Starting your day off on the right foot is an essential part of living your healthiest life—and that includes nourishing your body with a well-balanced breakfast. Whether or not you believe it’s really the most important meal of the day, there’s no denying the importance of the food you eat when you wake up. A great breakfast will energize you, help kickstart your metabolism, and keep you full until lunchtime rolls around. The wrong breakfast, on the other hand, could cause a number of issues throughout the day—including painful afternoon bloating.
To discover some of the most common breakfast mistakes that could lead to bloating and other digestive issues, we spoke to health expert Kristin Gillespie, MS, RD, LD, advisor for Exercise With Style. She pointed out three habits you should avoid if you struggle with a bloated stomach. Read on for all of her advice!
1. Too much salt
If you want to avoid bloating later in the day, Gillespie recommends steering clear of salty breakfast foods—no matter how deviously delicious they are. "Many breakfast foods are salty," she notes, citing bacon sausage, and hash browns as examples. Unfortunately, she says, "Eating too much salt at breakfast can cause you to retain fluid as the day progresses, resulting in unpleasant bloating." Say it ain't so!
2. Too much sugar
While it's important not to consume too much sodium in the morning, it's also important to note that veering too far in the other direction and overdoing it with sugary breakfast foods is also a no-go for anyone who struggles with bloating. "Sugar, much like salt, can cause fluid retention and bloating," Gillespie warns. "So steer clear of those sugary breakfast foods, like pastries, pancakes, and waffles." Got it!
3. Gulping down a smoothie
Smoothies are definitely one of the healthier breakfast options out there. They can offer a lot of nutrition and, plus, they're delicious. However, Gillespie warns that gulping one down in the morning could be the cause of your digestive issues. "Even if your smoothie is super healthy and made from the cleanest of ingredients, it may be causing bloating," she tells us. "Consuming lots of liquid at one time takes up a lot of space in our stomach, which can cause bloating. Additionally, if you're sipping your smoothie through a straw, the extra air you're swallowing will worsen the issue." We had no idea! For this reason, it may be better to go back to basics and eat a bowl of fruit instead.
Okay, so what can you eat if you should avoid salt, sugar, and smoothies? At the end of the day, it all comes down to prioritizing a well-balanced diet. Some of the best healthy breakfast foods that can help beat bloating include oatmeal, berries, and yogurt. "Your best bet for reducing breakfast bloat is to consume a healthy, well-balanced breakfast that contains foods from a variety of food groups and minimizing excessive sugar and salt," Gillespie concludes.
