5 Tips To Prevent Bloating Before It Strikes

We live in a time where the phrase "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" has become our standard protocol towards our health. While we might not intentionally plan it, typically people wait until something bad has happened to their health to actually act on it and make positive changes in their life. I'm not saying I'm out of this equation either. I truly believe I wouldn't be where I am today or have the outlook that I have on health if it weren't for my eating disorder back in my younger years. With that said, we need to start thinking preventatively when it comes to our health – that way, we don't have to battle a health crisis down the line and our body is equipped to handle whatever life may throw at us.

When I initially set out to write about the topic of bloating, a symptom far too many of us experience on a daily basis, I began to draw up natural remedies to cope with bloating. I immediately stopped myself and thought – what if I can show people how to avoid such a preventable thing such as bloating instead of just teaching them how to mask the issue at hand? After all, optimal health is all about getting the root cause of the issue so we don't have to live a life where we're still suffering from symptoms just in a pain-free way.So let's talk bloating – do I have any haters out there? You're not alone.

For far too long, I accepted bloating as a normal part of routine. "Just having a fat day" became a regular phrase in my vocabulary. Little did I realize all of this could be solved by tweaking my dietary habits slightly. When I refer to my "dietary habits", I'm referring to the actual food that I was eating, how I was eating it and the timing that I was eating it at. All of these factors matter and should be considered if you're looking to optimize your digestion and prevent bloating.

A good place to start when understanding how to prevent bloating is to look at what causes bloating and sculpt solutions around that. Once we have a thorough understanding of the causes, we can use the following tips to take action and avoid common mistakes.

5 Tips To Prevent Bloating

1.Chew your food at least 32 times

This might sound ridiculous and could possibly gross some of you out, but it's a surefire way to bring ease to your digestive processes. Think about it – if digestion begins in the mouth and we're not optimizing that, that means we're leaving the rest of the work to our digestion. The human body is an incredible work of art, but it also has its limits. Leaving it to break down our fibrous vegetables is no easy task and holds the potential of all of the food and its nutrients not being digested and assimilated properly by the body. When you chew your food, slow down and aim to chew approximately 25 times (until it reaches a paste-like texture). For those who are watching their weight, this is also a good tip to help you feel full faster and prevent overeating.

2.Avoid drinking liquids with meals

This might sound a bit backwards, especially since we've been wired to prepare a meal or set the table with the inclusion of liquids. Upon arrival to a restaurant, the waiter/waitress asks "Can I get anyone something to drink?" For the longest time, articles centred around weight loss preached the idea of "filling up on water" to prevent over eating. I guess they forgot to include the fact that drinking liquids during and with meals dilutes the stomach acid (hydrochloric acid) that is needed to help digest and break down our food. It's okay to sip liquids throughout your meals in small increments (if you must, that is) and sip before and after your meal as well. But avoid the whole chugging like you're back at a university frat party sort of thing.

3.Pay attention to potential food sensitivities/intolerances

We know certain foods that generally work well with our body versus those that don't, but we never point to food sensitivities, intolerances or allergies being the prime culprit, do we? While I haven't tested for a dairy/milk allergy (lactose intolerance), I know that it causes me a great amount of digestive distress. I could hardly eat an ice-cream cone without clearing out a room of family members due to the amount of gas and bloating it gave me (again, there is no such thing as TMI here - ever). This can be caused by a number of things, from having a deficient amount of enzymes needed to break down specific carbohydrates, fats or proteins which lead to improper digestion and undigested food in the large intestines which results in gas production and bloating. While a food sensitivity or intolerance may not present itself the way we know allergies do, we should still be mindful of the way our body is responding to foods. A good way economical way of determining whether your bloating is caused by a food sensitivity or intolerance is to keep a journal of the foods you eat in a day followed by any symptoms you experienced after eating those foods (i.e. gassy, bloated, brain fog etc) or by doing an Elimination Diet which can be done with a Holistic Nutritionist.

4.Consider food combining

Yes, rules are made to be broken, but for someone who is suffering from severe gastrointestinal distress, these rules are to be followed! The rules of Food Combining suggest that certain foods should and shouldn't be consumed together, along with the timing to eat foods at for optimal digestion. A simple one to follow right off the bat is to consume coffee and fruit away from meals (approximately ~45 minutes away). This is because all macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats and proteins) have varying digestion times. If we eat fruit after a heavy meal (which typically digest within an hour), it's going to be held up in the digestive process and cause fermentation which leads to gas and bloating. Coffee, on the other hand, will speed up digestion too much and cause the pyloric sphincter which leads to our small intestine to open too early and release indigested food particles into our system – no bueno. It is also recommended to only eat proteins and non-starchy carbohydrates together (i.e. chicken breast + leafy greens or mushrooms, peppers and onions. no potato here, sadly!) I personally keep these rules in mind on a general basis but I don't always follow them. However, for someone who is trying to pinpoint the cause of their bloating, I would highly suggest following these rules.

5.Take it easy on cruciferous vegetables

Broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and kale – bless their little plant hearts, but man can they ever do a number on our digestion! These cruciferous vegetables contains ogliosaccharides and sulfur compounds. The ogliosaccharides (which are also found in beans & legumes - surprise, surprise) make it difficult for our body to digest since our small intestine can't break them down, meaning it goes straight to the colon for our bacteria to crunch down on them, which creates its own gases as a result.  They are also incredibly fibrous and difficult for the average person to break down. For that reason, it is recommended that you cook them if you are going to consume them (which you should, because they're delicious and incredibly nourishing for our bodies!)

Do you have any tips for preventing gas or bloating that you've found to be helpful?