Top 3 Strategies to Dealing with Post-Holiday Belly Bloat
Anyone else feeling bloated, gassy, lethargic?
Oh yes! This is the post-holiday indulgence feeling.
The lockdown didn’t stop the holiday baking, the rich and delicious cooking, alcohol consumption or hey - take-out anyone? We overindulged. And to some degree this is to be expected, holidays are typically a stressful time and 2020 has been anything but typical. Food and alcohol have been comforting many of us during this pandemic.
I wrote a blog post back in October (Canadian Thanksgiving) which includes my top 3 strategies to avoid overeating, you can read it here if you want to prepare for New Year’s eve and any other upcoming holidays.
But for most of us, the time to read that blog post has passed, that ship has sailed - right off the plates, across our lips and into our bellies. Now that we are feeling the effects of that overindulgence how do we make it better? Worry no further - here are my top 3 strategies to deal with it:
Hydrate!
Bloating and any associated digestive stress are often signs of dehydration. It makes sense: we are eating sweets and/or processed foods and those are usually accompanied by coffee or alcohol (let’s face it - water doesn’t go well with cookies), both of which contribute to the dehydration problem.
This also contributes to constipation, which in turn makes the bloating problem worse.
So drink lots of water: a glass of water with lemon when you wake up and a glass before every meal. A glass of water between alcoholic drinks. Eat foods that are high in water content such as fruits and vegetables.
Drink teas with carminative spices (ginger, orange peel, cinnamon, peppermint to name a few)
The main action of carminative spices/herbs is to soothe and settle the gut wall, helping alleviate stomach pain and reducing gas from the digestive tract.
Move
Go for a walk after meals. The fresh air combined with movement will help ease your digestive problems, encourage bowel movements, relieve stress and make you feel better.