The warm summer days are here and our constant quest for a toned and taut tummy is on everyone’s wish list. No matter how much ab work you do at the gym, it’s a known fact that it comes down to what we eat and a few of our habits which we ought to improve.
1. Hydration Hydration!
The temperatures naturally rise over the summer, whether you are in the UK or off on a Mediterranean Holiday. Remember to compensate and drink more than you usually would, by aiming for at least 2 litres of fluid throughout the day. When the body is dehydrated it retains fluid, making you feel puffy .Re-balancing those fluid levels, will help the body released stored fluid. Incorporate some Potassium in your diet by consuming bananas, kiwis or avocadoes. Potassium can naturally help to mediate bloating. Adding Lemon or Cucumber to flavour water, also helps with the production of enzymes that release excess Sodium in the body and hence reduce bloating. We easily forget that those one too many glasses of wine in the evenings, can dehydrate us. So alternate that glass of wine with water and be moderate with your intake!
2. Raw Vegetables and Beans
Are you adventurous, like us by creating new salads while cutting down on gluten, wheat or generally lots of carbohydrates? We follow recipes from all these Instagram posts and blogs and tend to eat more raw vegetables and beans. Despite being delicious and healthy for you, some of us can’t seem to digest them so well. Beans and cruciferous vegetables for example contain a starch, called Raffinose, which could be a struggle for your body to fully break down and digest. Raffinose could be fermented in the colon by our bacteria, and produce Methane causing gas and bloating.
Top tips: Eat raw salads once occasionally instead of twice a day. Soak your beans or cook them with a slice kombu which helps to tenderise them. Support your digestion with a salad dressing that contains apple cider vinegar or lemon to stimulate your digestive enzymes. Steam or Roast your vegetables, then add them to your salads and simply apply some portion control to your lentils or chickpea consumption. Remember hummus is healthy with its good fat and protein content, but eating it as a snack in addition to twice a day with meals, could give the bloat! Variety is Key
Include quinoa, buckwheat, black beans, millet as alternatives and small amounts of protein from tofu, seafood, turkey or chicken for instance with your portion of greens.
3. Food Timing
When it gets hot and mucky, you may not feel hungry until the temperature drops and the cold breeze of the evening starts. The longer hours often entice you in staying out with colleagues for a drink, and result in late dinners over a few evenings a week. Your digestion may generally be more sluggish than your partner’s or flatmates. Remember the gut needs time to break down those macronutrients (carbs, fats and proteins) before you head to bed, and the lapse of time left between a late meal and your bedtime is very short. Waking up bloated can be one of those outcomes.
Top Tips: Aim to eat a snack with your drink or have a more substantial lunch so that dinner could only involve a fruit and some nuts instead of a 2 - 3 course meal at 10 pm when you get home. Try a supplement to help if you cannot avoid so many late dinners because of work commitments.
4.Fruits
Choosing fruit after a meal instead of ice cream is definitely a healthier option. If you still suffer from bloating, try to eat your portion of fruit at least 2 ½ hours either side of meal times. Fruit gets digested within 20-30 minutes when consumed on its own, but when combined with a meal, the rate is much slower and it could get trapped and ferment in the gut.
Digestive Aids to Help Beat The Bloat.
Ginger Bitters Herbal Extract By Nature’s Answer, is an Alcohol Free Formula with a blend of Ginger Rhizome at 1g per serving, Cardamom Seed, Centaury Aerial Parts, Astralagus Root, Fennel Seed, Rosemary Leaf and Gentian Root. While there are no approved health claims for many herbs and botanicals, they have traditionally been used in many cultures for years and proved to be beneficial.
Gentian and Cardamom are very strong bitters which act by stimulating bile and increase our digestive enzymes production. Astralagus may help to improve the assimilation of nutrients in the digestive tract. Rosemary and Fennel have shown positive aromatic, calming and anti-spasmodic advantages over other plants. Centaury is known for its aromatic bitterness, and its action on stimulating both the digestion and liver.
The balanced formula has been shown to help stimulate digestive enzymes for better digestion of foods. It can be used before meals or after meals if symptoms of bloating, gas or heartburn persist. The recommended dose is 0.5 to 1 ml, mixed in a little water.
Nature’s answer’s Herbal Extracts are more potent than tinctures, are alcohol free and provide a superior form of botanical to support health. The vegetable glycerine used for this formula is to help preserve the herbs and is derived from coconuts. You’ll be happy to know that there are no other added ingredients and all the Nature’s herbal extracts are made in an Organic Certified facility.
May help to support optimal digestive health, stabilise hunger pangs, and support occasional constipation and bloating. The formula is enhanced with Acacia Gum, a proven prebiotic which helps to stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria and the production of short chain fatty acids. Since the gradual and progressive fermentation of Acacia gum versus FOS (another form of prebiotic), gives it exceptional digestive tolerance with no intestinal discomfort or gastrointestinal side effects. Acacia gum exerts a protective effect on the integrity of the gut lining, which is critical to our general digestive health. With one serving, you’ll be having the equivalent of 23 g of Fresh Turmeric which provides you with a multitude of benefits to keep you fit and healthy.
Being high in good sources of fibre such as Organic Cold milled Chia and Flax seeds, Organic Nopal Cactus leaf and Prickly Pear Fruit Extracts, this helps to bind to excess toxins in the body and support optimum digestion while beating the bloat. Make sure to always top up on fluids especially when adding chia or flax seeds to your diet for the first time. Enjoy this multi-functional blend by adding it to cold cereal, pancakes, salads, guacamole, salad dressings, or your favourite smoothie.
Contact us if you have any questions and we’ll be happy to help!
