How to beat the bloat - 5 tips from a Dietitian that don't involve cutting your favourite foods.

Bloating is one of the most commonly reported digestive complaints. It is important to note that bloating is a normal part of our body digesting food. Bloating is a sensation of feeling ‘gassy,’ ‘having trapped gas,’ or ‘pressure’ in the abdominal region. This may often be paired with distention - the visible expansion of the abdominal region. 

Some people will experience some mild bloating after a meal with no pain or discomfort at all and get about their daily activities just fine. For others this may be severe, come with a lot of pain, discomfort, and really impact on daily life and activities… or you may just fit somewhere in between. It is when bloating becomes uncomfortable and impacts on your daily activities and general wellbeing that this becomes a problem. If you experience chronic bloating or a sudden worsening in the severity of bloating make sure to check in with your GP to ensure any underlying cause or condition is appropriately investigated (i.e. coeliac disease, diverticular disease, SIBO). 

Although it can be easy to blame the most recent food you have eaten for that post lunch bloat (poor old pasta, bread, gluten and dairy) it is important to know that there is actually a whole range of non-food related factors that can also contribute to bloating. That's not to say specific foods don’t contribute to some of your symptoms, however, before you go cutting out your favourite foods let's think about some other key factors that can play a role… 

Eat mindfully and take your time with meals 

It may sound simple but making sure you chew your food well, can have a huge impact on your body's ability to digest food and absorb all that wonderful nutrition we get from it. From the moment we start chewing our food, digestive enzymes are released in our mouth to start breaking down our food. When we scoff down our meals between meetings, rushing out the door or whilst distracted by screens this can worsen that bloating after your meal. For your next meal try to slow down, increase the amount of chews you take, perhaps put down your cutlery between mouthfuls and enjoy a social meal time with friends or family. 

Avoid large portions of food at your meals 

When we eat larger portions of food and drinks in one sitting - particularly lots of fibrous and/or high-fat foods this leaves more food in the stomach for our body to digest, often worsening that bloat after a meal.
You may also consume a larger portion of fermentable fibres (e.g. trying to get all of your veggies in at dinner!) that produce more gas when digested by our gut bacteria. This often leads to more gas, wind and bloating. Next meal time, think about the size of your meal - are you consuming more than you need? Do you have a good balance of protein, carbs, veggies and healthy fats? Could you possibly space some of this out over the day? 

Space your meals out over the day 

This brings me to my next point… are you one who skips breakfast, sometimes lunch and eats the bulk of your meals later on in the day? Eating smaller meals, more frequently throughout the day can help with managing that bloat. This will help in reducing that portion of food, fermentable fibres and fats all being digested in one sitting. Maybe you could try waking up 20 minutes earlier tomorrow morning and set aside some time to enjoy a breakfast meal - mindfully! You may be less ravenous by the time lunch rolls around. 

Breathing and stress management techniques 

We now understand a lot more about the gut brain connection. Constant stress and anxiety can put our body in fight or flight mode - moving that blood flow away from the digestive tract. Taking some time before a meal to slow down, practice meditation or deep breathing can help to get our body back to that rest and digest mode - allowing our food to be digested more effectively. This combined with the strategies above may help minimise that excess bloat after your meal. This could be as simple as taking 3 big deep breaths before a meal to reconnect with your body. Diaphragmatic breathing can be a great technique, as activating the diaphragm muscles can create a gentle massaging action felt by the internal organs (such as the stomach and bowel) while also activating the parasympathetic nervous system (our rest and digest system).  You could try out some guided breathing exercises and read more in our blog below.

Think about what you can add in? 

Ensuring you have a varied balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, legumes, nuts & seeds with moderate amounts of lean proteins and dairy/alternatives is important for a healthy gut. Bloating can be a common symptom associated with constipation - adding in foods like linseeds and rolled oats can be a well tolerated source of fibre for people who may be experiencing constipation, wind and bloating. 

Already eat lots of fibre rich foods? This is best to check in with a dietitian as bulking up on too much fibre may sometimes make things worse! It is important to find the right balance for you. A dietitian can help assess your diet to identify any tweaks you can make to help find the right balance for you. 

Still feeling stuck on what could possibly be causing your bloating? Of course there are also many food components that can be at play here (FODMAPs, Food chemicals, lactose, polyol sweeteners, gluten, dairy, SIBO) - this becomes complex and we do not expect you to understand all of this on your own! Unfortunately, we do not have specific tests to diagnose food intolerances… this must be done under the guidance of an Accredited Practising Dietitian.
Our gut health dietitian, Abbey, can help you understand your diet and lifestyle triggers and help develop a practical plan to manage your gut symptoms.