12 Natural Remedies To Treat Bloating & Prevent It In The ... · 12 Natural Remedies To Treat Bloating & Prevent It In The First Place! " # $ ... sodium and reduce swelling in your

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12 Natural Remedies To Treat Bloating & Prevent It In TheFirst Place

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12 Natural Remedies To Treat Bloating & Prevent It In The First P... http://www.bustle.com/articles/159126-12-natural-remedies-to-tre...

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If bloating only affected us when we were on our period, life would be mucheasier. But bloating is a common complaint that affects women across theboard, no matter your age, size, or where you are in your menstrual cycle.Blame it on your physical makeup — no, really, you can put all the blame onbiology. A woman's colon, which is 10 centimeters longer than a man's, isconstantly competing for space with the bladder, uterus, ovaries, andfallopian tubes. Plus, in order to prepare us for pregnancy and subsequentextra water retention, our colons are more of a winding path with lots ofunexpected turns. In layman's terms, we were born to bloat.

Luckily, there are certain things we can do that can prevent us from bloatingso often. Bustle spoke with Robynne Chutkan, M.D., an integrativegastroenterologist, founder of the Digestive Center for Women, and authorof The Bloat Cure: 101 Natural Solutions for Real and Lasting Relief, who saysthe most basic lifestyle adjustments go a long way. If you want to preventbloating during a particularly vulnerable time, like the week leading up toyour period, she says, "Cut down on salt and heavy foods like dairy and meatand drink an extra 1-2 liters of water daily."

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Even if you're on top of your game, though,you're bound to face unexpected bloating atsome point. No need to worry, because Dr.Chutkan says there are loads of natural ways

to take care of a swollen abdomen, indigestion, and gas. There are severalfoods you can eat (or avoid eating) and activities you can do, and they're allpretty simple. If you don't have any of the following products in your homealready, you can easily get your hands on them at your local shops.

Here are 12 natural remedies for bloating.

1. Consume Some Plant-Based Probiotics

Pure

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If you and your swollen stomach are feeling blue, Dr. Chutkan recommendsyou reach for "live bacteria that can help address imbalance in the gut flora."Probiotics are your very own superheroes that stop bad bacteria and yeastfrom accumulating too much in your intestines, which leads to bloating. Thebest probiotics contain these strains of good microbes: Lactobacillusacidophilus, Lactobacillus reuteri, and Saccharomyces boulardii. Be sure tolook on the label to see if any or all of them are inside the package.

Kimchi, sauerkraut, tempeh, and kombucha are always reliable options. Evenbetter is that these probiotics will assist you in pooping with ease, which may


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be the primary cause of your uncomfortable bloating in the first place. Dr.Chutkan also says these foods reduce gas production.

2. Chew On Fennel Seeds Or Drink Fennel Tea

You may not have fennel just lying around (unless you've been experimentingwith fancy Jamie Oliver recipes), but it's an easy thing to scoop up at yournearest health food store or online. "Eat a pinch of fennel seeds at the end ofa meal to benefit from its gas-reducing oils," Dr. Chutkan tells Bustle. Thiscan be particularly helpful if you've eaten your fair share of cruciferousvegetables, such as broccoli, and you can already feel the belly bloating alittle bit, (something which is completely natural, by the way). It's also a niceway to wrap up a big plate of carby pasta.

For those of you who don't want to munch on fennel seeds like a chipmunk(though they are kind of delicious), you've got options. Dr. Chutkan says youcan put crushed or whole seeds in a cup of boiling water and steep for 10minutes before you sip on it. There's always the option of sprinkling them ontop of your next meal, too.


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3. Sip On Water With Freshly-Squeezed Lemon Juice

Lemon juice stimulates digestive enzymes and speeds up the process ofwhatever good is happening in your gut. Make yourself a glass of warm lemonwater if you've eaten a lot of salt recently; it can help flush out the extrasodium and reduce swelling in your face, hands, ankles, and abdomen. Infact, keeping hydrated in general is a good idea if you want to successfullyfight bloating.


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5. Avoid Eating Canned Beans

You might pat yourself on the back when you add chickpeas to your salad,thinking about how much protein you're giving your adult self. But thatmight come at a cost if those were canned chickpeas. Dr. Chutkan sayscanned beans often contain hidden ingredients that make your body swollen,


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even if you rinse them well before using them.

To counteract the bloating you may experience from those canned beans, thenext time you want to add beans to your meal, buy the dried variety fromyour grocery store and soak those suckers overnight so they are easier onyour digestive system and less likely to make you swell up.

6. Drink Less Coffee

Ideally, drinking no coffee would be the best solution, because coffeeincreases acid production and irritates your GI tract, two things that roll outthe red carpet for bloating. But we live in the real world and, for many of us,kissing coffee goodbye simply isn't an option. Dr. Chutkan knows that, so ifyou don't want to swear it off completely, she says limiting yourself to onecup of coffee or less for the day can help with your bloating. "And try not toturn your coffee into a milkshake with lots of cream and sugar, which canthemselves contribute to your bloat," she adds.


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7. Eat Ginger Or Drink Ginger Tea


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Ginger has been used for centuries to cure all kinds of basic ailments. Twocompounds called gingerols and shogaols found in this root reduceinflammation in your gut and send a strong message to the muscles in yourintestines to chill out. There are a few different ways to effectively get gingerin your system, but unfortunately, those sugary ginger chews aren't one ofthem.

Instead, cut a few very thin slices of ginger and steep them in boiling waterfor 10 minutes. You can add honey and a squeeze of lemon to make it tastybefore you sip on it. You can even chew on little pieces of raw ginger for aquick fix, if you don't mind the taste. Powdered ginger root, which you cantake daily as a supplement, is also an option.

8. Try Acupuncture


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Rhiannon Griffiths, an acupuncturist and qualified Co-active coach, told theGuardian that acupuncture is a treatment that can significantly help withinflammation in your digestive tract, and the bloating that happens as aresult. She says this ancient Eastern treatment can "re-regulate the correctflow of energy in the body," which can help to "settle down the stomach, helpdigestion and calm irritable bowel syndrome."

In order to reduce any swelling you may be experiencing from your diet, theusually-painless needles are placed in various places, like your arms, legs,abdomen, and feet. Acupuncture is an excellent solution for people whoinexplicably battle bloating on a regular basis.

9. Cook Grains & Legumes With Kombu

It may sound like an ominous planet from the Star Trek series, but kombu isan edible seaweed-like sea vegetable from Japan that is used in Asiancuisines. Dr. Chutkan recommends you add a little bit of kombu to the potwhen you cook your next batch of beans, lentils, or grains such as quinoa,since kombu contains an enzyme that makes it easier for your body to break


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down the foods that can be tough on your intestines. It'll definitely preventfuture swelling, and it may even minimize an already-bloated stomach.

10. Do A Few Simple Yoga Moves

Not only does it ease muscular and joint pain, but yoga additionally offersrelief when your digestive system is all tangled up. There are a few differentpostures you can do at home to ease the bloating and reduce any pains inyour abdomen that might be occurring as a result.

Start with apanasana, which is basically lying on your back and hugging your


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knees into your chest. You can then take a supine twist by bringing yourknees to one side and letting your head fall the opposite way. Downwardfacing dog and standing forward fold are simple but effective as well; they'reeasy inversions that encourage blood flow to your lower half. Whicheverpostures you choose, hold them for a few minutes at a time to get maximumresults.

11. Snack On A Banana

You could probably use some extra fiber in your life to get things moving ifyou're uncomfortably bloated. Ripe bananas are known to aid with digestionand bowel movements, and the potassium found in this fruit manages thefluid levels in your body that are causing the bloating. Don't eat more thanone, though, because that could actually make you constipated, and thenyou'll have no fighting chance against that stubborn bloating.

12. Try Eliminating Dairy


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Even though going gluten-free is all the rage these days, it's more likely youhave a lactose intolerance than a gluten sensitivity. Lactose is the main sugarin milk, and in order for it to be properly processed in your body, you needhave an enzyme called lactase. Infants have plenty of it because they need itto digest breastmilk, but as we get older, we produce less and less lactasebecause we don't need milk anymore.

This makes it extremely difficult for the digestive system to break downcow's milk and other dairy products the same way, which is what causes thatbloated belly. This symptom only takes as little as 30 minutes to show upafter you've downed some dairy — and it's way more common than youthink. An estimated 98 percent of Southeast Asians, 90 percent of Asian-Americans, 74 percent of Native-Americans, 70 percent of African-Americans,and the majority of Jewish, Latino, and Indian people all suffer from lactoseintolerance, so if you're feeling bloated all the time, you might considercutting out dairy for six weeks and seeing how you feel. If you're lucky, yourbloating might disappear altogether.

Images: Fotolia (8) ; Pexels (2)

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12 Natural Remedies To Treat Bloating & Prevent It In The ... · 12 Natural Remedies To Treat Bloating & Prevent It In The First Place! " # $ ... sodium and reduce swelling in your