14 DAY TRIAL // Bloating is one of those embarrassing conditions that affect the vast majority of people and yet very few of us are willing to openly talk about it - for obvious reasons. The corollary of this "hush-hush" attitude, the fact that we rarely talk about bloating and usually just grit our teeth and do our best to hide it, is that for most of us, bloating is just another one of those things.
We have to live with it, there's no cure, and it's all mostly down to luck and predisposition. And while up to a point that is true - in the sense that some of us are genetically predisposed to it - it does not mean that we have to take bloating as a fact of life. Here are a few easy things we can do to fight bloating.
First of all, all experts agree on the fact that we should chew our food very carefully. If we're in a hurry and gulp down our lunch, for example, we're very likely to take in more air, which becomes trapped in the intestines - and that's not very good news for our bowel.
Another thing we have to do is eat food rich in zinc, a vital mineral that helps with protein digestion. Lack of zinc makes the small intestine less able to absorb food and causes undigested food to be exposed to bacteria in the intestines for longer, creating gas and bloating. The best sources of zinc are lamb, salmon, spinach, rye bread, lentils, peas and brown rice.
Also avoid heartburn triggers such as alcohol, caffeine, high fatty or spicy foods. Alcohol in particular inflames the digestive tract and depletes the body of magnesium, which has an essential part in keeping food moving through the bowel. Also, some of the drugs prescribed for heartburn can cause low stomach acid, which means that proteins will not be digested properly and will sit in your small intestine longer.
Contraceptives can also cause bloating, as they trigger water retention, so you may want to switch to a Pill with diuretic properties. Eat natural yogurt regularly and avoid water or any other fizzy drinks as you eat. The carbon dioxide gets trapped in the gut and the liquids dilute the acid in your stomach so that the food is not well absorbed. Finally, avoid refined starchy foods that contain high quantities of yeast and sugar, as they promote fermentation in the digestive tract - with unwanted consequences.