Daily bloating has become increasingly common over the years.

With so many people dealing with gut imbalances and digestive juices not functioning properly, it’s no surprise that bloating is so common.

And when I start working with clients to heal their digestion and gut, they often experience slightly more bloating at first.

As you increase the amount of fiber (which is imperative for gut health and digestion), the good bacteria in your gut is growing as the bad is being wiped out. This can feel uncomfortable. It’s an awkward transition.

If you stick with it and follow a program that is designed for gut rebalancing, it will get better quickly. But in the meantime, or if you aren’t working on healing your gut and you just experience frequent bloating, these are four things you can do to minimize that uncomfortable ballooning in your midsection.

4 Tips to Minimize Bloating:

1) Eat mostly warm foods~

Our body stays around 98 degrees. Anything we put into it needs to be warmed up to that temp. That takes energy and extra digestive juices if it’s working with something cold.

Additionally, raw food hasn’t been broken down at all and still has all of the nutrients intact. While there are benefits to this, if you notice you are feeling bloated after salads or raw foods, it’s a sign that your gut is struggling with digestion and handling those nutrients.

Instead, up your warm food intake first, get your body really used to more fiber, and then try the cold foods on occasion. It should help minimize bloating.

2) Drink warm lemon water or tea

Again, our body and gut likes warm things. If you are feeling bloated, having a cup of warm lemon water or tea can help get your gut warmed up, easing the pain of your bloat. These can also get your digestive juices going, making bowel movements easier, which will further minimize bloating.

As you know by now if you’ve been in my community for a while, warm lemon water in the morning is my jam. Give that a try or any herbal tea you enjoy. For ladies, raspberry leaf tea is particularly helpful with easing cramps, which can exacerbate bloating, so it’s a great choice! Ginger tea is also great as it supports digestion.

3) Go for a walk or do gentle yoga

Sometimes our mid section just needs some gentle movement to get things, well, moving. If you sit at a desk most of the day and notice your bloating comes on in the afternoon or after lunch, it could be that the compression from the seated position is interfering with your body’s ability to move things through the digestive tract.

When you start feeling bloated, go for a 15 minute walk or hop on YouTube and find a short, gentle yoga series to get things moving and minimize bloat.

4) Use a heating pad on your belly

A heating pad helps stimulate blood flow, so putting it on your belly when bloated could help get things moving. It also simply feels good and can make your cramping and bloating dissipate.

I hope this helps! Long-term, healing your gut and eating foods to support healthy digestion is the key, but if you are in that process and simply need relief, these tips are great to minimize the pain.

What do you do to help minimize bloating?

XO,

Kelsey