Bloating: Help prevent stomach bloating by eating a tropical fruit, suggests a doctor

Easy Ways to Live Well: Steph McGovern discusses bloating

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A distended stomach can cause difficulty with fitting into an outfit, whether it be a pair of jeans, trousers, or dress. Harbouring a food baby isn’t the best look when you’re trying to impress. The next time you’re due to attend a special event – whether it be a birthday celebration, wedding, or christening – try eating a tropical fruit. Dr Papasavas – who is the co-director of metabolic and bariatric surgery at Hartford Hospital – recommends eating pineapple.

This is because it contains “natural digestive enzymes that help the breakdown of fibres in our digestive system”.

Furthermore, pineapple has “a powerful antioxidant effect and contains essential vitamins”.

Another tropical fruit worth trying to prevent a bloated belly is papaya.

Other helpful tips shared by Dr Papasavas include:

• Don’t drink a lot of water with your food
• Chew your food slowly and chew your food well
• Restrict salt
• Avoid carbonated beverages
• Be aware of fibre
• Be aware of legumes
• Be aware of cruciferous vegetables
• Exercise regularly.

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Water weight

Dr Papasavas elaborated: “Water dilutes the gastric fluids and slows down the digestive process. Ideally, drink water before your meal or one hour after.”

Eat properly

“People who eat fast tend to swallow large amounts of air that causes bloating,” said Dr Papasavas.

This is why it’s crucial to chew food well, in order to ease digestion.

Salt is the enemy

“Salt causes water retention in the body at the cellular level and in the stomach,” Dr Papasavas explained.

If you want to flavour your food, spices and fresh lemon are better alternatives.

Fizzy foe

Fizzy drinks contain carbon dioxide that can become trapped in the digestive system and cause bloating.

“Coffee and black tea may also cause indigestion,” Dr Papasavas warned.

It’s also better not to drink from a straw if you want to minimise how much air you swallow and the likelihood of bloating.

Healthy food to be wary of

While fibre, legumes, and cruciferous vegetables – such as cauliflower and cabbage – are part of a healthy diet, they can contribute to bloating.

Legumes can be particularly difficult for the body to digest and are notorious for producing gas.

Dr Papasavas is not advising to remove such healthy foods from your diet.

Instead, with fibre, the doctor recommends introducing more fibre into your diet gradually.

When it comes to legumes, “soak them for at least 48 hours and change the water several times”.

Furthermore, he suggests serving legumes with quinoa and to add spices, such as coriander, cumin, or turmeric.

As for cruciferous vegetables, which include kale, broccoli and Brussels sprouts, steam them to soften their fibre.

Softening the fibre will make the vegetables easier to digest.

Exercise

And when it comes to exercise, moving the body helps to improve the health and function of the digestive system and decreases bloating.

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