One of the questions I get asked most often is how to feel less bloated. I used to feel bloated all the time, and it’s no wonder when I look at my former eating and lifestyle habits. Bloating is a big issue, which is why I’m dedicating an entire article to it!
The Good & Bad News About Bloating
We often associate bloat with fat. The good news is that fat is not the issue! Bloating comes in the form of gas and water weight, adding inches and puffiness to our body, especially around the waist. You may hear people refer to this as “false fat”. Reducing the bloat will make you look thinner, feel healthier and will boost your confidence.
The bad news is that bloating is a health issue, and may not have a quick fix. However, there are changes you can make to reduce bloating over time, and I have 10 tips to get you on your way!
First, let’s take a look at what causes bloating in the first place.
3 Main Causes of Bloating
#1 Cause of Bloating: Indigestion
Digestion is such a central process in our bodies, one of the most energy intensive. Digestion is also responsible for not only breaking down food but also helping absorb and assimilate nutrients. When your digestion is efficient and healthy, your entire body functions well. See how my Feel Good Digestive Enzyme formula can help increase nutrient absorption while relieving gas and bloating!
When digestion is not working well, that’s when congestion and bloating begins. For instance, the mere act of overeating can create indigestion, because the body doesn’t have sufficient hydrochloric acid and enzymes to digest all the food your body has taken in.
So, it does the best that it can, and then if there’s extra food it can’t break down — it basically begins to turn that food into waste. If that excess food/waste is not eliminated quickly enough, it may ferment and rot, creating growth of unfriendly bacteria to further aid the breakdown of the food. These unfriendly bacteria then feed on the extra food and produce gas in the process.
So the key takeaway here is that indigestion produces gas and gas creates bloating.
#2 Cause of Bloating: Water Retention
This is another big one. We’ve all (especially us women!) had the experience of holding onto too much water and feeling “waterlogged” and heavy. It’s hard to describe this yucky feeling, but we’ve all experienced it!
Now, there are many, MANY reasons why your cells might hold onto too much water — sometimes one of the causes is not drinking enough water! Sounds strange, but when you don’t get enough water, your body sometimes holds onto more water and creates that dreaded “puffy” look.
So be sure you drink plenty of water, and also that you get lots of pure water from the fruits and vegetables in your diet. Plenty of pure water will help dilute and eliminate the toxins and impurities, making your body less likely to get puffy or bloated.
Here are several other reasons you might retain water:
- Capillaries — Fluid (liquid) rich in nutrients, vitamins and oxygen continuously passes from tiny blood vessels (capillaries) into surrounding tissues – this fluid is known as interstitial fluid (tissue fluid). Interstitial fluid nourishes cells and eventually makes its way back to the capillaries. Water retention may occur if pressure inside the capillaries changes, which can occur from too much stress, an excess salt, too much oil/fat.
- The lymphatic system — which consists of a network of vessels throughout the body, drains this fluid from tissues and empties it back into the bloodstream. However, if too much fluid is released in the first place the lymphatic system can be overwhelmed – it is unable to return fluid fast enough, and it accumulates (fluid retention).
- The heart — Normal pressure within blood vessels is partly maintained by the pumping force of the heart. However, if the heart starts to fail (congestive heart failure), there will be a change in blood pressure, which often results in serious water retention.
- Alcohol – Alcohol is a diuretic, causing you to urinate more often. This triggers your body to retain water. In addition, drinking too much alcohol can also lead to inflammation resulting in bloating, especially if you have a sensitivity to an ingredient (like gluten in beer).
#3 Cause of Bloating: Hormones
If bloating in a premenopausal woman follows a pattern, it’s likely to be related to the menstrual cycle. During the last two weeks of the menstrual cycle, known as the luteal phase, women can retain water, which causes swelling in not only the abdomen but sometimes in the hands, feet and breasts. Learn about The Best Natural Ways to Deal with Menopause.
The rising levels of hormones also have a direct effect on the gastointenstinal tract. “This hormonal effect causes the GI tract not to empty as quickly and to produce gas,” explains Dr. Grace Janik, director of reproductive endocrinology at St. Mary’s Hospital in Milwaukee.
Because stool and gas are moving more slowly through the intestines, women often have constipation and bloating in the two weeks before their periods. Of course, this can be greatly ameliorated by eating a healthy diet and using some of the tips I provide below, but it can present another challenging for us ladies than it is for men!
Now that you understand the deeper causes of bloating, let’s get into the actionable tips…
10 Tips to Reduce Bloating
#1 Tip to Reduce Bloating: Drink Less Cold Water
Have you ever felt bloated after drinking water? Earlier we discussed the importance of drinking plenty of water to avoid water retention, but when we drink water and the temperature of the water can have a big impact on bloating as well. Drinking ice cold water, and other liquids will impede the digestive process by diluting gastric juices, such as your HCL, and cooling your overall digestion. You also dilute the digestive enzymes your body needs for the effective digestion of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
If you need water or a beverage between meals, sip on room temperature water or hot tea, but no chugging — and definitely nothing too cold! Best to hydrate between meals—at least 30 minutes before, and wait at least 45 minutes after eating to start drinking large amounts of liquids.
#2 Tip to Reduce Bloating: No More Fizzy Drinks!
Carbonated drinks like beer, champagne, seltzer water, mineral water, and tonic water (anything with added carbonation) contain air bubbles that travel to the stomach and release carbon dioxide to the digestive tract. This creates an uncomfortable bloating sensation. Kombucha is okay in moderation because the carbonation is naturally created and much milder.
Not only do artificial carbonated drinks create an acidic metabolic state in your body, but they’re loaded with chemicals and contains HFCS (regular soda) or artificial sweeteners (diet soda) — or yeast (beer), all of which create even more bloating. Yeast and corn syrup are especially bad for bloating because they both feed unfriendly bacteria.
Try my De-Bloating Digestive Distress Elixir recipe!
#3 Tip to Reduce Bloating: Stoke Your Digestive Fire!
In Ayurvedic and Asian medicine, the digestive system runs on the fire element. Thus, foods and herbs that support warmth and strength in this area are highly valued and encouraged. Some of these include ginger, cayenne pepper, lemon, cinnamon and others.
This is also a big reason why an exclusively raw diet is not recommended in those traditions, because your digestive system becomes “cool” and weakens over time. But when we do eat raw foods, and I still do recommend eating a lot of raw veggies and fruit, as well as some seeds and nuts, we can add “fire” to the mix with these aforementioned foods. So lemon in the #GlowingGreenSmoothie for instance, and cayenne pepper in the Dharma’s Oil-Free Kale Salad.
Keep these “fire” promoting foods on hand to add into recipes easily.
#4 Tip to Reduce Bloating: Ditch the 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. Excessive meat, or processed foods with unnatural ingredients will also slow down your digestion quite a bit and set the stage for fermentation, putrefaction and bloating.
One of the things that’s very important with Beauty Detox is getting used to feeling “light” after meals. Many of us spent much of our early life feeling heavy after eating, and we associate that heaviness with satiety. Then, later when we start eating a diet more rich in plant foods, it’s easy to feel light and crave something heavy to get that familiar “full” feeling. If this has been your experience, just know that it’s okay to feel light and your body will adjust. Over time, you’ll get used to how good it feels to be light after eating and you’ll never want to go back!
Learn more about my Beauty Detox program and get recipes for health and beauty with my Beauty Detox books! The Beauty Detox Solution, The Beauty Detox Foods & The Beauty Detox Power
Also, stop chugging your smoothies… Chew them instead! My Glowing Green Smoothie is made of whole foods, and should be treated as a meal. When you take the time to thoroughly chew your food, you pave the way for easier digestion and less bloating.
#5 Tip to Reduce Bloating: Avoid Excessive Salt and Additives
This one you’ve definitely heard, but it’s really important and worth repeating: avoid processed foods laden with excessive 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. There are many “hidden” sources of bad salt in all kinds of packaged foods, so your best bet is to avoid processed foods as much as possible.
Small amounts of high quality sea salt can be used in strict moderation, when a salty flavor is desired. This is natural salt with all the trace elements intact, and is something our bodies have adapted to eat for thousands of years. Of course, too much of sea salt will create bloating as well, but our bodies are more naturally equipped to eliminate any excess salt in this form. Over time, as you stop eating excessively salty processed foods, you won’t find the need to add as much salt to your foods naturally, and foods will still taste flavorful.
#6 Tip to Reduce Bloating: Don’t Eat to Total Fullness
It takes a while for your body to signal fullness, so if you eat until you feel completely full, chances are you will have overeaten, which can lead to a bloated feeling. Likewise, completely stuffing yourself makes it more difficult for efficient digestion to occur and for digestive juices to do their job.
So, if you want to avoid feeling bloated, particularly after meals, then don’t eat until you are full. Instead, eat slowly, chew well and pay attention to what your body is telling you. Stopping when you feel about 75 percent full will maximize your body’s ability to digest the foods you eat and help prevent bloating.
#7 Tip to Reduce Bloating: Light-to-Heavy and Beauty Food Pairing
Starting your meal with a green salad or Probiotic & Enzyme Salad (or both) aids digestion. This not only brings you digestive-enhancing enzymes, it helps you avoid overeating the heavier foods that are more difficult to digest and that cause bloat. Salad veggies contain fiber and healthy nutrients that fill you up and serve as a natural form of calorie restriction. The enzymes in the greens also kick start your digestive processes, preparing the way for heavier foods to come.
When you do eat salad, keep it light. Avoid heavy cream-based dressings or chunks of cheese, or dressings with lots of bad oils. Unless it’s an entree, nuts can also be too heavy for a salad. Instead, use lemon or apple cider vinegar and perhaps a little bit of avocado for fat in your pre-meal salads! One of my favorite healthy dressing recipes is an Oil-Free Red Pepper & Cilantro Dressing that is so easy, you can make it tonight.
For a step by step guide, and an awesome way to kickstart your wellness goals, try my 30 Day Roadmap to Healthy Weight Loss! For a convenient way to pursue the Beauty Detox lifestyle, try my Easy Cooking Videos and Recipe Course.
#8 Tip to Reduce Bloating: KISS!
In the Standard American Diet, you often see people consume few types of protein (surf and turf, eggs and bacon, etc.), a starchy side dish like potatoes, pasta or rice, and vegetables or legumes like beans. These foods come along with several different condiments, butter, oils and other additives. Is there any wonder we see so many bloated bellies out there?
Eating out can entail several courses with dozens of ingredients, salt, hydrogenated oil, and more — which then all have to be digested at the same time. As we covered earlier in this post — many heavy foods at once can lead to fermentation, which leads to gassiness and bloating, which are two sure signs food is not digesting as optimally as it should.
The easy way to help prevent gassiness and bloating is to use the KISS principle. KISS stands for Keep It Simple Silly! ;) And that means, eating fewer food groups and ingredients per meal. If you make a salad, don’t add 12 different vegetables and spices and other ingredients — try 5-8 ingredients total. At a restaurant, order salad as your starter instead of an elaborate, heavy appetizer. Pair heavier foods, like animal protein or starches with veggies and salads, rather than each other. Making simple meals with raw and cooked vegetables not only saves you time in the kitchen, but it supports your health and prevents unwanted bloat.
Try making one of my easy salad recipes for dinner tonight!
#9 Tip to Reduce Bloating: Choose the Right Supplements
While there are a seemingly infinite number of supplements out there that can be taken, I generally recommend three primary supplements for bloating. Not surprisingly, they all have to do with optimizing digestion and elimination.
Probiotics are literally the building blocks of a healthy digestive system, and my Feel Good SBO Probiotics not only help digest food, they keep pathogens at bay, aid your immune system and so much more. This powerful formula contains soil based organisms (SBOs) to improve your ability to digest and assimilate macronutrients and speed up the elimination of waste. Take a close look at Why You Need Soil Based Probiotics (SBOs).
A non-habit forming detox formula is also extremely helpful. My Feel Good Detoxy+ is a powerful, magnesium-based internal cleanser that helps remove unwanted waste and increase detoxification in your colon. Old, stagnant waste plays a big part in bloating, is a very potent way to eliminate gas and shrink your tummy by reducing the bloat.
Digestive enzymes are also important because they break down stubborn macronutrients in your food like protein, carbs and fat, which can reduce gas and bloating as well as improve nutrient absorption. I highly recommend trying our Feel Good Digestive Enzyme Formula which has 2-3 times more fat-metabolizing lipase than standard formulas.
#10 Tip to Reduce Bloating: De-Stress Your Life
This last one is probably you don’t hear often, so let me explain. Stress cam have a very strong impact on your digestion, and therefore the level of bloating you experience. Look at this quote from Harvard’s Health Site:
“Multiple factors — biological, psychological, and social — contribute to the development of a functional gastrointestinal disorder. Numerous studies have suggested that stress may be particularly important, however. The relationship between environmental or psychological stress and gastrointestinal distress is complex and bidirectional: stress can trigger and worsen gastrointestinal pain and other symptoms, and vice versa. This is why psychological therapies are often used in combination with other treatments — or even on their own — to treat functional gastrointestinal disorders.” [1]
I don’t think we necessarily need a scientific explanation, though. Because we’ve all felt a difference when we’ve eaten in a state of fear or distress — how our food doesn’t sit well, our stomach may feel unsettled or upset. For some, this results in downright heartburn.
So take special care to eat under peaceful, joyous circumstances. It will affect your digestion in a very positive way and you’ll feel so much better.
No More Bloat!
Following these steps, along with the core principles of Beauty Detox, will help ensure you have optimal digestion, minimum puffiness and bloating, and help you feel your best. Having optimal digestion also helps to prevent and alleviate symptoms of many diseases.
We’ve covered the causes of bloating, and simple steps you can take to dramatically reduce or eliminate bloating. Now let’s take a look at The Top Foods to Eat (And NOT Eat!) to Reduce Bloating.
If you have any questions or thoughts, please share them in the comments below.
Thanks so much and we’ll talk again soon! =)
Love,
Kimberly
[1]Suarez K, et al. “Psychological Stress and Self-Reported Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders,” The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (March 2010): Vol. 198, No. 3, pp. 226–29.
Hi Kim, I love you work! I suffer from extreme bloating.
are you going to make Detoxify available in other countries? Please bring it to Australia or make shipping possible. Or do you know of anything like it available here in Australia? Thank you so much, Teri Haddy
Thank you Kimberly – lots of useful information that is easy to understand.
I appreciate the time you take to help us look after ourselves!
Thanks again from a grateful follower from Australia.
Thank you for all of this valuable info. I am a frequent sufferer of bloating and embarrassing gas so I am constantly looking for remedies to relieve this issue.
One thing I have found that does help is eating slowly. Laying down my fork between bites and chewing slowly.
Thank you again. I am a beauty detox fan.
What about exercise?
you left out the best tip of all: start eating cultured foods like kim chi with meals.
I have constant bloating. Sometimes it is more severe than other times. I can’t seem to pinpoint it. I do apply most if not all of your tips but if I’m honest with myself I think it’s coffee. I’ve given up putting sugar in it. It might be the cream, it could be the coffee. There have been times I’ve gone three days without it and my stomach feels flat but then other times I’d give it up and still get bloaty and can’t pinpoint it. I know I should just give coffee up but it’s so difficult.
I wanted to ask you about home made water kefir, I make it with the grains and it’s fizzy and i put lemons in it but you mentioned wine has yeast. And that it feeds off your bad bacteria which helps with bloating and so my kefir has yeast also, can this cause some of my bloating? Thanks kim
Just to mention something my naturopath said is as important as drinking lots of water and that is to take a pinch of salt each morning as more and more people are getting over hydrated which can lead to serious illness and in the case of my friend, near death. Sodium balance is critical. So too much water offsets the sodium balance. Then the body will quickly expel all liquids to get the balance back. It’ll feel like serious food poisoning, where it’s coming out from both ends. So, salt will stop this. Some docs say an 1/8 tsp a day, and others a pinch. I also find I don’t have to pee as much when I remember the salt and I look less bloated as the water gets absorbed better. Hope you publish this. Not enough info is being published about salt as everyone is afraid of too much, just drinking water is always being touted, which can be a problem. Hope this helps. Your books are helping our family tremendously. Thank you
Thank you for this wonderful post on bloating! I have been working towards eating and living the beauty detox way for some time but sometimes slip. It is interesting how much gluten bloats up my belly unlike any other food (especially a post baby stretched out belly). Just wondering if the detoxy + is a safe suppliment for nursing? My daughter is almost 3 but still loves mama’s milk and I do not think she will self wean anytime soon but would like to add some more intense suppliments to my daily routine. I find that I really need magnesium to function, making milk depletes my body of this mineral. Would the detoxy + take the place of my magnesium suppliment? Thanks Kim, you are such an inspiration to all. Om shanti! Elizabeth
Thank you so much for this amazing information! I love the tip about chewing my GGS. I will definitely chew more than drink it. All though I have noticed that I am less bloated now that I changed my diet to vegetarian. My goal is to be vegan (but baby steps for me) :-) Yesterday I ordered your probiotics and Detoxy. I am looking forwarding to adding it to my daily ritual. Thank you so much for being an inspiration to me and on a weekly basis I love to share my journey with others and I introduce them to your GGS and BD books!! ;-)
I started to follow Kimberly’s way of eating about a year and a half ago. I went back to my old ways little by little and have gained 15 pounds and don’t feel good at all. I felt great on her plan. I am getting back to her healthy eating and hopefully will lose the weight and feel better. I know what she is referring to when she says, you feel light after eating healthy. I was recently in Hawaii for two weeks and there were so many healthy/organic options. I feel so much better eating healthy. There is no doubt that Kimberly’s eating lifestyle is healthier and you will feel better with bloating to feeling heavy after a meal. Good luck to everyone and hopefully is is my last, “New Start”. Thanks Kimberly for sharing your knowledge and inspiration.
Thank you so much! I love your site, it is so informative. I’m just waiting for my payday to get started on your detox program. I am very anxious to get started. I’m going to purchase the books and the $97.00 supplements that you advertise on the site, use the recipes and find a good yoga class. Just keep me informed of everything and I will keep you informed with my experience with your process.
Thank you Kimberly
Thanks for all this great advise, going to order Detoxy, already taking probiotics, Insync, hope they are a good brand?? Love my green smoothie everyday, makes me feel great!!
I am from Canada, and would really love to try your Detoxy! Is it available in stores or only online? If I come to the US where could I buy it?
salam ,kim you give us a big usefull info ,thanks ,GOD bless u,
Kim, thank you for this post! I’ve been following the Beauty Detox lifestyle for 6+ months now and have given up meat, fish, dairy and gluten, and all processed foods kind of all at once six months ago. I am also a thin and moderately fit person. However, chronic bloating really is an issue for me, even more than before making the dietary changes. I was thinking about it all this morning, feeling discouraged, and your new post was what I needed, more/new information, hearing some of the “old” principals again, and simply words of encouragement to keep going. I really do love my new way of eating and don’t want to give up. I think for me Tip #6, Don’t Eat to Total Fullness, is relevant. Even though my meals are plant based and organic and a mix of raw and cooked, I noticed I do tend to eat large portions, worrying that I need to eat more to get the nutrition my body needs (since it’s all plant based) and to get to that comfy feeling of fullness. And Tip #10, De-Stress Your Life, might be even more relevant to my chronic bloating issues. I know you have other blog posts about de-stressing and I will go back and read those again. Thank you as always for being an inspiration and sharing your love with probably more people than you can imagine! Thank you!
Hi Kimberly! I have read the “10 Tips to Blast Away the Bloat” article and I would like to know if I should continue taking nutritional yeast since I have bloating problems. Also I would like to know if nutritional yeast is really good since in some articles I have read it hjas similar effects like glutamate.
Can probiotic and Detoxify be taken together.
Don’t forget the probiotic and enzyme salad! The added benefit is the fiber.
Hi Kim! What causes swollen eyes
I wake up every morning with fluid there even if I eat mostly vegetables and some anti-biotic free free range chicken.
What can I do
Im about to go crazy
This is so helpful!
Glad you liked it Ashley.
You look so beautiful in your pictures, Kimberly!
Hello! I would love to try these products, however, I can not take pills. Do you have any alternatives that you could suggest?
Hi Amy, You can sprinkle probiotics on a salad or put it in a smoothie so you do not have to take them as a pill form. :)
Kimberly, thanks for a really informative article! I have wondered for years why some mornings I wake up with a (semi) flat stomach, and other times I feel like I’m doing an Alfred Hitchcock impression.
I’ve been meaning to try Probiotics, as well as keep a food log to see if I can find the culprit. On most days I skip breakfast AND lunch (I know- bad) because I feel like I’m too full… then about 7 pm I’ll often overeat with a big, calorie-laden dinner (which I “justify” in my mind because I was at zero cals up until then). Definitely time to figure this out once and for all. I’m sick of wearing all my shirts untucked!
David in Minnesota
Hi Dave! Thank you for writing in from Minnesota! I hope you are doing well. I really think you will enjoy my Probiotics and they will help with that Alfred Hitchcock feeling! :)
Thank you Kimberly for sharing! For the past couple of weeks I have been feeling terrible. It is always after I eat lunch. I have not changed anything in my diet, so u will be trying your tips. I can’t wait to try your smoothie. Thanks a lot again!
Very informative. Thanks for the tips.
Thank you for being part of the community, Raj. Sending lots of love! ;)
Wow, this is great. I’ve done a lot of reading on the Internet since I’ve been dealing with bloating/constipation since I was about 15. Most sites seem to be trying to sell you something and promising solutions if you keep reading, only to tell you that the only solution is their expensive product. Your article, on the other hand, gives a lot of legitimately helpful advice in a very well-organized, easy to comprehend format, and still promotes your product gently but effectively – very refreshing by contrast. Thanks a lot!
Personally, I think my problems stem largely from a bad habit of eating very fast, not chewing fully, and overeating nearly every day. That combined with stress, processed foods, and other things you mentioned here adding to the issue. I’ve tried prescription probiotics – VSL3s – and they didn’t do anything, so I stopped after a couple months because my insurance didn’t cover them. But I’d be interested to know more about DETOXY.
Nathan
Hi Nathan and thanks for checking out this blog. So happy to hear you found many useful tips. Here are a couple of links that will give you some information on this Detoxy: https://bit.ly/25dsKtk and https://bit.ly/1rYJRNL …thanks again and let us know if you end up trying this product and if it works for you! ;)
Hi Kimberly
Thanks for all your blogs!
I would love to buy your probiotic but it’s not available for shipping to Australia. I’ve become really confused about what to buy instead. Please could you recommend a good alternative product to buy here in Australia or online?
Thanks so much,
Annie
Hi Annie…the best advice is to contact your local Health Food store and ask one of their knowledgeable staff members to assist you. Let them know what you are looking for and they will be more than happy to help you out. This will ensure you are able to purchase a product close to home and that works for you. Sending lots of love! ;)
Great article, thanks. Kimberley, maybe off topic but what’s the best multi vitamin you could recommend? I’m currently using one from Garden of Life, any thoughts? Thanks again
Hi there! I use the Garden of Life mykind Organics Prenatal Multi!
Thank you Kim for these great advises.
Thanks Sophia…lots of love! ;)
Thanks for all that lovely info ….. surely helped !!! Lots of love from INDIA
Rohini singh
Lots of love and support to you Rohini singh! ;)
I can’t wait to try this. Thank you so much for sharing. Best article I’ve read on the subject.
You’re so right about dairy too.
Thanks so much for your kind feedback Bea, and sending you lots of love! ;)
Thank you so much for this post!
And thank you for checking it out…let us know if you try any of the tips and what you liked best. Lots of love! ;)
Thank you very much Kimberly for such useful information! This is a true hot topic and you made it so clear as to what to do and how to assist the belly)
Thank you!
Thanks Mariya – I love hearing from my Beauties and appreciate the feedback! Lots of love! ;)