How to Prevent Bloating & Cure It As Soon As It Strikes

June 12, 2018 Dr Daryl Gioffre

I love summer and almost everything that comes with it – more time outside, hitting the beach or swimming pool, and enjoying backyard barbecues with friends and family.

But you know what I don’t love that often happens in the summer? Bloating!!

Maybe it’s the lighter, more revealing clothes and swimwear calling attention to it, or maybe it’s the food at all of those cook-outs, but whatever it is, bloating makes you feel less confident and more sluggish.

So let’s prevent bloating before it even happens (and crush it if it’s there!).

It’s actually really easy to prevent if you know how. And if bloating does happen, I’ll let you in on my 3 secret drinks that will cure it ASAP.

Prevent Bloating Before it Strikes

Minimize (or cut out completely) gluten in your diet.

Now as you know, I’m a big believer in moderation, not deprivation! So I prefer not to tell you to completely cut out whole categories of food.

But in the case of gluten, making this one simple shift in the way you’re eating will make a world of difference if you deal with bloating regularly.

Remember this easy rule: Gluten = Glue

It acts like glue in your digestive system, slowing everything down and clogging it up. And for many people, it’s worse than that.

Gluten also causes MASSIVE leaky gut! Leaky gut is the cause of ALL health issues, as toxins, yeast and fungus, mold, etc leak into the blood, wreaking havoc and causing inflammation.

This will cause constipation, diarrhea, irritation, and of course, bloating.

If you have a gluten allergy or intolerance, you’re likely to feel bloated for days at a time after consuming it.

Try removing gluten (and all grains) from your diet for 7 days and see how you feel. I’ll wager that you’ll feel less bloated within just a few days.

Eat more low-sugar fruits and veggies.

Delicious smoothies, salads, and other fruits and vegetables help stop bloating, so fill up on your favorites like:

Cucumber
Celery
Tomatoes
Green apples
Sweet potatoes
Dark, leafy greens
Carrots

Eat more high fiber foods

Getting plenty of fiber is a great way to prevent bloating because it keeps the digestive tract moving at just the right speed – not too fast and not too slow.

But when I say high fiber foods, I want to be really clear about what that means.

It does NOT mean foods with packages that scream, “High Fiber!” like bread, pasta, granola bars, cereal, and other processed foods.

Here are the real fiber all-stars you want to make sure you’re eating on the regular:

Navy beans (19 grams per cup)
Split peas (16.3 grams per cup)
Lentils (15.6 grams per cup)
Mung beans (15 grams per cup)
Avocados (13.4 grams each)
Lima beans (13.2 grams per cup)
Pumpkin (13 grams per half cup, canned)
Artichokes (10.3 grams per cup)
Green peas (8.8 grams per cup)
Chickpeas (8 grams per cup)
Coconut (7.2 grams per cup)
Broccoli (5.1 grams per cup)
Brussels sprouts (4.1 grams per cup)
Chia seeds (5.5 grams per Tbsp.)
Flax seeds (3 grams per Tbsp.)

4. Switch to coconut milk, or almond milk.

Cow’s milk and other dairy products clog up the digestive track, leaving your stomach gassy and bloated.

Not only will non-dairy milks prevent that from happening, they actually provide you with a small serving of fiber as well. Because almonds have fiber, almond milk has about 1 gram of fiber per cup has about the same.

Always take probiotics.

Because bloating can stem in part from an imbalance of bacteria in your gut, make sure you’re taking a good probiotic supplement.

I recommend you switch brands every couple of months to keep a good mix of diverse bacteria. But always buy the refrigerated brands – they are higher quality and refrigeration keeps the optimal number of bacteria alive so they can get into your stomach and fight the bad bacteria.

Eat RAW seeds and nuts.

Chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, and quinoa, which is technically a seed, are good sources of fiber, as are almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, and pecans. They’re also great sources of healthy fat and protein.

NEVER use artificial sweeteners.

Remember how I said I try not to tell you to cut out a food group altogether? Well this is one exception, because it barely even counts as food!

No-calorie sweeteners are the most acidic ingredient on the planet, and they also can increase bloating because they are difficult or impossible for most of us to digest.

So there you go. Do those 7 things and you’re not going to be feeling bloated anytime soon. It’s that simple.

But I know how it is… You’re eating well and feeling good, right up until you go on vacation. Or eat out a few meals in a row. Or indulge a little more than you should and you wind up feeling bloated.

Here are 3 drinks that are sure to make you feel better almost immediately.

3 Drinks to Cure Bloating!

Why drinks? Bloating is actually a sign of dehydration.

This might seem counterintuitive, because most people think when they are bloated, they are carrying around excess water. In fact, the opposite is true.

Alkaline Water

So the first thing to do if you’re feeling bloated is to drink a tall glass of alkaline water with lemon or lime slices.

How do you know if your water is alkaline?

You can check the pH: Aim to drink water that has a pH between 8.0–9.5
You want it to be filtered: Tap water is almost always untrustworthy and contains traces of bacteria, heavy metals, medications (yes, they actually found Prozac in our drinking water from the urinary discharge of people taking the drug!) other toxins.
You avoid bottled water: It’s almost always acidic and filled with BPA, which is a known carcinogen. Use a glass bottle or BPA-free bottle when you can.

Add lemon or lime slices to kick up the alkaline factor, and you can add some cucumber, which will help release extra fluid the body is holding onto, or ginger root, which will relieve stomach inflammation.

Aloe Vera Juice

Have you ever tried drinking aloe vera juice? It helps with all kinds of digestive complaints, including bloating. Make sure you buy decolorized, purified aloe vera juice meant for human consumption and then store it in the refrigerator.

Alkamind Daily Greens

Drinking Alkamind Daily Greens is like a tiny green cleaning crew for your digestive system. One small scoop has 27 powerful green super foods (equivalent to 5-serbings of organic greens) that are broken down for easy digestion of the chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.