Looking & feeling 10-20lbs heavier than you are is never ideal – not great for self esteem, wearing your favourite clothes comfortably or moving freely. It can also be straight-up painful! Here are 5 things to do right now to reduce belly bloat & improve gut health
- Get a good probiotic: safe & well indicated for most people, probiotics are a fantastic way to regulate bowels & eliminate gas buildup in the intestines. Different strains have different effects, so if you’ve tried one before without results, it might’ve been because it was the wrong one for you
- Prevent air from entering your gut: avoid eating & drinking too fast (20 seconds per bite), carbonated drinks, gum chewing, straws, etc. These all increase gassiness
- Make sure you don’t have a hernia: Hiatal Hernia is an extremely common condition where the stomach is not quite in the right place & you might not even know you have one. A hernia anywhere along the digestive tract can cause bloating & issues like heartburn too. If you’re chronically bloated, this can be a major cause. And it can be corrected relatively easily with herbs & acupuncture. Many people live with this for years, thinking its untreatable… this is usually not the case
- Prioritize keeping your bowels regular: constipation & diarrhea are both big causers of bloating. Bowel movements should be between 1-3 times daily (every day!), & the amount that should be passed in a 24 hour period is approximately the length of your forearm (its a lot!). Movements should not be urgent or loose & hold their form when flushed. Any difficulty passing a movement should be treated, certainly if blood or mucous are present (gross to some, but we need to talk about these things!) Bowel movements are ESSENTIAL to gut health as this is the #1 way that your body gets rid of waste & toxins. You don’t want to keep those inside
- Book an appointment to have your food sensitivities tested: this is a longer term fix, but is more of a root cause. FS’s are very hard to identify without testing & create a lot of inflammation within the GI tract. We do this with a simple blood test & assess over a hundred potential food triggers
Wishing you all flatter & happier tummies!
Dr. Tanya McEachern 