6 Foods and Habits That Make You Feel Heavy and Bloated

Ever eaten so much to the point you felt so heavy and bloated? We’ve all been there. Feeling bloated doesn’t only happen after eating an excessive amount of rich food. It’s a really normal problem to feel bloated even if you’ve just eaten a regular sized meal.

What is bloating?

Being bloated causes a person to feel full and makes their stomach look visibly swollen. For some people the swelling isn’t visible, but they still feel discomfort and tightness in their abdomen. Other unpleasant symptoms like pain, excessive gas and abdominal rumbling happen when someone’s bloated. These symptoms can be so severe for some people that it actually interferes with their work and social lives.

What causes bloating?

Bloating can be a symptom of serious conditions like ovarian cancer or celiac disease. But once you’ve gotten that ruled out by a medical doctor, you should also take a look at what you eat. Below are a few habits and foods that are known to cause bloating.

Processed Food

Too lazy to cook your own food? You’d probably order take-out food or warm up a frozen meal. Frozen meals contain high amounts of sodium, though—the average TV dinner contains 1,800 milligrams of sodium. That’s about 80% of the total amount of sodium that’s recommended for a healthy adult for a whole day. All that salt will have you feeling heavy and probably thirsty.

Vegetables

Certain vegetables are known culprits for bloating. Broccoli, beans, onions, cauliflower and cabbage naturally produce gas that explains in your gastrointestinal tract. Eating raw vegetables also causes bloating if you have large servings of them.

Carbonated and high-acid beverages

Pops and carbonated water have bubbles, which contain carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide creates gas in your stomach. Coffee and alcohol, which are considered acidic drinks, are known to irritate your GI tract as well.

Dairy

If you’re lactose intolerant, you can’t digest dairy product properly. When undigested lactose moves through the colon, symptoms such as gas and bloating occur.

Chewing gum

You swallow air bubbles when you chew gum. Gum tends to contain artificial sweeteners, another known culprit for abdominal bloating.

Eating too fast

Several studies have shown that a lot of office workers eat their lunches at their desks. According to this article, 65% of American workers eat lunch at their desk or don’t take a break at all. Fitting in time to actually relax and enjoy meals is sadly too difficult for many people. The problem with eating too fast is that the food doesn’t get chewed and broken down enough for the stomach. You’re also more prone to swallowing more air while eating when you eat in a hurry.

Try to cut down on consuming these foods or doing these habits if you feel bloated too often. Make sure to fit in plenty of water to help flush waste out of your system. Drinking peppermint tea also alleviates gas and relaxes your digestive tract.