4 Main Causes of Your Holiday Bloat

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, we’re all peeking around the corner for the next holiday – Christmas and New Year.

Thanksgiving may have left you with some uncomfortable holiday bloat, which makes the thought of Christmas and New Year dreadful.

But tackling holiday bloat means taking care of your gut before, during, and after your feasting.

Knowing what’s exactly causing your holiday bloat will help you beat the uncomfortable fullness of your stomach and unbuttoned pants.

The 4 Main Causes

The foods served during the holidays are mouthwatering indeed. But after eating them it can make you feel as if you don’t want to move for the next few hours.

This takes away from quality time with family and friends so at your next holiday party be aware of these 4 causes of holiday bloat:

Water retention

Although very delicious, holiday foods can have hidden agendas with their high sodium content. From the plump salted turkey to the gravy and stuffing these dishes are packed with salt.

And salt in your system can leave you with a bloated stomach after the holidays.

Salt, also known as sodium or NaCl, is an electrolyte needed for your body to function properly. But too much of this electrolyte and your body starts to compensate for excess NaCl by holding onto water.

The water helps dilute your blood of sodium and re-balance its electrolytes. But this safety mechanism also leaves you with more water retention and uncomfortable holiday bloat.

Overindulging

We’ve all been there, laying on the couch after grazing over the holiday buffet all day – too heavy to move.

It happens to the best of us.

But we sometimes wait a whole year for grandma’s holiday stuffing or your aunt’s famous cookies so how can you not chow down during the holidays?

Over stuffing yourself at the holiday party is easy to do.

And when you eat so much in such a short period of time your body doesn’t have time to properly digest these foods, which leave you lying horizontal for most of the day.

Too much dairy, gluten, and sulfurous foods

Along with excessive salt and overeating, holiday meals are notorious for dairy, wheat, and sulfurous vegetables.

These specific foods contain bloating substances, which leave you with treacherous holiday bloat.

Dairy and gluten are two major culprits of bloating for most people. Dairy contains the natural sugar lactose while gluten contains a gliadin protein, which are both hard to digest for a lot of people.

This is because they don’t produce the proper enzymes to break them down.

Improper digestion of dairy and gluten also promotes fermentation by your gut bacteria leaving you with gas and bloating.

Sulfurous vegetables are another reason for your holiday bloat because of the raffinose sugar, fiber, and sulfur compounds they contain. All three of these produce foul-smelling gas and holiday bloat.

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)

Those suffering from small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) probably groan about the holidays. These festive parties are scattered with food which ignites the overgrowth of bacteria in their small intestines.

Not only do you feed off holiday food, but your gut bacteria do too.

And when they end up in your small intestine they thrive off the sugar and carbohydrates, which you tend to eat around the holiday season. SIBO symptoms leave you with bloating, constipation, and diarrhea.

6 Ways to Improve Bloating Around the Holidays

You are what you eat and you are what your gut bacteria eat. And bloating around the holidays has a lot to do with the foods being served during this time.

So here are 6 ways to improve bloating around the holidays this year:

Prepare healthier holiday options

One of the most important things to do to avoid holiday bloat is – prepare, prepare, prepare.

Cooking healthier options for your holiday party allows you to cut back on the salt and unhealthy foods.

Try a few of these gut healthy recipes for your next holiday party.

With these recipes, you’ll be confident to know, which dishes you can get seconds on.

Avoiding certain carbs and sugar

FODMAP stands for fermentable, oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols.

FODMAP is a type of carbohydrate, which can wreak havoc on your gut. These carbohydrates are short-chain carbs that are resistant to digestion.

When they are left undigested in your gut the bacteria ferment these carbohydrates and produce hydrogen gas, which causes gas and bloating.

If you’re suffering from small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or irritable bowel syndrome focusing on eating a holiday meal low in FODMAP’s can help prevent holiday bloat.

Reduce your salt intake

Salt is an essential electrolyte in your body while also bringing out the flavors of any dish. Completely cutting out salt from your diet is nearly impossible and could actually harm your body.

But so many of the prepackaged foods today already contain salt in them.

A second round of salt is added while cooking and then a third is usually added once the meal is at the serving table. Three rounds of salt in your meal can leave you with major water retention and a full stomach.

Stop water retention this holiday season by reducing your salt intake.

Staying hydrated

You would think if you have too much water retention from excessive salt during the holidays then the last thing to do would be to add more water.

But surprisingly it helps with washing out the extra sodium and water retention in your body.

Dehydration makes you hold onto more water while hydrating flushes any excess electrolytes out. With the holidays indulging in salty foods and alcoholic beverages can leave you dehydrated.

Get Moving

The last thing you want to be doing after a heavy meal is exercising.

We aren’t saying go for some intense workout after a holiday meal, but staying active can help promote better digestion of your foods.

A nice afternoon walk or jog with family or friends can help you not feel so worn down after the holiday season.

Atrantil Digestive Health Supplement

Atrantil continues working for you before, during, and after your holiday meals. It promotes better digestion before your meal and continues working well through it.

Atrantil helps kick out overgrown bacteria in your small intestine, which are feeding off the sugars and carbohydrates from the holidays.

After eliminating this unwanted bacteria Atrantil stays active and enters your colon. This helps strengthen your gut microbiome and contributes to postbiotic byproducts, which are beneficial to your overall health.