Here are some simple tips and recipes that will help you beat the bloat this holiday season.
What not to eat:
1 – Excessive amounts of liquids while eating. When you think of bloating it’s easy to just focus on foods. But what and how you’re drinking can have a big impact as well!
Don’t consume large amounts of water and liquids when you are eating! They will impede the digestive process by diluting gastric juices, such as your HCI.
You also dilute the digestive enzymes your body needs for the effective digestion of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. You will definitely feel bloated!
So just sip on water and other liquids at meals, but no chugging.
Hydrate between meals- at least 30 minutes before, and wait at least 45 minutes after eating to start drinking large amounts of liquids.
Avoid soda. If you are going to be eating some favorite treats over the holidays – which is okay to indulge in occasionally – you don’t need to top it all off with soda.
Soda is one of the worst culprits of bloating. Not only does it create an acidic metabolic state in your body, but it’s loaded with chemicals and contains HFCS (regular soda), or artificial sweeteners (diet soda).
Both have been shown to cause weight problems.
Carbonated soft drinks have air bubbles that travel to the stomach and release carbon dioxide within the digestive tract, creating an uncomfortable bloating sensation.
On top of all that, excessive caffeine can cause belly bloat.
2 – Hard to Digest Foods. Anything that is hard to digest will leave you feeling bloated, plain and simple.
Dairy is known to particularly cause bloating, since it lacks all its enzymes and is one of the hardest foods most people can digest. So avoid it or cut back all together.
3 – Strictly monitor your salt intake. Avoid all table salt, and avoid processed foods that contain table salt.
Table salt is really de-natured sodium chloride salt.
Table salt is dead, kiln-dried, highly processed, and will also create “false fat”, making you look bloated and up to 9 pounds heavier than you truly weigh.
Throw out your saltshakers, and avoid processed foods that contain it. Small amounts of high quality sea salt can be used in strict moderation, when a salty flavor is desired.
I’ve been using a lot of herbs, as well as cayenne and black pepper lately, and not really using any straight salt at all.
What to eat:
1 – Cranberry. Cranberry juice can also act as a debloating agent.
Cranberry acts as a natural diuretic by flushing excessive fluids out of your body.
Since you may inadvertently consume more sodium than usual during the holiday season, keep concentrated cranberry on hand (not sugar-filled Cranberry Cocktail!), and pour into a glass fresh water with some stevia to drink in the evenings.
2 – A Good-for-you Refreshing Drink. Just because you’re avoiding soda, it doesn’t mean that you can’t add something equally refreshing to your day, that won’t leave you feeling bloated.
Try some Rooibos Tea with fresh mint added in, which is high in antioxidants and flavonoids, which also helps to promote youthfulness and great skin. Mint is great for promoting better digestion. Using mint, you can also blend yourself a green smoothie when wanting something cooler.
3 – Raw Apple Vinegar Cider. Add some raw apple cider vinegar to your diet. This will help promote optimal digestion and encourages the growth of healthy bacteria in our bodies.
It’s extremely high in minerals and potassium, which promotes cellular cleansing. It also has antiseptic qualities that can help cleanse your digestive tract, and promote bowel movements to rid your body of waste!
Since you only need 1 tablespoon a day to prevent bloating, it is easy to incorporate into your diet. Just replace other vinegar’s you currently use in your salad dressing with it.
Oh, and be sure to eat that fiber-filled big salad first, with raw apple cider vinegar in the dressing, which will help to naturally balance portion size of heavier foods that follow (one okay, two…alrighty, this time of year. But you don’t really need that third portion of grandma’s mashed potatoes do you?).
Love,
Kimberly
What are your thoughts on seltzer water? I never drink soda, but I love the carbonation in seltzer. Will it really cause that much bloating just having once or twice a day? Thanks!
hi kimberly,
i am a personal trainer and health enthusiast. i have a facebook page where i share articles, health and fitness tips, etc. a share button would be great as i love some of your blogs and would love to share with my followers.
THANKS FOR THESE TIPS! I just bought some apple cider vinegar and am pleasantly surprised at all the used for it, not only for digestion but for my hair too!
hi kimberly, how i can make my own cranberry extract at home? thank you ahead
Great post! I recently started incorporating Bragg’s apple cider vinegar into my daily routine. Is it ok to dilute with water and sip? Also, are there any benefits for increasing the daily dose as recommended on the label?
Hi Kimberly 🙂 We met at Glow BIO the day before it opened – I was visiting LA from rainy London, via Berkeley… Thank you for the tips you gave me then for migraines (I remembered the fennel), and for the holiday tips above. I must admit rather shamefacedly that I have found myself more off the wagon than on over the past few weeks.
Oh and I lent my copy of The Beauty Detox Solution (which I meant to ask you if you would sign when we met- d’oh!) to my roommate, and I think we have another convert 🙂 She has been drinking the GGS for the past week!
Finally, do you have any other Glow BIO events coming up over the holidays? I am thinking of visiting LA again, before I go back to London in early January and would love to visit you guys again 🙂
Thank you for everything you do and hope you are enjoying settling into LA xxxx
Hello this article was great and very helpful tips indeed especially avoiding drinks at mealtimes I’ve always liked too ibis tea and will be having lots of it. Thanks
I joined your blog so now how do I get to it? All I’m trying to do is find the detox shot you referenced in your Beat The Holiday Bloat article. HELP! It shouldn’t be this difficult to research something you write about!
Hi Cathy,
Believe it is the first item listed under What To Eat (the cranberry drink with pure water and stevia) and is also found in beauty-travel-tips. Enjoy!
I am diabetic so I would like to ask u what is good to take right now I drink it green vegetables smoothly that my daughter give me the recipe I love it I donnot need to. Find what I have to eat for breakfast thank you very much for that drink
Hi Kimberly! I just had a question about your power protein smoothie – I read in a recent article that you often have it as an afternoon snack. Is this something you could have everyday? In your book you mention veggie sticks and salsa or fruit as an afternoon snack, so I think I assumed the power protein smoothie was not recommended as a daily snack. What quantity of raw protein & chia seeds do your normally put in your smoothie? Also, I don’t particularly like nutritional yeast – am I missing out on necessary protein by not consuming this? Love and appreciate all your advice! Thanks Kimberly xx
Love this, love you. Thank you for all the info. Amazing =)
Hi Kimberly
I just recently discovered your amazing blog and I’m about to buy your book 🙂
i just have a question… I have for breakfast a spinach, persimmon, spirulina, wheatgrass and chia seeds smoothie. But now that I read your blog, and you said that protein in the morning is not good, should I leave out the chia seeds in the morning? because of it’s protein?
Thank you much.
Best,
Raphaela
Kimberly, what iodine do you use to counteract fluoride in water? I think I read in your book that iodine will help with this common problem as most water filters do not remove fluoride. Could be wrong that it was you that said this.
Can I add flax seed to my glowing green smoothie in the morning?
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