1. Don't eat on the move.
Digestion and gut function have control inputs from your nervous system. Your nervous system has a "calming" part to it (parasympathetic) or a "stress" part to it (sympathetic).
If you're eating on the move, while stressing out, trying to work, barely chewing your food, and trying to get done in 5 minutes, your "stress" nervous system will be running your digestive show.
Bloat free bellies hate this. When eating, sit down, calm down, chew your food, give yourself enough time to eat, and relax. It's "rest and digest," remember?
| SIT DOWN, CALM DOWN, EAT SLOWLY |
2. Simple food = better food.
Simple food, with less ingredients, and great quality is a far safer better for the belly that doesn't bloat.
More ingredients = more complexity, more chance something will prove difficult to digest or irritating, more chance something can be slipped in there without your realising it...
And less chance of identifying a "problem" food if the meal does trigger symptoms. Aim for a maximum of 4 different foods per meal whilst you're on the mend.
Like these gelatin marshmallows (water + honey, gelatin & cacao).
| AIM FOR 4 INGREDIENTS OR LESS PER MEAL |
3. Ask food "The 3 Questions."
We've coached thousands of people on nutrition. One of our go-to's to teach people to be mindful of their food by asking it the 3 QUESTIONS.
- Where are you from?
- What do you have in you?
- What will you do to me?
If you can get a clear answer that you like for each question, proceed! If not, it's worth thinking twice.
That's what a bloat free belly would do.
| DON'T EAT THINGS YOU CAN'T IDENTIFY WITH REASONABLE CERTAINTY |
4. Build gut strength.
Weak, thin, inflamed, leaky guts don't do well in the big city, or the small city, or anywhere.
If your hand is washed and clean, feel the back of your eyelid with your little finger. Your gut lining is about as delicate as your eye lid.
Using good gut nutrition proteins like collagen, gelatin and L-glutamine will speed up the rebuilding and strengthening of your digestive lining, and reduce inflammation in your gut.
This will result in less food sensitivities and more food flexibility.
| USE PRO-GUT PROTEINS COLLAGEN & GELATIN TO REBUILD |
5. Give props to food prep.
When fire was "invented," cooking followed right behind. Once we learned how to cook our food, our ability to obtain more calories and nutrients went up because cooking food makes it more digestible.
Cooking meat, fish and chicken is obviously a game changer for your ability to digest it, and not die from it.
But what about plants?
Yes, they should be mostly cooked too. The best method to do that is by fully boiling them, or by doing a partial boil and then roasting them the rest of the way.
Cooking vegetables (and fruits if necessary) breaks down the undigestible plant cell wall (cellulose) so that you can more easily digest the nutrition and energy locked inside these fibre matrixes.
Ditch the raw veg. If you do have raw leafy greens, opt for a smaller, entrée sized amount, dressed properly in olive oil and vinegar.
| EAT MOSTLY WELL COOKED VEGETABLES |
References: (1), (2), (3), (4).
