You’re here because you want to know how to get rid of bloating.
However, it can be hard to determine whether that swelling around the tummy area is due to bloating or whether it is in fact just fat.
It could very easily be both things but how can you tell?
What are the Symptoms of Bloating?
You feel pain (cramping), discomfort after eating a meal, or experience excessive gas along with a swollen belly. If this is happening you may have a problem with digesting your food properly which is causing you to feel bloated.
Your stomach goes from being flat to swollen over the course of the day. Fat does not change rapidly in this way. If you have a fat stomach it will stay that way until you lose weight.
Can you pinch more than an inch of belly fat? If you’re bloated your stomach would be too hard and tightly stretched for you to be able to do this.
What Causes Bloating?
The most common culprits:
Gulping down your food too quickly means that you take in larger quantities of air than normal, which can lead to bloating. Slow things down. Take your time to chew your food properly before swallowing.
Chewing gum, drinking through a straw, and eating whilst talking could also be responsible for your bloated belly. Why? Because they also allow results in you ingesting large amounts of air. This in turn contributes to swelling of the stomach area.
Foods that are too fatty also increase the risk of bloating. Fat takes a long time to digest, delaying the length of time it takes for your stomach to empty.
Eating too much is not a good thing at the best of times. When you overeat you are putting excessive pressure on the digestive tract in order to process that food.
In some cases dairy products, particularly if you are lactose intolerant, can play havoc with your digestive system, causing your stomach to swell.
A number of medical and biological conditions such as; menstruation, ovarian cysts, polycystic ovary syndrome (POS), excessive toxins in the body, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation, intestinal parasites (worms), and celiac disease to name a few can also cause bloating of the stomach.
How to Get Rid of Bloating
Increasing your fluid intake can help but try to avoid gassy drinks. Water or herbal drinks such as peppermint tea, fennel tea, and camomile tea are great for aiding digestion and relieving stomach cramps.
Add fiber-rich food to your diet, such as wholegrain, cereal, fruit, and vegetables. This will not only help to combat any associated constipation, but it will make you feel fuller for longer. And if you feel fuller throughout the day, you’re likely to eat less often which will help you to lose overall body weight.
Antacids are often used to treat bloating. They work by reducing the amount of gassy build-up in the gut but do little to dispel gas that already exists. Antiacids are therefore not as effective at relieving bloating as some may think. Also, you need to be 100% sure that you are suffering from bloating and not heartburn (which has similar symptoms). Antiacids can worsen heartburn, so take care.
Some people also swear by certain detoxification products such as DetoxPlus which are known to cleanse the body of harmful toxins. In doing so they help to reduce both the painful swelling and constipation.
So just a few examples of how to get rid of bloating which will hopefully help to ease discomfort quickly and safely.
