You know that awful feeling of being bloated? It’s when you feel 50 pounds heavier, so swollen your pants don’t fit anymore and embarrassed from all the tooting coming out of your butt. Ya not fun and no one really likes to talk about it. But it happens.
And to ALOT of us it seems.
Digestive disease is almost in epidemic proportions. One out of every three clients I see in practice complain of either bloating, pain after eating, constipation, diarrhea or anything in between. It’s not fun but it can be healed.
AND it requires a whole lifestyle approach. You can’t just take an antacid (God please tell me you don’t do that!) or just a few enzymes. Or go on a diet for a few weeks.
You need to become a different version of yourself. I speak A LOT about this to each of my clients and audience. You can’t just look at one piece of the puzzle to understand the whole picture. It’s the same with your body and health. You are a WHOLE being. Not just a leg, stomach or arm. There is a whole version of you that holistic medicine is founded on. And that is when true healing begins.
EVERYTHING matters.
What you eat matters.
What you drink matters.
How much you MOVE your body matters.
Your emotions and thoughts MATTER!
What you “ingest” beyond food (think news, politics, what your parents say, your in laws say, etc. etc.) MATTERS!
How you show up in the world ALL matters. AND affects your health, including your bloated stomach.
Here are 5 tips to begin your journey to less bloat and more joy in your tummy … and life 😉
1. Eat slower.
Slower than you believe is normal. Chew every bite of food. Digestion doesn’t start in your stomach. It starts in your MOUTH. So slow down and let your saliva begin the breakdown process right there in your mouth.
2. Don’t drink fluids with your meals.
Water and other drinks dilute the acid in your stomach and this may impede natural digestion. Gas may result because food doesn’t get broken down well.
3. Stop drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.
Beer bellies aren’t very attractive and lead to round middles that pose a direct risk to your heart and cardiovascular system. Alcohol is pure sugar. And when sugars are not digested well they create excessive amounts of gas. Alcohol also destroys good gut bacteria. Further creating disharmony in the gut. I could go on and on about the harmful affects of alcohol. But I’ll leave that for another future article.
4. Take Probiotics and Enzymes at each meal.
These will help eliminate any bad gut bacteria that could be causing your flatulence. Also enzymes will help those with poor stomach acid break down food more easily.
4. Eat more fermented foods.
These have natural occurring good gut probiotics. So things like Kombucha, Keifer, Kim chi, fermented veggies in natural salt brine, and miso are yummy additions to any whole food plant based diet. Your tummy will love you for it. And your liver, kidneys, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, heart, lungs, and on and on. Get my drift? 😉
5. Include some herbal love!
Herbs like ginger, fennel seeds, bay leaf, chamomile, and mint will help the digestion and relieve any gas that does occur. The key is to PREVENT gas from even forming. So the first 4 tips are crucial for healing the gut and preventing any issues in the first place.
Remember natural tips like taking herbs, and supplements is great advice. But it’s not the whole picture. You need to address more than just the physical “stuff”. Your emotional and mental health are key players too. For a full consultation individualized for your own health experience please contact me here. And we’ll get you feeling your best in no time.
Stay healthy, happy and free!
Piera B.
