By Constant bloating, flatulence, and discomfort is everyday occurrence for most people
For years, I went through waves of both bloating, extreme constipation and or diarrhoea. It was like a tidal wave that left my body, mind and spirit depleted. Then, just when I thought I knew how to control it, there it was, showing its face again. Our gut health affects our minds in many ways. It’s evident that when we feel discomfort on any part of our bodies, it starts to infiltrate our minds. As a result, we become agitated, angry, moody or even depressed. Imagine feeling this way day in day out and not knowing how to transform your life back around. I’m living proof that you can certainly build a better strategy towards healing your gut, diminishing belly fat and bloating. There is no best-kept secret here. I constantly work on this, and it’s both good and bad. Some days, when I’ve noticed a change in my internal environment, the symptoms start to flare up again. We have to be ready to expect these days, but building awareness around them is the best start you can give yourself. If you suffer from bloating, belly fat and uncomfortable digestion — here are some great solutions.
Strategy one: Get a handle on the stressors in your life
I know I always talk about stress when it comes to both exercise, and weight loss. I mention it so many times because stress is a silent epidemic that has the power to overtake your mind and body. I’m not kidding when I say that it can destroy you from the inside out. Stress from the environment or in your life can give you health challenges and digestive issues. For example, constantly elevated cortisol can trigger histamine, which increases your immune system’s response. Histamine is also a trigger for gastric secretion, which leads to bloating, and all other compounds that cause a gut to leak. While this is happening, your nervous system gets a beating as well. When you exercise, you reduce some of this elevated cortisol — but too much training mixed with lack of recovery can keep those cortisol levels sky-high. If this sounds like you, it’s essential to exercise daily and add in some relaxation strategies that you can regularly use to ease the levels of cortisol you experience. You can’t live on a deserted island alone. Therefore, we have to do what we can here on planet earth to ensure our digestion runs as smoothly as possible. Easing your stress levels, eating foods that don’t bother your gut as well as recovering from your training sessions is a must. Keep an eye out for symptoms, what’s going on in your life and what you’ve eaten are all key to diminishing the detrimental effects of cortisol.
Strategy Two: Never eat in a rush or swallow chunks of food.
This is a sure-fire way to increase gurgling from trapped gas, bringing on constipation and general discomfort. Our gut needs all of our food to be diluted down to almost a liquid. Some of us may have lower stomach acid due to age, inflammation or stress. Those foods left undigested ferment in your gut, bringing it back up to your throat. Perhaps that’s why you get this acidic reaction after eating food. Try an experiment by chewing food at least 15 times before you swallow it. Does it change the occurrence of so-called “reflux”, and are you finding your gut and stomach a lot less reactive after eating? If this is a partly “yes” answer, you could not be chewing your food correctly. Keep this up for about 30 days and see how much it changes your life.
Strategy Three: You are eating the wrong foods constantly
This is a big problem, and it will keep inflaming your gut day in day out. If you react to certain foods that you eat, you must stop eating them for good. I’m both lactose intolerant and have an allergy to it. So many years have passed, and I still don’t desire to consume anything with dairy. It’s not worth the pain and discomfort I feel as a result of having it. But other people will go ahead and eat the very thing that upsets their gut. It will constantly diminish the quality of your health and cause more problems later on in life. After you eat a culprit food, expect the symptoms of constant brain fog, inflammation and even more allergic responses. It could go on for days. A poorly functioning gut is more susceptible to continually becoming more and more reactive to foods — which is something you don’t want to experience (believe me, I know!). So do yourself and your gut a favour by eliminating all things that harm your gut health, and no indulgences are allowed with these foods — not even a bite! Is one bite worth being sick for days? Take Away; It takes constant work every single day to get a handle on your gut. The complexities go far and wide beyond the scope of this post. But one thing is true, it takes lots of willpower, but you will be rewarded with sound health, beautiful skin and a relaxed gut.