However you define the feeling of bloatedness, one thing is for sure—it’s not a very good feeling. But why do people feel bloated at times anyway? Sometimes an excess of air gets trapped in your digestive tract which leads to that bloated feeling. Other times, it can feel as if your entire midsection is composed entirely of water that you find it really uncomfortable. And though bloating is not really an indication of something serious (it typically relieves on its own after a few hours or so), a distended midsection can make you end up feeling lousy and a bit lethargic. Bloating is eased up by constantly moving around, consuming glasses of water or by simply just waiting it out.
Though the actual reasons why people end up feeling bloated are unknown, there are habits that can contribute to its occurrence. Ridding yourself of these bad habits may spare you from getting bloated all the time. Read on to know more:
1. You are eating way too fast.
No matter how delicious the food you’ve piled on your plate, make sure that you chew it properly and slowly to avoid feeling heavy and bloated afterwards. When you swallow your food, you are also introducing gas-producing air into your stomach. If you don’t chew your food fully, that can lead to you having larger chunks of food sitting in your gut which can sometimes make digestion difficult. Another danger of fast-paced eating: you lose track of the food you’re consuming making you stuff yourself more, which leads to weight gain. So instead of eating on a rush, make it a point to at least allot around 20 minutes for you to have a proper sit-down meal. Anyway, that is how long it takes to register in your brain that you’re already full which signifies that you can stop munching on food.
2. You always have sandwich for lunch.
Sandwiches tend to be packed with sodium, an element that makes your body retain water. You can stay away from sodium-induced bloating by steering clear of eating too many sandwiches and breads. Alternate your sandwich habit with other kinds of foods, or if you really can’t resist a piece of ham, just skip the bread and wrap it instead on a piece of lettuce.
3. You are eating your kale raw.
Kale is packed with a whole lot of nutritious elements and has earned a reputable title of being a trendy salad star. But the thing with kale is, it contains raffinose, an indigestible sugar—consuming it raw in a salad or smoothie may lead to you being gassy and puffy after. Kale in fact, is not the only kind of veggie that has got this effect, apparently, consuming broccoli, Brussels sprouts and other cruciferous vegetables in the raw can bloat you. T combat this, try steaming or roasting your kale before eating it—same nutritional value, but with less chances of bloating.
4. You are drinking through a straw.
Using a straw while drinking your favourite beverages can sometimes have a downside—it forces you to suck in lots of extra air which can make feel fuller and bloated. It really doesn’t matter if you’re sipping it slow or really deep, because you are already taking in the trapped air at the upper part of the straw, which is a bit hard to avoid. So try to keep yourself from feeling bloated by sipping your beverages from the rim of your cup or glass.
5. You consume a lot of packaged foods.
Again, the main problem here is sodium which is being use in tons of processed foods as a preservative. Crackers and chips are sodium menaces, but even healthy-looking packaged items such as cereals, soups, salad dressings and the likes can have a crazy amount of sodium in them. So dodge the belly-bloating effect of processed foods by really checking their labels; go for the ones that contain 500mg of sodium or less. More so, why not swap your processed foods by eating more of natural foods that are low in sodium as such fresh fruits, veggies, and whole grains.
