I hear frustrated patients ask me out of desperation how to get rid of their bloated stomachs. They feel fat, even though they may be slender. Their clothes are tight. It is uncomfortable to sleep at night due to stomach pain. They wake up in the morning with a flat stomach, but at some point during the day, they look six months pregnant. They have two wardrobes, one for their flat belly and one for their pregnant-looking stomach. Packing for vacation is difficult because they don’t know how bloated they will be.
Imagine:
- Being comfortable in clothes that aren’t just stretchy pants
- Getting rid of your bloated abdomen for good
- Waking up with a flat stomach and keeping it flat all-day
Why Am I Bloated?
No, you’re not fat. You just swallowed a ball of gas. This perception of bloating is most likely coming from your stomach. This is the real culprit.
The reason has to do with how you break down food in your stomach. When you eat food, it enters the stomach. The stomach is not a storage chamber. It is a pass-through chamber. Food is broken down by stomach acid into a slushy mix to prepare it to be sent further into the intestines, the small intestine first, and then the large intestine. There are certain foods that we eat and lifestyle factors that we do that reduce stomach acid. When you have reduced stomach acid, the food sits and gets rotten inside the stomach.
Rotten food releases gas. Imagine a banana sitting on the kitchen counter. You can smell it on the other side of the house due to the gases it releases. The same thing happens with this rotten food. It releases gas. You will notice significant abdominal bloating when you eventually receive this mushy mix of food and a large ball of excess gas into your intestines. If you don’t address the various causes of reduced stomach acid, you will continue to have a bloated abdomen, belly pain, and other intestinal symptoms.
Limit Foods and Medications that Trigger Bloating
Foods that reduce stomach acid production will produce more gas, increasing stomach bloating. The following foods are the biggest culprits in reducing stomach acid. Begin by eliminating these to get rid of the gas production and bloated belly.
- Dairy foods
- All grains
- All nightshades – tomatoes, peppers, potato, eggplant
- Red meat
- Alcohol
- Coffee
- NSAIDS
- Spicy, fried, or fatty foods
- Beans
- Sugar-free foods or artificial sweeteners
- Over-the-counter antacids
- High fructose corn syrup
Avoid Soda
Those bubbles in soda and other carbonated drinks like beer, champagne, or seltzer are filled with large amounts of gas. Drinking them can fill up your digestive system, resulting in abdominal distension. You may burp some of it away, but once the gas reaches your intestines, it stays until you pass. And most sodas are full of sugar, which can make you hold on to water and feel bloated.
Eat Cooked Food Only – Stop Eating Raw
Abdominal bloating is an indicator of poor digestion. From a Chinese Medicine point of view, we believe that you can aid digestion by eating lots of food that is warm and wet. This means cooking, steaming, or baking all your food for a short time as it is easier to break down into a slushy mix. Temporarily eliminate all raw food and eliminate iced drinks. Abdominal discomfort, gas pains, persistent bloating, and acid reflux will be reduced by consuming easier-to-digest food.
Stop Drinking Iced Beverages
We have a healthy metabolic fire within our stomach that helps to aid digestion. Consuming cold or iced beverages reduces stomach acid and quenches metabolic fire, which delays stomach emptying, making bloating worse. In addition, abdominal distention can decrease by consuming room temperature beverages like water or hot beverages like chamomile tea.
If you want to know how to fix your bloated stomach for good, book an appointment or help yourself with our online course. Dr. Corbin and her team of health care professionals use Healing Elephant’s clinically-proven roadmap to channel Sherlock Holmes and solve difficult gut challenges. They will use a combination of natural remedies, acupuncture, and lifestyle changes to resolve the cause of your bloated stomach for good.
Unaddressed chronic bloating can lead not only to a lifetime of abdominal symptoms but can also lead to long-term problems later in life, such as stomach ulcers and signs of cancer in the stomach. See this gas build-up as a wave, a red flag moment. Your body is trying to wave at you. These gastrointestinal symptoms are trying to warn you.
If you’re having challenges with stomach bloat, contact Healing Elephant to discuss your book an appointment with Dr. Corbin and her team. We’ll evaluate your history and medical conditions and work to find a solution.
