Bloated? Stomach pain? Try these 5 hacks
We all know those feelings…
Sharp pain…
Gassy sounds…
Tightness…
Pressure in the stomach area. We’re talking about bloat, and most times, it’s not a very fun feeling.
Sometimes it can be short-lived or other times for a longer duration. I personally have had my fair share of stomach pains and bloat to the point where I would be thinking to myself, “Why me?!” as I lay down crunched in a fetal position to make the pain subside for a short while (dramatic I know).
After I got over the woe is me session, I started looking into a better question to help me combat and hopefully put a stop to this annoyance, and that is, WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?
Before we jump into the 5 hacks that could help with your bloating, we have to quickly, and in the simplest way, understand why our stomach bloats and causes pain:
We may have swallowed air (yep - that’s a real thing that can cause stomach pain. Been there!)
We may be eating our food too fast, not allowing our bodies to properly digest which is causing these “knots” or pains
We may have excess intestinal gas caused by specific foods or fibrous choices
Some examples could be lactose digestion or carbohydrate malabsorption meaning our guts are having difficulty breaking down these carbs (sugars are included here)
We may be eating something that our bodies can not tolerate (allergies/food intolerances)
Or we may have a more serious digestive issue (GI disease) or hormone-related cause
On my personal quest to find out why I experienced these sharp pains for as long as I can remember (even as little as a kid), I came to find out a few things such as having an allergy to dairy, garlic, almonds, and other things (although these items did not heavily cause my stomach pains).
What I noticed in my personal situation was that I experienced bloat and sharp stomach pains due to a few things specifically:
Heavily seasoned food while eating out at restaurants
Foods heavy in cooking oil
Foods heavy in sugar
and not surprisingly, I fall into the category of eating too fast causing indigestion and the whole swallowing air thing. Crazy I know!
5 Hacks to combat and get rid of your bloating!
First off, I would encourage thinking of these more as lifestyle changes/habits, rather than simple hacks.
While some can be a quick fix while the bloat and pain are present, if you want to better manage your digestion, you will need to begin viewing from a different lens.
Find out what is causing the pain specifically, and remove it!
Not really a “hack” per se, but a pretty important step right?
Just as I had to begin taking a closer look as to WHEN I was experiencing these painful and bloated episodes, this is something I highly encourage everyone to do so they can begin to tackle the root of the problem.
You may have a food allergy or sensitivity you may not know about or maybe one of your favorite weekly go-to restaurants has been the culprit all along. This is something you have to find out!
I once had this, what I thought at first, was delicious piece of double chocolate cheesecake. Chocolate glaze. Chocolate chips all on top. It was really something. But the morning after pain was incredible. At this point in my life, I had already switched to a Vegetarian lifestyle and so my body and digestive system was immediately giving me feedback that this type of junk was not ok with them. Never had it again.
Do I love cake? Of course!
Do I have these types of sweets constantly? Definitely not.
I also personally know to be wary of what I am eating at restaurants because of my past experiences.
Being Hispanic, it’s ironic that I can’t really stomach much of the Spanish cuisine because of the excess seasonings that are used, so this is something I choose to stay away from. Chips and salsa, and potato and egg tacos seem to be the extent of my Mexican food interests - which you can’t call Mexican food - (and even the oil from the chips causes me bloat sometimes!)
2. Slow down your eating and avoid swallowing air
Jay Shetty mentions in his book Think Like a Monk, that one of the practices he and the other monks did was to “Chew your water and drink your food.”
It’s a pretty interesting rule of thumb to think about when we are digesting our food and water.
Slow down the eating. Slow down the drinking.
This is one of the most challenging things to do personally and I’ve been known to eat very fast since I was a kid.
My mother always used to say “Slow down! No one is going to come and take your food.”
(me thinking) They might. “Can I go to my room now?”
When it comes to eating and digesting our food, bloat and stomach pains ensue when we’ve eaten too fast and not given our bodies the proper head start to digestion.
Another cause of this indigestion are the types of foods we are eating so be mindful to be consuming:
Less processed foods (high in sugar, high in fat - lacking nutrients)
More fiber (feeds the gut bacteria and aids in digestion)
We’ve mentioned it before, but another great rule of thumb to prevent bloating and over-eating is to ONLY EAT UNTIL 80% FULL.
3. drink plenty of flat water
This is a no-brainer!
Our bodies are made of 60% water so we need water to ensure proper function throughout.
Water encourages fluid movement through the entire digestive tract and keeps your food from becoming too hard to pass through.
On top of this, water also helps you feel full between meals so you avoid snacking or overeating in the next meal. Win win!
I mentioned flat water because this is the most important to be consuming, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t drink a carbonated water from time to time. Again, it’s all about moderations, but I would caution with over-consuming carbonated water and carbonated drinks in general as this could actually cause bloating, which is not the best idea when we are trying to get rid of it!
***As a an extra side hack: Along with drinking majority water, consuming chamomile or peppermint hot tea can also help to alleviate bloat, gas, and pain.
4. go on short walks following your meals
Because food generally takes six to eight hours to fully digest and pass through to the small intestine and up to thirty-six hours to fully pass through the colon, research shows that getting some movement in post-meal can actually speed up the digestion process. Makes sense right? Why aren’t we all doing this?!
More often than not, we find ourselves actually causing more harm than good following a meal from remaining stagnant, seated, or worse, lying down causing our body to really have its work cut out for them with digestion.
On top of that, most of us are eating until we are completely full and having to be rolled out of restaurants… Remember that 80% rule I mentioned earlier?
There are some really negative effects that can be caused from overeating alone:
Excess weight gain (of course)
Bloating (which we’re trying to get rid of!)
Stomach expansion, causing pain and discomfort
Excess acid needed to breakdown food, causing heartburn
Overuse of energy to breakdown food
Knowing what we now know, let’s begin to stack up these positive lifestyle changes of eating only until 80% full and taking a brisk 10 -15 minute walk following a meal. Not only will this serve amazing results to our overall body progress, but we will begin to feel more lively and energetic, rather than lethargic following meals.
Bring a friend, bring the dogs, and make it a fun and enjoyable habit to start today!
5. massage abdomen or use warm compress
I know women out there can attest to the warm compress during certain times of the month (cough, cough), but this definitely can help if you have sharp pains, gas, or bloat following a meal.
Massaging your stomach can help to move gas and stool along the inside of your colon. It may also help relieve symptoms of tightness, pressure, cramping and bloating.
Remember… MOVEMENT. This is the name of the game. The more we can move and be active, the more our bodies will thank us.
Now, I am not talking about going to knock out sprints or run a mile after you ate a full meal, but getting your body moving in some fashion will pay huge dividends.
When we talk about warm compress or heating pads, these do wonders to help alleviate the pain and move trapped gas out of the intestines. Even taking a warm shower or placing your warm hands on your stomach can have positive effects, so give it a try!
In conclusion,
Tackling our stomach pain, gas, and bloat cannot be seen as a quick fix band-aid method… We must incorporate real, positive lifestyle changes to our behaviors so that we can drastically limit or completely remove the persistent bloat.
Since I have personally identified some of the behaviors needed to change in my own personal lifestyle, I rarely if ever have stomach pain and bloat, and on those rare occasions that I do, ironically, I usually call it out in advance before it happens because of something I ate. That’s how well we should come to know our body!
Practicing mindful eating, drinking plenty of water, identifying root causes of stomach pain, and getting more active throughout the day have had significant impact in my life personally, and I know they can do wonders for you as well!
I hope you enjoyed this article and feel free to reach out to us anytime at support@thestrongsociety.com.
