Do you ever wonder why you wake up in the morning with a flat belly, only to finish the day looking, well, a bit inflated? Rest assured, the body doesn’t gain instant weight over the course of one day. It’s more likely you are full of air, the air produced by fermenting food.

The good news is that there is a solution. By listening to your body and aligning what you hear with the rights foods and eating habits, you might just keep that belly flat.

The usual culprit for a distended belly or bloating is digestion; indigestion, food intolerance, constipation, overindulgence, or when too much gas is being produced.
It’s a benign condition, and when it’s not related to digestion it could be hormones, as in it’s that time of the month, for the ladies. If it’s prolonged and constant, then it might be a warning sign that something else is up.
The majority of people who get bloated after eating know that it’s bothersome, passion killing and an unnecessary blow to your self esteem.

Beating the bloat

The secret to keeping the bloat at bay is taking the right measure to avoid the ballooning effect in the first place. Of course, this is easier said than done. Below are some tips to keep away a bloated belly

Break a little wind
Of course, there is a time and place to break wind, but holding in too much gas too often can change the way our body goes about letting gout air. This will lead to constipation, and keep you feeling bloated longer.

Stimulate digestion
While bitter tasting food is not loved by all, it’s an absolute crowd pleaser when it comes to stimulating digestive juices. Digestive enzymes, herbal digestive tinctures or the simple aperitif will also work wonders in kick-starting the rest of your digestion. Having these before eating might just be the ultimate weapon. If the damage is already done and you’ve gone too heavy on the serving size, digestive teas like peppermint or chamomile will have a calming effect on digestion.

Diet
There are definitely some foods that are going to make you feel more bloated than others—think beans, onions or cabbage. You may be sensitive to gassy foods, finding yourself very easily bloat. If that’s the case, it might be worth your while to look into the diet Australian researchers have pinpointed as FODMAPs.
The FODMAPs diet limits the foods that just don’t go down well. Reactive foods, like artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup, the brassica vegetable family (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts) and legumes can lead to the bloat 20 minutes after eating. See more here.

While I’m on the subject, I’ll also mention that eating fruit after a meal is also not a good idea. The sugars in the fruit are broken down and digested faster than proteins and fats. So, that means that if fruit is eaten after a meal, it has to wait in line to be digested and move on through. This will cause another case of bloating.

Food intolerance or allergies
Along the same lines as above, food intolerances cause lots of gas. Lactose, fructose, eggs and gluten are common offenders. While they don’t punish everyone who eats them, those who limit their intake of these foods might enjoy better digestive ease.

Don’t get constipated
Sometimes we need to nudge along our unwanted waste when it’s starting to clog up the colon. The bacteria in our gut wants to feed on the good fresh stuff, not the day or week old fermented leftovers. If we don’t get things moving on a regular basis, then our gut bacteria will have no choice but the feed on those leftovers. This will eventually be the fuel of farts.
Fibre gets things moving and promotes a smoother and easy transit. The tops forms of plant fiber are psyllium husk and plums. But any piece of fruit or vegetable will help. It’s important to note that consuming high fibre is useless without sufficient fluids. Together fibre and water will add bulk to the stool and get things ready for movement.

Avoid excess gas productions
Gas either comes from gut bacteria, or from inhaled or swallowed air.

Following simple rules like chewing your food properly and eating mindfully sounds so simple. But if you are wolfing down food, it won’t be properly masticated. This means, the rest of your digestive system will be hard at work breaking it a part. If the food pieces manage to get through in full form, it will be a fermenting fiesta for your gut bacteria.

Gut bacteria, or in fact any bacteria, feed off of sugar. So cutting back on sugar will also limit similar fiestas (also known as candida overgrowth) from happening too often.
If the bacteria in our gut seem to be acting up, then a probiotic supplement might be just what’s needed to balance them out for them to begin to work efficiently again.

The other way air gets trapped in is when we inhale it by eating with our mouths open, eating and talking or eating in a hurry. Was there method to our parent’s madness when they told us to eat with our mouths closed or to zip the lip when our mouths were full?
Air will also get in, through form of carbonated drinks and swallowed when chewing gums or using straws.

Last note on the bloat

If you get bloated, it’s important to find your kryptonite. Be mindful of what you eat and how it makes you feel—that’s the best place to start. Your answer might be in one of the above offenders, but sometimes it may be trickier, with a lot of trial and error involved.

For those who are willing to sacrifice digestive ease to eat whatever they please, then use digestive bitters or teas. If it’s too late and the bloat is already inside you, try some postprandial yoga moves. Light stretching or walking can bring relief, and so will napping it out until the digestion is fully complete.