Highly Refined Foods
It’s no secret that processed foods aren’t great for your health, but on top of weight gain concerns they may actually play a role in digestive issues and chronic bloating. While inflammation can come from hormones, food intolerances or even simply drinking water too quickly, regularly consuming highly refined foods is also likely to leave your belly distended and uncomfortable.
“If we are to focus on diet alone, the one food I would recommend for anyone with chronic bloating to stop eating would be highly refined foods such as pastries, cakes, candy, frozen meals, etc,” explains functional nutritionist Amy Lippert.
Although you can certainly consume processed foods in moderation so you’re not creating a restrictive diet, if your stomach has been experiencing more discomfort than usual it may be beneficial to remove these processed carbs from your day and see if that makes a difference in bloating.
“Many of these foods do not contain the nutrients needed to support healthy digestion leading to an imbalance in the microbiome, which can lead to gas and bloating,” notes Lippert. “When the microbiome becomes unbalanced due to the types of foods we are feeding it, gas and other unpleasantries are produced in the gut.”
Sometimes, digestive issues that seem to be significant can be cured by something as simple as removing or reducing certain foods within your diet, and while refined items generally make for delicious treats, they can throw off your gut health and offer more cons than pros to your body.
“By eliminating refined foods and adding more whole foods to the diet, the microbiome becomes more balanced and chronic symptoms such as gas are reduced,” adds Lippert. Some simple swaps you can make within your eating habits that can still satisfy your cravings without causing irritation are dark chocolate covered strawberries instead of candy, a creamy, fruit-packed smoothie rather than ice cream, or sprouted bread instead of white bread.
Avoiding foods that can trigger bloating and indigestion will make all the difference in the comfort levels of your body, and keeping note of ingredients that provoke irritation in your stomach can help to reduce the frequency of this issue. On the whole, processed foods are one of the largest culprits of stomach issues and chronic bloating, so making healthy swaps or simply cutting back on the amount of refined foods you’re eating will allow for a flatter stomach and less discomfort from day to day.