Want to look thinner without dieting? If bloating is your problem, you can beat the bloat and look thinner. If you have chronic bloating, there are three leading causes, and the best news of all, there is something you can do about it.
It’s all about digestion, and you have the power to make your bloat disappear and to support a healthy digestion system.
Three Main Causes of Bloating
Think honestly about your eating habits, the foods you choose, how you eat, where you eat, etc. The best way to determine the cause of your bloating is to be completely honest.
1. Bacterial Imbalance
Sometimes referred to as dysbiosis, a bacterial imbalance is a disruption in the healthy symbiotic relationship between your body and the numerous microbes that live in your gastrointestinal tract.
In severe cases, this dysbiosis can cause inflammatory bowel disease, ulcers, and even gastric and colon cancers. In simple cases of microbiota disruption, you get bloating, sometimes chronic bloating, and an upset stomach.
A bacterial imbalance is more common than you may expect, and it has a number of different causes. Some of them include:
♦ Changes in your diet
♦ Drinking too much alcohol on a regular basis
♦ New medications, especially antibiotics
♦ Poor dental hygiene
♦ Stress, anxiety, or a weakened immune system
♦ Unprotected sex
The good news is that you can take charge of your microbiome and make some positive changes that will relieve or eliminate your bloat.
The first step is adding a quality prebiotic and a probiotic like Live Conscious Pro-45. If you’ve heard of probiotics, then you know they’re the good live bacteria that live in your gut.
Prebiotics aren’t as popular or as well known as probiotics. Prebiotic fiber is the part of the fiber that your body doesn’t digest. Instead, it moves through your body, providing probiotics with nourishment along the way.
Keeping your microbiome healthy and thriving involves both having the probiotics and fueling them effectively.
The next way to boost your microbiome is to focus on your diet. Sure, you can add supplements to help support your diet and to fill in the gaps, but eating a healthy diet is the best way to support gut health.
Start by adding more fiber to your diet, aim for whole-grain foods, and lots of dark leafy green vegetables. Try to eat more fermented foods like sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, kimchi, and kefir. If you love pickles, look for fermented pickles, as they can boost the level of beneficial probiotics in your body.
Steer clear of most dairy products except yogurt and kefir, and focus on lean proteins.
2. Processed Foods
Don’t be too quick to congratulate yourself for packing a sandwich rather than hitting a fast food joint. That sandwich might be just as bad for you as the burger.
Processed meats are notorious for causing bloating. Many processed foods are high in salt, and some are high in sugar, and there are some that are high in both. Salt makes your body retain water, which causes bloat. Sugar feeds bad bacteria in your intestinal tract, causing an imbalance.
No big surprises here, as the best way to stop the bloat if it’s related to processed foods is to stop eating processed foods. Instead, replace them with the gut-healthy foods mentioned above.
The trick is to avoid processed foods, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. Not everyone takes the time to learn about the foods they eat and how they’re made.
Then comes the really confusing news; not all processed foods are bad. Bagged spinach can be considered a processed food, and you already know that eating dark leafy greens like spinach is good for you. Your best bet is to start reading the ingredients and avoid foods processed with sugars and salts.
For additional help and to commit to learning more about the food you eat, follow Live Conscious on Facebook @weliveconscious and Instagram @weliveconscious.
3. Lack of Digestive Enzymes
Your body might not be digesting foods as it should, and simply because it can’t. If you don’t have the enzymes needed to pull macronutrients apart and separate them into useful nutrients and waste, your body will move everything through your system. This means that some useful nutrients will get hung up in your guts and ferment in there causing bloat, gas, and sometimes pain or bowel issues.
Fix this problem by loading up on enzyme-rich foods. Bananas, pineapples, papaya, and avocados are your go-to foods. Bananas have amylase to target carbohydrates. Pineapples have bromelain, and papaya has papain; both of these enzymes focus on protein. Avocados have lipase, which is great at breaking down fat. There are other enzyme-rich foods, and getting to know them puts you ahead of the game.
If you still can’t seem to get enough enzymes in your diet, you can add a supplement. DigestWell is a great way to not only get the enzymes you need, but it also comes with probiotics in an herbal formula for digestive support.
Waking Up To Wellness
If you’ve made a connection between dropping the bloat and eating a healthier diet, then you’re catching on.
It’s true, not only will eating to decrease the bloat make you look thinner, but it will actually fuel you with healthy foods that tend to be more nutrient-dense and low in calories. Now, that’s a winning solution!
Not sure if bloat is your problem? That’s okay, changing your diet to support digestive health isn’t going to hurt you, even if your gut is right on track, and you’re digesting foods like a champ.
It’s worth it to give it a shot, heck; you might even find you like some of the healthier foods better than the ones you were eating before.
If you’ve decided that your addiction to processed foods, your gut’s microbiome, and/or digestive enzymes are the problem, you’re now armed to battle the bloat and win! Get ready to button those skinny jeans again and feel fantastic.