While there are many explanations for bloating, none of them make it any less uncomfortable. Bloating can describe the sensation of trapped gas in your stomach, bowel or colon. It could also be related to your body retaining water. Here are some of the potential causes:
- overeating
- being lactose intolerant (even mildly) and eating dairy
- swallowing too much air with your food
- eating high-sodium foods
- drinking through a straw
- chewing gum
- sucking on hard lollies
- eating foods high in oligosaccharides, such as beans and lentils
- eating cruciferous or brassica vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower or carrots.
Before seeking solutions for your swollen stomach, you need to know which type of bloat you’re experiencing.
If you’re retaining water, you should seek foods high in potassium, such as:
- Swiss chard
- bananas
- baked potatoes
- sweet potatoes
- spinach
- salmon
- edamame beans
- halibut
- coconut water.
If you’re dealing with trapped gas, you’ll need foods that will aid your digestion and relax your gastrointestinal tract, such as:
- papaya
- mint
- licorice
- fennel seeds
- caraway seeds
- ginger.
If you’re not sure which type of bloating you’re experiencing, then opt for foods that have a high water content, such as:
- cantaloupe
- cucumbers
- celery
- pineapple
- grapes.
Bloating is uncomfortable, but with the right foods you can do away with distension.
Read more about bloating at WebMD.
Do you know of other ways to reduce bloating? Why not share them with our members?
Solve bloating with more eating ….hehehe sounds fine to me. Sadly I don’t think this bloat is just air!
The bloating is mostly excessive gas.
Eat a couple of charcoal tablets. Charcoal has the ability to absorb 20 X it’s own weight in gas.
Look at the birds; when they are unwell, they pick the charred wood of the trees after a bushfire!
If we all ate like birds in the first place, there would not be a bloating problem!
Peppermint oil capsules solved my air bloat problem in a couple of days. Finished the box about a year ago and have not had the problem since.
I sometimes suffer from severe bloating following (Whipple surgery) removal of part of my pancreas, gaul bladder and bile duct some years ago. Most breads are a major bloating cause for me which I largely replace with whole grain rice boiled with termeric. Baked beans (especially on toast) are also a major problem. I was prescribed many medications all with major side effects but I found peppermint oil capsules the best solution. Of the various brands Mintec is the best as it survives our warm climate the best, others stick to the metallic packing.