Bloating may occur due to lacking or missing enzymes that are required to break food down effectively. Intolerances to certain foods cause inflammation in the gut, additionally, certain food groups are more difficult for some to digest. I sometimes see bacterial overgrowth as a major cause of bloating and stress is always a factor.

Many of us with busy lives often eat in a rush, on the go, whilst emailing, driving etc., which can be a digestive recipe for disaster! This sabotages an important step in digestion – stimulating gastric juices needed to break your food down ready for absorption.

Did you know that the sight, smell and thought of food alone can increase digestive enzymes/juices by 30% ! That is a third more digestive power by just using your senses!

We can further enhance digestion by chewing our food properly too! Breaking down food effectively with our teeth is what they were designed for, and for good reason. Chewing food flattens the food molecules so that our digestive enzymes can get to work on breaking them down into smaller molecules, making vital nutrients that help us to make energy more available to us. Sounds so simple yet how often do we really take time for our food and chew each mouthful properly?

Here are my top tips to improve your digestion and reduce bloating starting right now…

1. Avoid eating on the go; the grab and go times we live in is truly destructive on our digestive health. We should be able to find time to sit down and enjoy our food so we can “rest and digest”. Our gastrointestinal system only knows “fight or flight” or “rest and digest”.

2. During stressful times your body fires up the “Fight or flight” state to allow you to escape from danger, whether that be an argument, late for meeting, bulging email inbox, lack of sleep? It’s all stress on your body. The last thing your body wants to do during these times is digest food as blood is diverted away from the gut. Reducing stress and giving time back to ourselves at mealtimes is one of the kindest thing you can do for your gut health right now.

3. Another top tip is to chew each mouthful 20-30 times before swallowing to make food easier to digest. This has a powerful effect, reducing bloating, wind, burping and acid reflux! It helps to absorb more nutrients so that your cells can make more energy.

When certain food groups are not being digested but instead are fermented in the gut bloating and gas is the result. Some complex starch chains which act like party food to your gut bugs and as they feed they release hydrogen and methane… it isn’t your fault, it is the bacteria! If you suffer from any of these symptoms, it is important to recognise that they a sign that something is not quite right but I can help. Using natural solutions through diet and lifestyle modifications.

If you’d like my help to find out which food is causing you a problem, just get in touch.

I see clients for one to one consultations either face to face, by telephone or skype and in just 1-hour consultation you could be free from bloating and excessive wind!

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To grab your free 15-minute telephone consultation now, email info@evienutrition.co.uk

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