Experts reveal the foods to eat and what to avoid to beat the Christmas bloat (and why you shouldn't eat a lot of FRUIT)
- Personal tips from Angela Downden, Ramona Braganza and Liz Brewer
- Some festive foods can lead to unsightly bloating and swelling
- Stuffing, sprouts and bubbles in one meal will make you feel over-full
Christmas can be a time when many of us overindulge, but we don’t always consider that what we do to our bodies on the outside can affect us on the inside.
Certain festive foods and drinks, such as sprouts and prosecco, can contribute to bloating, stretching the stomach and causing it to swell.
With the month of December leaving many feeling festively full, FEMAIL has enlisted the help of three experts for their personal tips to help you beat the bloat this Christmas.
Certain festive foods and drinks, such as sprouts and prosecco, can contribute to bloating, stretching the stomach and causing it to swell
Squeeze a little lemon juice on your turkey as it helps start the breakdown of the protein
Registered nutritionist Angela Dowden, celebrity personal trainer Ramona Braganza and TV’s Ladette to Lady etiquette expert Liz Brewer have shared their secrets to a flatter tum from squeezing lime juice over the turkey to break down its proteins, to steering clear of cranberry sauce and saying no to bubbles
1. Easy on the sage and onion stuffing
It's well known that garlic and onions can cause wind and bloating due to their content of fermentable components called fructans
2. Take care with carbs
Be careful with carbs such as pasta, rice and potatoes that are served chilled or reheated. Cooling and reheating these carbs results in ‘resistant starch’ forming - which passes undigested into the bowel where bacteria can act on it, producing gas
3. Stay away from supermarket breads
Part-baked breads, like baguettes, pizza bases and croissants can also trigger that bloated feeling in some people. If affected you may need to avoid supermarket bakery bread and stick to sliced loaves, or bread cooked genuinely from scratch instead
Avoid too much windy veg like broccoli and Brussel sprouts (pictured) for a sleeker silhouette
4, Avoid too much fructose
Although they have lots of health benefits, apples, pears and mango in particular have an excess of fructose compared with glucose and can cause bloating and other digestive issues for some people with sensitive digestive systems
5. Watch how you sweeten
Agave may be natural, but it’s also very high in fructose, so not particularly bloat friendly. Other sugar alternatives to watch for include xylitol, mannitol and sorbitol, which can upset your bowel in excess.
6. Keep a diary
Write down everything you eat plus any bloating symptoms, to help you identify any culprit foods or eating patterns
7. Eat little and often
Small, regular meals are less taxing on the gut, minimising the chance of indigestion-related bloating.
8. Citrus is your friend
Squeeze a little lemon juice on your turkey as it helps start the breakdown of the protein.
The onions in sage and onion stuffing (left) can cause wind and bloating. Bubbles (right) can bloat your tum, so stick with drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) that don’t contain fizz
9. Snack on the nuts
Up your intake of magnesium, found in the likes of bananas, Brazil nuts and almonds, pulses and green vegetables.
10. Use antacids
Try an antacid, such as Maalox Plus, to aid recovery from trapped wind and bloating.
11. Slash salt
Too much salt causes your body to retain excess fluid and cutting down can rapidly rid you of a couple of pounds. Foods to cut down on include pizza, sauces, seasonings, bacon, cheese, ham, stock cubes, anchovies and pickles.
12. Spit out the gum
Take care with chewing gum - though sugar free gum is good for your teeth it's another way to inadvertently add excess air to your system.
13. Start the day with yoghurt
Try a daily probiotic yoghurt or supplement - there’s some evidence that good bacteria can help ease bloating”
Cranberry sauce might taste good but fruit and meat is not a great idea! Fruit’s simple sugars require no digestion, so if combined with other foods that do it will stay in the stomach and ferment
14. No bread rolls
Constipation is a common cause of bloating so ditch white bread and pasta and go for the higher fibre whole grain varieties instead.
15. Ditch the bubbles
Kir, not Kir Royale - those champagne bubbles can bloat your tum, so stick with drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) that don’t contain fizz.
16. No need for sprouts
Christmas Day is all about enjoying good food and drink, but just avoid too much windy veg like broccoli and Brussels sprouts for a sleeker silhouette come Boxing Day
Tips from Angela Dowden, a registered Nutritionist with eight years’ experience in the food industry and a degree in food science from Nottingham University.
17. No multi-tasking
Don’t eat and drink at the same time, or swallow your food with liquid. Liquids will pass straight into the intestine and can inhibit digestion.
18. Chew more
Make sure you have 30 bites to every mouthful. Digestion begins in the mouth and you can decrease your chance of bloating by simply chewing your food more thoroughly before swallowing.
19. Drink tea
Have a herbal tea after your meal such as ginger or peppermint.
20. Close your mouth
Don’t talk with your mouthful. Not only is it rude, but it will also cause you to swallow more air leaving you feeling bloated.
Drinking peppermint tea (left) after your festive meal will aid digestion. Snack on Christmas nuts (right) to up your intake of magnesium
21. No cranberry with the turkey
Make sure you pick the right food combinations. Cranberry sauce might taste good on your turkey, but fruit and meat is not a great idea! Fruit’s simple sugars require no digestion, so if combined with other foods that do it will stay in the stomach and ferment.
22. Choose a loose silhouette
Choose loose fitting clothing to wear on Christmas day. Tight belts and jeans will make you feel uncomfortable and you’ll only end up having to unbutton them!
Tips from Liz Brewer, an etiquette expert from TV series Ladette to Lady. and author of two books on social behaviour and etiquette
23. Gravity is king
Get moving, by walking or doing toe touch stretches. Gravity will work to get the gas out of your body
24. Do the twist
Twisting exercises to help push air out of digestive system, this can be done in a chair or on the ground. Sit feet facing forward then rotate torso to the right and reach around to hold back of the chair, then repeat other direction.”
25. It's child's play
A yoga pose called child’s pose is a great way to compress your intestinal tract and can help push gases through the digestive system. Kneel on all fours, then lower your hips back and down until they are resting on your feet bend forward to rest torso on legs as you reach arms forward on the ground.
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