Bloating I Meaning I Causes I Remedies

Most people experience bloating at some point. Most of us have experienced the feeling of being bloated when your tummy is stretched, puffy, and uncomfortable. It often happens after a big meal or over a festive season. It may lead to burping or flatulence. It may also cause chest pains, abdominal pains and pressure, and more.

What is bloating?

Bloating is a condition where your gastrointestinal (GI) tract feels full and tight, often due to gas. Gas is the most common cause of bloating, especially after eating.

Causes of bloating

The best way to tackle bloating is to determine its cause. Common reasons for bloating include:

1) Many women, feel bloated the week or so before their period. Premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, make some women feel tired, achy, and irritable. It also makes you hold on to water, which can make you feel bloated. The cause is unclear, but hormones seem to play a part. you can try the following method to ease your bloating during PMS-

✓ Small Cardamom water

✓ Soaked black raisins

✓ chamomile tea

✓ Some yoga postures like child pose, bow pose, bridge pose, downward-facing dog, camel pose, etc

2) Many people feel bloated after having chickpea, broccoli, cabbage, beans, and brussels sprouts. This is because they have a substance called raffinose that bacteria need to break down. That can produce gas and lead to bloat. It’s not bad for you, and how gassy you get varies from person to person and by types of beans.

If this is the reason for you then you can try these remedies-
✓Soaked legumes with a little bit of salt or hing before cooking.
✓Avoid foods that cause gas in raw form. Steaming and sauteing these vegetables will help you to decrease their gas-producing effect.

3) Many of the times the reason for bloating is constipation. If you get constipation, take steps to prevent it by adding more fibre to your diet, drinking lots of fluids, and exercising regularly. Even a 20 to 30-minute brisk walk 4 times a week can improve your bowel function. Eating more fiber helps to prevent constipation and bloating. Recommended daily fiber intake of 25 grams (g) for females and 38 g for males. When increasing fiber intake, it is best to start slowly and increase the intake over several weeks to allow the body to adjust to this change in the diet.

4) Swallowing food quickly can introduce air into the digestive tract. Try to eat slowly and chew your food properly. Do not talk and eat at the same time, sit down to eat (sitting upright and not slumped over), reduce the number of fizzy drinks you consume, stop chewing gum and chew with your mouth closed so that you’re not taking in excess air.

5) One of the reasons for bloating maybe your long hours of sitting or inactivity. Exercise helps your body move stool and gas out of the colon and may make bowel movements more regular. Exercise also releases extra sodium from the body through sweating, which can help to relieve water retention. So, try to get more active every day.

6) To make digestive problems less likely, choose drinks that are not fizzy and do not contain caffeine, such as herbal teas, milk, and plain water. If you cannot do without your coffee or tea, limit your intake to 1 or 2 cups a day.

7) Bloating is actually a very common symptom of anxiety, especially for those with anxiety attacks. The main reason that anxiety leads to bloating is the result of hyperventilation. Hyperventilation is when you take in more air than you need. Or you may find that you start to over-breathe during anxiety attacks and swallow more oxygen than necessary, especially if you’re prone to swallowing during these attacks. You just might find anxiety-relieving techniques such as mediation, exercise, yoga, take a warm bath, soaking, relaxing, acupuncture, herbal medicine and so on, might just help to relieve digestive problems as well as relax you and help you sleep.

Some other Remedies includes-

• Add probiotics in your diet. Probiotics are so-called “friendly bacteria” that are also found naturally in the gut. Taking a probiotic supplement may help to regulate the colon bacteria that can produce gas and cause bloating. Add probiotics like curd, yogurt, buttermilk, lassi. You can add roasted curry leaves, roasted jeera, hing, or black salt in it which are having gas relieving properties.
• Don’t have your fruits with your meal. Try to have your fruits separately.
• Try to limit your sodium in your diet (5gm or less) An excess of sodium causes the body to retain water.
• Fizzy drinks in general tend to bloat the tummy, which can also lead to heartburn. Avoid sugary foods, junk food, and fizzy drinks.
• Rubbing in a circular motion with light pressure up toward the right side of the ribcage.
• Rubbing straight across the upper belly area toward the left rib cage.
• Add magnesium and potassium-rich foods like nuts, seeds, banana, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, apricot, raisin, dates, pumpkin seeds, almonds, and roasted peanuts.
• Include vitamin B6 rich food like potato, walnut, banana, soybeans, wholegrain cereal, fish, and poultry.
• Drink sufficient water in a day according to your body.

If your bloating is severe or comes back. Consult your doctor or dietitian who can help you figure out if gut conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, infection, or others are causing your bloating. Treatment may include changes in diet, sleep, and exercise habits, along with medication.

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Source- Various