Last night’s overindulgences are today’s bloat blues. Whether you overdid it last evening at an over-the-top dinner, ate a pint of Van Leeuwen’s newest flavor, or aren’t even quite sure of the culprit, your pants won’t button and your stomach feels like you swallowed a basketball. The good news! There’s a cure for that. But first, let’s talk about how to avoid this feeling in the future.
How To Avoid Bloat In The Future:
First things first, to avoid inflammation and bloating you must: Review. Your. Diet. “Dairy is usually the biggest culprit, but other offenders include: gluten, soy, and sugar,” explains Eliza Savage, RD at Middleburg Nutrition. Other foods and beverages that are ballooning your belly: “Alcohol, seltzer, artificial sweeteners, sodium heavy foods, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, and cauliflower,” says Savage.
The Cures:
1. Hydrate + Dairy-Free CBD Latte
Nutritionist Brooke Alpert, RD and author of “The Diet Detox, takes a two-pronged tummy flattening approach: Hydration and CBD powder. “The best thing to do when you wake up inflamed and bloated is to target both conditions separately,” explains Alpert. “First, drink a large glass of water to get your hydration status where it needs to be, this helps with circulating all the “bloat” out”. Then, skip the inflammatory dairy and make a dairy-free matcha latte and add Daily Habit CBD powder. The matcha is filled with incredible antioxidants and will give you a non-jitter inducing boost of caffeine, while the CBD works on the inflammation throughout your body,” says Alpert.
2. Add Anti-Bloat Foods and This Special Ayurvedic Elixir
Adding anti-bloating wonder foods to your diet like fennel, ginger, and asparagus will help alleviate digestion according to Savage. For an Ayurvedic approach, “eat a small portion of something warm, well cooked and with warming spices. Also, avoid foods that are pungent, bitter or astringent as these qualities aggravate Vata (one of the Ayuervedic Doshas),“ says Laura Coburn, Ayurveda Health Counselor and Director of Serenity at The Inns of Aurora. For a warming elixir to help with digestion, “Sip a tea made of equal parts coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and fennel seeds. This Ayurvedic blend serves to enkindle Agni, the digestive fire,” notes Coburn.
3. Abdominal Massage with Cardamom and Peppermint
Beat that belly bloat by adding abdominal massage to your Zeel massage on demand appointment. Our Director of Massage, Eva Carey says, “Abdominal massage techniques aid in reducing bloat and stomach discomfort. While many clients opt to skip the abdomen, Eastern medicine considers it the control center. Constipation, irregularity and bloat can all be helped with gentle abdominal massage. Therapists work around the rib cage, and in a circular, wavelike motion around the stomach, along the digestive tract.” For an additional belly boost, Carey likes to add essential oils to this portion of the massage, “Ginger is beneficial; it provides relief from constipation and nausea. Cardamom helps regulate digestion. Peppermint is also good to aid in digestion and alleviate nausea and provide digestive relief.”
4. AM Fasting + Fresh Ginger
Sometimes your stomach just needs a break, and according to Ayurveda, that’s what you should do. “One universal approach to most bloating concerns is to skip a meal, such as breakfast. Wait until about noon to eat and make sure that your appetite is awakened. If your appetite needs to be kindled, chop up some fresh ginger, add some lime juice and then a pinch of rock salt. This will stimulate your appetite,” Coburn explains.
5. Movement
Break a sweat and get your body moving. “Yogic twists, which are great for reducing bloat,” says Savage. Whether it’s squeezing in cardio from a spinning class or a restorative yoga class, a little movement will help regulate your body.