Health Care News and Articles

If you suffer from water retention bloating, read this article detailing effective, natural ways to eliminate it by eliminating irritable foods and looking after your digestive tract.

You don’t necessarily have to eat to excess to suffer from bloating. In fact many people who eat what one would consider a normal amount of food suffer from the problem. Symptoms include extreme wind and profuse water retention. As we shall see though, it is not the amount of food that you eat, rather the types of food, plus the lifestyle you lead, and the way you look after your digestive tract.

If you suffer from bloating the first thing you should do is try to identify any irritable foods that may be causing the problem. The best way to do this is by a process of elimination. It is most likely that the offending food is one that you eat regularly, so write a list of these foods down, and one by one leave them out of your diet for two weeks. The whole process might take up to a few months, but if at a certain stage you do not feel bloated, reintroduce that particular food. If you start suffering again you can be confident that particular food caused the bloating. Then you must cut down or remove it from your diet.

You should also consider eating to promote wholesome bacteria in your gut, so aiding digestion. These foods include yoghurt, garlic and onions. Also, eating plenty of fibre, found in wholemeal bread, cereal, and brown rice can greatly aid the digestive process.

How you go about eating your food is also important. The rather old-fashioned ‘three square meals a day’ maxim is perhaps a little outdated. If you suffer from bloating it is better to have several smaller meals per day. Eat each meal slowly, chewing each mouthful at least ten times. Also try to allocate sufficient time to eat your meal in this way, so that you may relax.

If you have felt bloated for some time, your digestive tract may be in need of repair. The process will have started if you have eliminated irritable foods as described above. If you drink a lot of alcohol, cut down. Also, make sure you get plenty of Vitamin C and Vitamin A into your diet, as they are thought to strengthen the mucous membrane. Zinc, which can be found in meat and eggs helps to build tissue.

Follow these simple guidelines and in a few months you should be free of any of the uncomfortable problems associated with bloating. If you are not, you may have to seek medical assistance.

By: Simon Heseltine