Have you noticed that your belly is pumped like a balloon after a great meal? You feel like opening your waist button to relieve your belly from all that pressure. You then start thinking that you are overweight. However, you also notice that all other parts of your body have remained in their usual sizes. Thus, it cannot be that you are growing in size. But, still you feel discomfort and nobody really wants to look as if their belly is hanging out of their waist.
What is Bloating?
Bloating happens when the gastrointestinal tract is filled with air or gas. The normal digestive function is then interrupted and the gut bacteria finds it hard to digest all the food that you have ingested during that wonderful dinner.
What Causes a Bloated Stomach?
Fast Meal
Sometimes you eat too quickly because you have not eaten for hours and you are unable to resist that food craving. That incredible hunger makes you wolf down without chewing enough and you swallow a lot of air in the process. Now your gut will have to complete the unfinished chewing of your ingested food. The gut will take a lot more time than your teeth to complete the large food pieces and this will make your stomach bloat.
Solution: Eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly. When it becomes like a paste in your mouth, then you can swallow down. This will avoid overworking your stomach and accelerate digestion.
Food Intolerance
There are certain food that are not much appreciated by the gut. Some people show intolerance to dairy or seafood products. The bowel is unable to complete the digestion process, and when this happens, fermentation of the undigested food takes place in the digestive tract. Additionally, there can be acid re-flux and all these make your stomach bloat.
Solution: Avoid eating food that you are allergic to.
Breathing Way
Some times when you lie on your back to sleep, you unconsciously have the tendency to breath through your mouth when you are asleep. When you do that, you are actually swallowing three times as much air than breathing through the nose. This excess air is what inflates your belly.
Solution: Lie on your side instead of your back. In this position, your head will not be tilted and your jaw will not open.
Stress
Stress will make the digestive enzymes become inactive and the stomach acids will decrease. The food inside your stomach will not be broken down. This will result in a bloated stomach after eating.
Solution: Practicing physical exercises and traveling are some nice ways to keep stress away.
Get off that balloon now! Bloating is not a big health issue and you can easily get away with it by following the above tips. Alternatively, you can drink a lot of water, eat a banana, add ginger to your meals, exercise by doing some yoga stretches and have probiotics which are known to restore balance in your gut and help control harmful bacteria in the digestive tract.
Hope the above helps you! Remember to share your comments in the section below.