The Best Advice on Eliminating Bloat that I've Seen on the Internet.

Bloating is a serious issue for a lot of people.  It's been a huge problem for me in the past.  For a long time, I've dreamt of eating a tasty meal without having to deal with a huge, swollen stomach afterward.  It seems like the older I get, the more consistent the bloating becomes.

In recent years, detox teas have become insanely popular.  There are countless images on social media shared by influencers who claim that a tea-tox is the right strategy to deal with bloat.

Weeks ago, I came across a post where a popular influencer shared a pic displaying her bare midriff.  The image showed her slightly rounded midsection.  In the caption, she informed her audience that she was now officially preparing for her upcoming vacation and would employ the help of this cleansing tea to help manage bloating.  #sponsored. 

Typically, I tend to immediately navigate away from such posts but, in this instance, I decided to check out the comment section.  I'm glad I did because someone left a detailed comment that, I believe was absolutely spot on.

Let's discuss.

There's so much advice loaded into one comment that we have to break it up into smaller chunks to absorb all of its goodness.  

Let's start at the beginning.  The commenter provides some non-traditional advice that we've discussed on the blog before.  If you want a tight, toned, midsection, you have to strengthen the muscles that surround your core.  Her advice is not to necessarily do a bunch of sit-ups (unless you want boxy abs).   I had the smallest waist of my entire life when I was obsessed with doing stomach vacuums multiple times a day.  Once your inner core muscles strengthen, you'll notice that there's less room for unnecessary food so you end up eating less....which helps your tummy shrink even more.  It was a win-win.

Most people think that if you drink a lot of water, you'll become a bloated mess.  But that is far from the truth.  Part of my bloating protocol involves drinking ample amounts to water to stimulate digestion and promote internal elimination.  It never fails, as soon as I consume ample of amounts of water, I notice that my tummy starts to go down. Yes, sometimes water seems to promote bloating in the short term, but continue to stay hydrated, your body stops holding on to excess water (bloating).  

The next piece of advice we receive is to swap detox teas for digestive enzymes.

I have a story to tell.....

For the past several years, I've made monthly voice recordings where I update the status on various areas of my life.  Two days ago, while out for a morning walk, I decided to listen to an update from long ago.  In the recording, I talked about my attempt to shed a few pounds.  Eating better and walking helped curb a few pounds but I seemed to hit a plateau.  My solution?  I decided to incorporate enzymes and probiotics.  Perhaps I was influenced by the study that demonstrated how our gut health directly affects our weight. By using both probiotics and enzymes, you address any undigested matter while populating the gut with the correct fuel to properly digest the food we eat.  One tip that I may implement is taking the enzymes a half hour prior to eating to give your belly a head start with the digestion process.  According to the person who left the comment, this strategy helps her to stop bloat before it even starts.  I can't wait to try it.    

She doesn't stop there.  Next, she reminds us of how important it is to eat mindfully.  When you take time to eat slowly and chew thoroughly, you'll be shocked at how much less food you eat.  Not only that, by chewing more, you're engaging in the pre-digestion process.  By the time the food reaches your belly, a lot of the work has been done.  This minimizes the potential for bloating.   You'll be surprised at how effective mindful eating is at curbing bloat. 

One important tip that I didn't see mentioned in her comment is to be mindful of your bloat-promoting foods.  All of us have issues digesting certain types of food.  For some people, it's dairy.  I  tend to bloat up when I eat a lot of wheat based products.  The less wheat I eat, the better for my belly.  Pay attention to how your stomach responds to food and you could really curb your bloat. 

Lastly, she leaves us with an important reminder of how abusing cleansing teas can have unwanted side effects.  There's nothing wrong with using a detox tea once in a while to combat constipation. But immediately afterward, you should take an honest look at your diet and eating habits to see if you can implement changes that help your body function properly.  Like she said, our bodies know how to process and digest food. But sometimes we get in the way.  If we do the right things, our bodies should start working properly once again.