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    5 Ways to Deflate a Bloated Belly

    Here's a scenario that we're all too familiar with: It's Friday night and we're slipping on our skinny jeans and they feel a little too...skinny. Don't freak out: It doesn't mean you've gained so many pounds that your jeans aren't shutting anymore. It could be because of what you ate during the day, which is causing you to bloat. Since no one wants to carry around extra inches on their waistlines, here are four ways to beat it. Related: Body-Slimming Tips for the Holidays

    Pick Potassium-Rich Foods

    This mineral helps regulate the fluid balance in your body, keeping bloat at bay. High-potassium foods include bananas, cantaloupe, mangoes, spinach, tomatoes, nuts, and asparagus - which contains an amino acid called asparagine that (bonus!) acts as a diuretic to flush excess liquid out of your system.

    Keep Your Mouth Shut
    Beware of habits that cause you to swallow excess air - like chewing gum, drinking through a straw, smoking, and talking while you're eating, says Patricia Raymond, M.D., a gastroenterologist in Chesapeake, VA. Related: 10 Things to Do When You're Bored, Besides Eat!

    Limit Sugar Substitutes
    Some people have difficulty digesting artificial sweeteners (especially sorbitol, found in many sugar-free candies and gums - making gum doubly bloat-inducing), which can cause gas and diarrhea, Raymond warns. If you suspect you're one of them, opt for a bit of real sugar instead. Related: 9 Surprising Slim-Down Tricks

    Pop a Probiotic
    These "good bacteria" (found in supplements and in cultured milk products such as yogurt) can keep you regular and bloat-free, says Jeannie Gazzaniga-Moloo, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. In fact, women with irritable bowel syndrome - characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and/or diarrhea - who took the probiotic strain B. infantis for four weeks noticed less bloating than those on a placebo, one study shows. Check labels for this strain (which can be found in the supplement Align), or find a similar strain in Dannon Activia yogurt. Related: 8 Foods with Health Superpowers

    Prep for PMS
    If you tend to swell up before (or during) your period, be sure you're getting enough calcium (1,200 mg a day) and magnesium (200 to 400 mg daily) in your diet; both nutrients have been found to help relieve PMS symptoms such as bloating. You can also pop Midol, which contains two mild diuretics. Related: Natural Remedies for Menstrual Problems

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    Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.

     

    95 comments

    • Ty  •  1 year 6 months ago
      Here's an idea -- eat less, exercise more. Gas is a relatively minor problem for most people, but obesity is a health disaster, especially in the U.S. which ranks as the most obese country in the world. As a nation, we spend hundreds of billions of dollars every year to treat obesity related illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. That's like a massive and endless financial bail-out of our bloated waistlines.
    • Mary  •  1 year 6 months ago
      So... why is it righteous to get rid of excess fluids by eating potassium-rich foods, like spinach... but Atkins is considered evil, because they say it makes you think you are losing weight, and what it does really good at first is pull excess fluids off you?

      Oh, I get it. It's all about the new food religion. Veggies are righteous, meat is evil.
    • Leonnie  •  1 year 6 months ago
      Hahahaha!!! you are all funny! Nothing is wrong people w/ excess fats as long as they feel well. I got no probs w/ my curves and i'm doing the right things to maintain healthy and fit look!
    • Bons  •  1 year 6 months ago
      Yeah.....don't let your fatass kids ride my tax paying dollar funded gas guzzling bus to school! I am SICK of OBESE Americans....every where I look I see dumb people. Most Obese people have mental health issues that they need help for and don't tell me they don't esp. if you are ONE of them. There is NOTHING as sick as seeing a Obese person...with a trial of Obese children waddling behind them....makes me want to think of Oprah if she had kids in A NIGHTMARE...LOL
    • Mrs. Spud  •  1 year 6 months ago
      LOL! Too bad blow fish/puffer fish are poisonous, they're so cute and funny looking!
    • T. Webster  •  1 year 6 months ago
      Posted by Danikka Chomsky 15 hours ago
      Check out www.GreenHa.com The new social network for the health conscious!
      _____

      I checked it out and unfortunately, there is a fee after the free trial period. :( Bummer. Am I incorrect? I read the TOS and it stated that I needed to put in cc info?

      Hugs,
      Grandma Tilly
      the zen shoppe dot com
    • 1958debs  •  1 year 6 months ago
      No sugar substitutes, huh? And what do diabetics do then, Einstein?
    • Lemonprotection.com  •  1 year 6 months ago
      This is good advice and makes good sense. I would also suggest the Ab Radical for tightening the abdominals with this advice and it can be used for travel. It is made by Edison Nation online; you can use it on an Airplane or at any rest stop. The Ab radical is compact and will fit in a ladies purse or in a man’s coat. Very good product and it would go well with the advice given here.
    • buggyNC  •  1 year 6 months ago
      Seems a lot of people here don't know the difference between being fat and being bloated. Completely different issues. Anyway, another tip is to get enough sleep.
    • Joey  •  1 year 6 months ago
      Kiwis are loaded with potassium as well
    • SLICK  •  1 year 6 months ago
      eat alittle of this and that and stay healthy.
    • E  •  1 year 6 months ago
      Yogurt is great!!!
    • DaniloO  •  1 year 6 months ago
      when my wee wee gets bloated i wack it
    • Runa  •  1 year 6 months ago
      Apparently some people don't understand that bloating has nothing to do with how much you've eaten. It isn't fat deposits from excessive eating. It's excess fluid or air in your system.
    • Paradux  •  1 year 6 months ago
      Fart a lot...then you wont be bloated.
    • Scannerman  •  1 year 6 months ago
      Need something to make You BURP.
      Put Salt on Your Food drink Coca-Cola with Your meals
    • Dave T  •  1 year 6 months ago
      What ever will become of the leftovers from thanksgiving? Nice timing! Buy the food that tradition and marketing told you to and then feel guilty about it! Ham for Christmas anyone?

      Fools!
    • think  •  1 year 6 months ago
      Eat hanfuls of Metolazone. You won't be bloated, you can fit your britches, but your legs will cramp to the point where all you can do is lie in the bed and scream. Just kidding, it is a prescription drug, and it will cause you to scream unless you eat loads of potassium rich foods.
    • Teh Person  •  1 year 6 months ago
      Lol, the pufferfish was creative
    • A Yahoo! User  •  1 year 6 months ago
      Someone should also mention to be cautious of consuming common allergens - for me, eating too much dairy or gluten/wheat will cause me to be super bloated.

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