Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Beating the bloat

Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos
As I mentioned in a previous entry, I'd been having some stomach issues, which was the reason why I had decided to become a flexi-vegetarian. While my tummy is better, I'm still struggling a lot with bloating and indigestion. I'd really rather not have to take any pills or antacids for it, rather just change my lifestyle to fix the problem because I feel that bloating and indigestion is symptomatic of bigger health issues, such as chronic stress.

Some of the things I've tried:
  • Giving up meat most of the week 
  • Trying to eat more slowly. This has been really hard, because at work, I get a 30 minute window to eat (work scheduling is strict... in the end, I have about 15-20 mins of meal time, which ends up being just gobble gobble gobble
  • Doing yoga asanas that focus on the digestive tract, eg. supine twists 
Things I have yet to try;
  • Seeing if I have a food allergy. I'm not even sure where I start on this... Google searches bring up tests that cost hundreds of dollars and I'm not really swimming in cash right now. 
  • Drinking Peppermint tea 
  • Giving up milk and dairy. I just love milk too much. Plus, there are days when I have milk and feel fine, so I don't think I'm lactose intolerant.  
  • Eating 5 small meals a day instead of 3 main ones.
I still believe I'm possibly not eating slowly enough. I've read suggestions that you should put your fork/spoon down in between each mouthful, but I'm always time pressed. And now that I have invisalign, putting on and removing my braces take up about 5-7 minutes of my meal breaks.

Oh, what a first world problem... any suggestions?

2 comments:

  1. Hi! I have IBS and experience bloating and indigestion and all sorts of stuff.

    I generally haven't changed much (still eat like a pig) but since being a lot happier (got myself a bf) and drinking mainly hot water, I've found things have gotten a lot better.

    :] Also if you are constipated, try eating fruits that contain laxatives like grapes, kiwifruits and plums. Some fruits work on some ppl, so plums are great for me.

    This was posted a month ago so hopefully you feel plenty good now. :)

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    1. I haven't tried drinking hot water, I could definitely try that. I don't struggle so much with constipation, just mainly bloating, and indigestion. My stomach just doesn't like food... even though my tastebuds do! Thanks for the tips though!

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