5 Holistic tips to help with bloating
Almost all women suffer with a form of bloating at some point in their life, (75% say they suffer with bloat around their period!). And although sometimes this is due to a chronic condition, often it is an inflammatory response. Our body is always working for us, not against us. So try not to get annoyed when you bloat, look at it as a sign that your body is trying to tell you something is not quite right.
If you want to naturally help your digestive system, reduce painful swelling and bloating and feel better about yourself - look no further than this post. As the answer always lies within, everything can always be resolved, we just have to be mindful and listen to our bodies. Some of these tips will work for some and for others they wont.
Rather than over consuming and buying every product and supplement on the market - here are 5 hacks that cost almost nothing and are proven to help combat bloating.
1) Lymphatic Drainage
If you haven’t heard of lymphatic drainage by now, it is a massage technique that helps to reduce swelling and bloat. We have Lymph nodes all over our body and this special form of massage helps to gently move the lymph fluid through our body. Women are more prone to swelling and bloat than men, so this is a great tool to help with that. There are products you can buy to help you give yourself lymphatic massages like a Guasha or a body brush, but massages can also be done with the hands. Look to the picture below for basic guidelines on lymphatic drainage, there is a ton of guided massages online that will go into depth.
2) Watch the way you eat
This tip costs nothing, it just requires you to eat more mindfully and take time to understand what the food is doing to your body. Often we guzzle down our food in minutes, drinking in between bites and rushing after our meal to our next task. But what if I told you that this may be causing your bloating after you eat and not the food itself? If you do not aid your body during digestion, it is more likely to become inflamed and therefore leading to bloat. When we scoff our food we inhale loads of air and it leads to a gassy stomach. So next time you eat, put the drink aside (unless it is water and you really need some whilst you eat), give thanks to your meal and ask the food (in your head) to nourish your body, mind and soul, take sensible bites and chew as much as needed. It sounds petty, but slowing down meal times and being present with the food, using our senses and being grateful, helps our stomach to digest and extract all the nutrients from our meal. Notice the difference when you start to romanticise and slow down meal times, your bloating patterns will change and you will no longer feel such discomfort after eating.
3) Green tea is your best friend
Green tea is packed with nutrients, polyphenols and anti-oxidants which studies have found help reduce bloating if consumed. Green tea has a kind of diuretic effect on the body - which means that it helps flush the body of excess fluids. Another reason to drink green tea for bloating is that studies have also shown hot/warm liquids help the digestive system. Warm liquids help to quickly remove toxins more than cold liquids do, so drinking Green tea is a no brainer when it comes to herbal remedies for bloating. If you don’t like the taste of Green tea, Peppermint tea is also a great one for bloating/ aiding digestion.
4) CASTOR OIL - the miracle worker!
Castor oil promotes detoxification in the body, it is a gentle carrier oil with not much scent, it is great at reducing inflammation and aiding digestion. Grab an old cloth or blanket, saturate it with castor oil and wrap it around your belly for 30 minutes, this is a temporary relief to bloating and cannot target the root cause but if you have painful bloat - this is a soothing technique.
5) Stress - the secret hater
Okay so if you didn’t already know - stress and trauma can be physically stored in our body,(yes you heard that right), so the reason you are constantly bloated may be a sign of high cortisol and stress in the body. When we are stressed, the nervous system sends signals to our gut to go into, “fight or flight”, mode therefore causing a lack of digestion and subsequently, a bloated belly. You can take all the supplements, go on extreme diets, work out every day, but if your life is in a constant state of stress - the bloat will stick. Eliminating stress from our lives is near on impossible, but where you can, step away from whatever is no longer serving you, whether that be toxic relationships, family drama, your job, high intensity workouts, rushed morning routine,(the list goes on…). Prioritise recovery and rest, do what makes YOU happy, set clear boundaries to protect your peace, and you will notice how the inflammation and bloat seems to disappear.
disclaimer
I am NOT a medical professional, these are natural tips to help bloating. I suggest you get to the root cause if your bloat is constant or unbearable, as it may be a condition or reaction to a food group. Seek advice from a GP or doctor before trying to self diagnose and combat inflammation.
