Bloat Busters

Many of you can admit, at one time or another, you struggled with this, BLOATING. Bloating is the accumulation of fluids throughout the body. Whether you are getting ready for contest, wedding, or trying to slim down in your bathing suit, there are some tricks and secrets to fighting off the bloat.

Reduce Sodium- it may be a natural tendency to shake salt on just about every thing; however, sodium causes extreme stomach bloating. Negate canned foods, processed meats (Subway not so fresh), snack foods (Bye, Bye wheat thins), and freezer aisle foods. Yes, those Lean Cuisine are NOT making you any leaner. In fact, Lean Cuisine Market  Creations Chicken Alfredo contains 680 mg of sodium. According to University of Maryland Medical Center, most HEALTHY individuals should not consume more than 2,300 mg of sodium daily.

Drink Water- Many of us struggle drinking those 8 glasses of water a day. When you have high blood levels of sodium but consume too little amounts of water, the existing amount of water binds to the sodium causing water retention or the so-called "Belly Bloat." Take a look at your urine, if it's dark in color (exception after taking vitamins), then you are not hydrated. Your urine should be light to clear in color. Water purifies the body of toxins, helps the skin to look brighter and youthful, keeps you full, fights fatigue, and reduces body fat. Why not drink more water?

Eat MORE Asparagus- Asparagus is probably the most forgotten vegetable; however, it is the most helpful vegetable to reducing the bloat. Asparagus contains 400 milligrams of potassium and virtually no sodium, the primarily the mineral responsible for the water retention.

Mindful of Air- As silly as this may sound, drinking through a straw, chewing gum, talking while you are eating causes you to swallow excess air creating gas.

No PASTA NO Bread-  According to the new study Archive Internal Medicine, bread and pasta contains high glycemic index which increases the risk for coronary heart disease in women. When your blood sugar rises too quickly, the pancreases responds by releases a hormone called insulin.  Insulin's job is to escort excess sugars out of the blood stream as quickly as possible. When you are not exercising enough, sugar winds up in your fat cells. High glycemic foods are the ones you want to avoid. All these foods raises blood sugar levels quickly and keep this up a long time increases the odds your insulin levels will be high--and that pretty much guarantees you will be put on weight.

I focused on getting my nutrition from natural sources like sweet potatoes, corn, oats and peas. These are foods that are not processed and will not spike blood sugar levels.

No Dairy- About 75% of the world population is genetically unable to process milk and other dairy products. The FTC recently asked UDSA to look into the scientific basis of the claim made in the "milk mustache"ads.
Their panel of scientist stated the truth clearly:

• Milk does not benefit sport performance. 
• There is no evidence that diary is good for your bones or prevents osteoporosis --in fact, the animal protein it contains may cause bone loss!
• Dairy is linked to prostate cancer.
• It's full of saturated fat and linked to heart disease.
• Dairy causes digestive problems for the 75% of people with lactose intolerance. 
• Dairy aggravates Irritable Bowl Syndrome. 
• Simply put, the FTC asked the diary industry, "Got Proof?" The answer was no!
• Plus dairy may even contribute to more health problems like allergies, sinus problems, ear infection, Type 1 Dietbetes, chronic constipation, and anemia (In children).

Unfortunately, I am included in this astonishing statistic. What did I find? I realized my body function better without it!  I was so sensitive to dairy, that even a tablespoon of creamer would have me on the floor throbbing in pain.When eating yogurt, I was taking extreme amounts of Lactose, GasX, TUMS, and probotics all in one day. I figured this probably isn't good to be consuming all at once. I realized... I had to give up dairy all together. Surprisingly, after two weeks, the bloat went away and so did the unbearable pain.

FIGURING out the BLOAT

1. Keep journal for one weeks writing down every thing you eat and drink. Describe if you notice anything different in the way your body functions.
2. Take photos daily
3. After a week, if you realized that breads and dairy are the culprit, try experimenting them out of your diet.