Here Are Five Common Reasons Why You Feel Bloated All the Time

You might wonder how come you are bloated, despite the fact that you are maintaining a healthy lifestyle and even going to the gym regularly. Don’t worry! In this article, we will reveal the main reasons why you might feel bloated, how this is directly related to your digestive system, facts which have an easy fix and most probably you did not know about.

1. Excess salt – specially combined with low water consumption and lack of minerals will cause the feeling of bloating. Drink more water! And if you are in a predominantly hot country, make sure to increase your daily water intake even more. The amount of salt an adult should not surpass per day is 6g.

2. Fibre – This one might sound surprising, but excess fibre intake (found in fruits, vegetables, wheat) can cause bloating. A good way to overcome this, is by reducing fibre in your diet. Also, try to avoid combining fibre sources in the same meal, and instead separate them throughout your day. On the label doors of the food packages, normally you will find the amount of fibre per 100g - The ideal amount of fiber/day for women is around 25g and for 38g for men.

3. Fizzy drinks/sugar and fake sweeteners – All these will suppress your appetite by filling your stomach, and this has the consequence of unnecessary air and gas which gets trapped in your belly. As a result, you end up being bloated. Make sure to consume these in a moderate amount, and ideally stick to plain water if possible.

4. Eating too quickly – By not chewing your food and "swallowing," it you put extra stress in your body which directly affects your gut. Dr. Mustafa Alsayed, a reputed Dubai-based dentist suggests to chew your food at least 32 times before swallowing it, so you allow the enzymes in your saliva to break it down properly. A quick fix for this would be to drink a couple of glasses of water before your meal, and if you are too hungry you can also have an apple - this will calm down your appetite and allow you to eat slower.

5. Overcompensation – As a personal trainer and nutritionist, I have talked to a number of clients who think that the best way to lose weight quickly is by stop eating drastically and binging on very low calorie dense foods with scarce nutritional values i.e. salads. This does not only has the consequence of filling your body with unnecessary foods, but also expanding your stomach size making it harder for your system to feel satisfied in the future - as well as remaining unhealthy by not giving your body the fuel it needs. If you want to drop weight, it has to be a steady controlled process in order not to rebound and gain all those grams back.