not good for your health (hello, inflammation!). Eating them can cause acid reflux and just plain upset your belly. High-Fat Foods While there are many benefits to eating certain high-fat foods, fat can seriously slow down your digestion. Sometimes, that’s a good thing, but if your digestive system is sluggish to begin with, it could lead to issues. If this is you, space out foods high in good fats or try eating them on their own (as a snack, for example) rather than as part of a big meal that will require a whole lot of digesting. Danielle Capalino, MSPH, RD, is a registered dietitian in New York City who provides nutritional counseling on digestive health. She is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and is Nutritious Life Certified. Learn more at www.daniellecapalino.com. Healthline
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3 Foods That Fight A Bloated Belly
We all want to look (and feel!) our best, and having a bloated belly pretty much crushes both of those dreams. Whether you have an event coming up, a big night out, or you just could use to let go of a little extra puffiness around your midsection, we’ve all had those moments where debloating is at the top of our priorities. Even when you’re eating a healthy diet, it’s very common to still feel a little puffy and have a bloated belly from time to time. You can blame this on your favorite healthy foods like beans, dairy products, and even cruciferous vegetables such as brussel sprouts, cabbage, and broccoli. However, there are also lots of other causes of this gas and rebellious digestion causing you all of the discomfort. Bloating can be caused by overeating, eating too fast, drinking from a straw, consuming artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols, and even drinking carbonated beverages. But here’s the good news! I’m sharing with you my 3 go-to favorite foods for depuffing your bloated belly just in time to wear that new dress you’ve been waiting to rock.
How to Stop Bloating in 5 Easy Steps
Are you waking up feeling a little puffy? Do you need pliers to pull your rings off and an extra strength shoe horn to squeeze your feet into your new heels? Besides your waistline, you may notice a little bloat in your face, neck, fingers and ankles. You are retaining a layer of water just underneath your skin. Don’t freak out. It happens to everyone. It isn’t fat and you don’t have to get used to it. You can banish it with a little know how. Learn how to stop bloating, shuck that layer, and unveil a more streamlined version of you. How to Stop Bloating in 5 Easy Steps Push Fluid With Fluid. If you are retaining water, you may be dealing with a little electrolyte imbalance. It may feel counter intuitive, but drinking water will flush (literally) the extra fluid from your system. Steer clear of the bubbly stuff (that won’t help!) and if you’re looking for a little extra zip to your H2O, toss in a slice of lemon, grapefruit or cucumber, which may help you suck down a little more. Moo-ve the Dairy. Dairy isn’t easy for many adults to digest. As we age, we lose the enzyme needed to break down and process milk sugars — the side effect is bloating, gas and cramping. Take a few days to ditch milk and dairy products completely. Don’t substitute them, just take a break from milk, cheese and yogurt. If you notice a big difference, you may be intolerant, so try adding back dairy foods one at a time. Try yogurt first (and no other dairy) and check in with yourself to see if the bloat returns. The next day try milk in your coffee. Add one dairy food a day, so you can see what works for you. Choose Fruit Wisely. So, believe it or not, you are better off not going for the apples, pears and melon if you want to push out the water weight. Choose berries, lemons, oranges, grapefruit and grapes, as they don’t hold on to as much water and are more easily digested. Ditch What You Can’t Pronounce. Can’t say it? Don’t eat it. Ditch all artificial sweeteners and diet foods. They can make you bloated and trigger gas and diarrhea: exactly what you don’t want. Stay away from xylitol, maltitol, sorbitol and all the artificial sweeteners. You don’t need the diet yogurt, soda, cookies or other nutrient poor foods. Stop the Starch. Starches, especially the processed ones, like cereals, pastas, breads and crackers, hold on to water. You don’t want that. Either do without the toast and pasta, or choose whole grain and less processed options like brown rice, root vegetables or oats. They’re better choices, anyway. You still need fiber, which is super important for both your health and your six pack, so get it from produce and whole grains, or consider a supplement — don’t forget to wash down your fiber rich foods with lots of water. Ok, that’s how to stop bloating. You’ll slide your rings off with ease, slip into those neew heels easily and relish your streamlined self.
3 Best Flat Belly Foods
Are you eating clean but still feeling puffy? If pants that usually fit are not fitting, you can blame bloating. One of the most frustrating situations I see clients face is eating healthy but still feeling fat. All those veggies and your button just popped. I feel your pain. When it comes to feeling puffy, you can blame the extra inches circling your waist on gas and/or rebellious digestion, which can be caused by: overeating eating high fat foods eating too fast chewing gum drinking from a straw sucking on hard candies consuming sugar alcohols consuming artificial sweeteners drinking carbonated beverages Some of our fave healthy foods, like beans, dairy and veggies like Brussel sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower, can even make us bloated. Unfair, I know. Good news for you, we can get rid of some of your discomfort with a few delicious flat belly foods. 3 Best Flat Belly Foods: Dandelion greens Dandelion greens are great at deflating your bloat thanks to their fiber profile and ability to stimulate the digestive system, moving things along your digestion pathway. Think, moving along at a nice pace on the highway versus getting backed up in traffic. They also have amazing diuretic properties (can you feel that puff reducing already?), which have earned them a claim to detox fame. Although there is no concrete scientific evidence, they have been linked to cleaning up your liver and kidneys for centuries. Dandelions aren’t just for picking. Add 1 cup dandelion root tea to your night time routine until your symptoms subside and add into your salad or side veggie rotation a few times per week. Kimchi Kimchi is fermented cabbage and it’s as famous in Korea as peanut butter is in America. Kimchi’s fermentation process loads it up with probiotics, those friendly bacteria that aid digestion, rid your belly of gas and fix the bloated feeling. Yes, I often recommend a probiotic supplement, but I never want people to skimp on getting nutrients from real food, which is usually the most absorbable form. Nowadays, kimchi is hanging out on local bodega and supermarket shelves somewhere near the pickles. Its exotic presence (think 10th grade science lab jars) is hard to miss. Aim to have at least one fermented food per day. If you choose kimchi, eat it as a side dish (a few bites or a 1/3 cup is all you need), top a salad or saute it up with an egg for a delicious lunch or snack. Bananas Bananas are my go-to bloat-busting tool. The potassium in bananas helps drain your body of water it sometimes likes to retain. Our bodies often retain water in and outside of our cells due to consuming foods high in sodium. Have you avoided bananas because you fear they’re constipating? Let’s debunk this one: unripe bananas are linked to constipation, but ripe bananas are actually full of fiber and excellent for constipation prevention and relief. I recommend 1 or 2 max pieces of fruit per day. When you’re feeling bloated, add a banana to your rotation. Have one with a couple teaspoons of nut butter or treat yourself to banana pops for dessert. Want more? Thought so. You’re welcome!
Is the SUN making you fat?
I have a story for you, and it might sound familiar. Jane (no, not her real name), who is 5’6” and a comfortable 128 pound fit and successful 32 year old, was confused as to why her weight went up 7 pounds after a great weekend of eating well, hiking, beaching and amazing sleep while on vaca with her friends. Her food journal was “clean” as could be with no excessive added salt or sodium. She drank a ton of water and consumed no alcohol. Jane was stress free and slept like a babe. It seemed like a conundrum until she told me that she fell asleep on the beach and got a sunburn on her back. Aha! When questioned, she said she did feel a little puffy under her skin . . .not just on her back, but also in her wrists and ankles. Our bodies handle sunburns just as they handle any type of burn! Sunburns cause an inflammatory response, due to basically cooking your skin! Your bod holds on to fluid to help you heal. Yep, add sunburn to causes of water retention. The prescription for all that water retention? Drink a ton of water and decaffeinated herbal tea (at least enough so that your pee is clear and odorless) Avoid salt, sodium and processed foods Avoid sugar Elevate your feet if your ankles are swollen Exercise Choose foods that are good sources of B6 (grass fed meat and brown rice) Calcium and vitamin D are helpful too (found in dairy and dairy alternatives, collard greens and kale) See a doc if you are not recovering in a couple of days, or if the burn blisters Don’t stress and abandon your health goals – feel empowered knowing what is going on! By the way, warm weather makes our bodies a little less efficient at getting rid of excess water, so even if you don’t get a burn, your weight loss may still be somewhat slower in the summer. Follow the same prescription as above to literally flush the extra water out of you.
