Do you feel a strange feeling in your stomach? You may notice that you feel bloated after a meal. Heaviness, tight skin or even discomfort with some signs of abdominal distension. This situation is very common and usually does not require alarm. It is normal to feel a bloated stomach after eating. Gastric emptying varies from a few minutes for liquids to several hours for meats and other solid foods. But there are foods that can contribute to the feeling that the food has not completely left you, which leads to very heavy digestion.
If your stomach feels heavy, you probably don’t have inflammation. Remember that an inflammatory process is a pathological alteration of any part of the body, characterized by blood circulation disorders and, frequently, by increased heat, redness, swelling and pain. Chances are, you just feel bloated. If it persists after every meal or is accompanied by pain, don’t hesitate to go to your doctor. In some cases, abdominal distension is a symptom of a disease that causes intestinal inflammation, such as celiac disease, lactose intolerance, gastric ulcer or irritable bowel syndrome. For this reason, it is important to consult your doctor if abdominal bloating persists and is accompanied by abdominal pain, diarrhea or weight loss.
Eating Habits That Make You Feel Bloated
It’s not just about what we eat, but also how we eat it. There are a number of good and bad practices that contribute to feeling bloated after every meal:
- Avoid large meals: very large meals should be avoided, because when we eat a lot of food, the stomach becomes distended. The ideal is to eat more often but in smaller quantities. Remember to always take the necessary nutrients to stay healthy.
- Fatty foods: Foods that are very high in fat slow down digestion because they delay the passage of food from the stomach to the intestine, which causes the stomach to bloat and produce more gas. You don’t have to give them up, but you can spread the quantities over several meals.
- Eat patiently: Eating quickly, without chewing, or with poor posture can cause more air to enter while eating. In addition, poor posture makes digestion difficult.
- Constipation: A diet very low in fruits, vegetables and water causes food to remain in the large intestine longer and therefore promotes fermentation of stools and the production of gas.
- Lack of exercise: Not exercising can make your digestion more difficult.
- Chewing gum: Avoid situations that cause excessive swallowing of air, such as chewing gum, drinking carbonated beverages, eating quickly, drinking liquids through a straw, chewing with your mouth open, or talking while eating.
- Better Boiled: We recommend using simple cooking methods like boiling, steaming, grilling and baking. Avoid fried foods and foods that are heavy or hard to digest.
Foods that cause bloating
You may have noticed that some foods make digestion more difficult than others. While it is important that you choose one diet or another based on your experience, there are a series of foods that you can try to reduce to combat the feeling of heaviness:
- Sugar: White sugar, brown sugar, molasses, syrups, fructose or honey can cause a feeling of bloating in the stomach. But also sugar added to foods such as jams, fruit juices, sugary drinks, soft drinks, sweets, pastries, biscuits, chocolate and derivatives.
- Trans fats: Trans fats are formed by the hydrogenation of liquid fats at room temperature, which must change their molecular structure to become solid. These are the most dangerous fats for health. They are widely used in processed foods such as margarines, fast food, pizza, French fries and snacks salty foods, microwave popcorn, pastries, cookies, chocolates, sugary breakfast cereals, etc. In short, all foods that contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.
- Saturated fats: Saturated fats found in processed foods have inflammatory properties. In addition to unhealthy fats, these ingredients contain excess sodium, refined starch, or sugars that also promote bloating. They are found in sausages, sausages, sausages, and hamburgers.
- Refined carbohydrates: Eating large amounts of refined carbohydrates like white bread, pasta, and white rice can also promote bloating because they predispose to the growth of gut bacteria.
Foods for fast digestion
It’s not just about avoiding foods to prevent bloating. You can also incorporate things into your diet that will help reduce the feeling of bloating:
- Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids: they are found in oily fish, shellfish, almonds or walnuts. Oily fish such as tuna, mackerel, sardines or salmon are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. On the other hand, although they do not have a direct antioxidant effect, omega-3 fatty acids help protect cell membranes from the harmful effects of oxidative processes. To meet the needs of this type of fat, it is advisable to consume this type of fish at least twice a week. Other sources of omega-3 are dried fruits – especially walnuts – and crushed flax seeds (better absorption of omega-3).
- Foods rich in vitamin C: Strawberries, kiwi, orange, tomato, raw peppers, broccoli and parsley contain large amounts of vitamin C. This vitamin, together with omega-3, inhibits the processes that cause swelling in the body. In addition, papaya and pineapple (fruits rich in vitamin C) contain papain and bromelain, substances with strong anti-inflammatory power. The consumption of fruits and vegetables should be daily and, of the five recommended daily portions, at least one of them should be composed of raw fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C.
- Whole grains: provide minerals, including selenium, and vitamins. Its high fiber content helps prevent constipation, while helping to eliminate impurities from the body.
