If your stomach constantly feels uncomfortably full and puffy, you should consider drinking smoothies to help prevent bloating. Your suddenly bulging stomach preventing you from squeezing into your jeans may not just be fat. You may be bloated.
Healthy smoothies can relieve you of the discomfort of bloating and help you lose inches off your waist. Read this post to the end to learn how to prepare smoothies to get rid of belly bloat.
First, What Does Bloating Feel Like?
Know that uncomfortable feeling like there’s no room in your stomach? And you’re passing gas excessively, and your belch smells terrible? Well, that’s bloating, and you feel the discomfort when air or gas is trapped in your stomach and intestine. You may also feel bloated when your body retains water.
What Are The Causes of Bloating?
Bloating is often caused by diet choices. Eating dairy products and fast foods filled with salts and saturated fatty acids may make you bloated. Fizzy drinks can also cause bloating as they contain gas that may get trapped in your stomach.
However, it isn’t just about unhealthy eating. Certain healthy foods, such as veggies and fiber, can also cause gas to be trapped in your stomach. These foods are made up of complex carbohydrates, which produce lots of nitrogen gas, especially when poorly digested.
Also, being stressed and anxious can slow your digestion, causing food to digest poorly and produce bloat gas. Other causes of bloating include eating a big meal, indigestion, constipation, swallowing air while eating, and even an intense workout session.
Lastly, bloating may be caused by health conditions, such as lactose intolerance and stomach infections. So, you may want to see a doctor if you feel bloated for more than two days and the discomfort is unbearably painful.
Can You Really Be Bloated After A Workout?
Yes, post-workout bloat is real. You expect to feel lighter after a sweat-breaking exercise. But instead, your stomach feels full. Then, you start to wonder if exercising can cause bloating? Well, you may get bloated after an intense workout for several reasons.
It may be that you’re dehydrated or overhydrated, both of which cause your belly to retain water. Or, perhaps you had a meal too close to your workout, and your body struggles to digest the food while also powering your workout. Also, sucking in too much air during your workout may cause bloating.
5 Debloat Smoothies To Get Rid of Belly Bloat
Here are some anti-bloating smoothies to help prevent bloating. You can also enjoy them for breakfast or as a pre-workout meal, as they are full of healthy fibers that will fill your stomach while getting rid of belly bloat.
These debloat smoothies contain 100% plant ingredients. For instance, cashew or almond milk is used instead of cow milk, which can cause bloating. They are also packed with naturally sweet fruits, so you don’t have to add any extra sweeteners
- Healthy Blueberries Smoothie This blueberries smoothie by Simple Green Smoothies contains powerful antioxidants that will help you feel less bloated. Blueberries are high in fiber which makes it easier for food to pass through your digestive system. And, bananas are full of potassium, which flushes excess sodium out of the body reducing bloating. Ingredients:1 cup Blueberries 1 cup cashew milk ½ cup cashew yogurt ½ banana or avocado. Instructions: Blend all ingredients together on high speed until smooth. If it’s too thick, add more cashew milk. Then, pour in a glass and chill before drinking, or use frozen blueberries and bananas.
- Tropical Tumeric SmoothieThis anti-bloating smoothie by a nutritional consultant shared on Camille Styles will soothe your stomach and keep bloating at bay. Mango contains fiber and polyphenols that reduce constipation. While kiwi and ground flax promotes laxation and enables regular movement through the digestive system. Ingredients:
½ cup frozen mango½ cup pineapple1 peeled kiwi1 teaspoon ground turmeric½ teaspoon fresh ginger (1 teaspoon to make it spicier)1 tablespoon ground flax½ cup plain Greek yogurt1 cup almond milk Instructions: Blend all the ingredients until smooth, and serve. You can add a sprinkle of coconut or hemp seed on top to make it a crunchy delicious treat. - Creamy Green Detox JuiceThis creamy green juice shared by The Fitchen is a detox smoothie for bloating that will clean your system and banish the bloat. Apples contain pectin, which treats constipation and reduces bloating. And, cucumber is a natural diuretic that will help you stay hydrated, while spirulina stimulates the growth of good bacteria that aid digestion. Ingredients:2 unpeeled apples2 cups of pineapple½ an unpeeled cucumber¼ of a peeled lime1 avocado1 teaspoon spirulina powder Instructions: Process the apple, pineapple, cucumber and lime in a juicer, and then blend the juice with the avocado, and spirulina until smooth. Chill or add ice cubes before drinking.
- Matcha Debloating SmoothieThis Tasty debloat smoothie is fast-acting, you’ll be relieved and feel your best immediately. Matcha powder contains antioxidants that reduce the production of gas. And, Pineapples and bananas combat water retention, which may cause bloating. Ingredients: 1 banana1 cup pineapple¼ cubed cucumber1-inch ginger root 1¼ coconut water1 tablespoon pure matcha powder Instructions: Blend all ingredients and mix until smooth. Add ice for a thicker consistency and to chill or use frozen fruits.
- Bloat-Busting Pineapple SmoothieThis pineapple smoothie shared on Hello Glow will reduce bloating, as well as make your skin glow. Pineapple contains bromelain enzyme, which aids digestion. While cucumbers contain caffeic acid, which helps reduce swelling. Also, ginger reduces cramping and soothes the stomach. Ingredients: 1 cucumber ½ cored pineapple 1½ cup coconut water 1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger ½ teaspoon turmeric powder IceInstructions: Blend all ingredients, including the ice, until smooth and serve immediately.
Tips To Stop or Prevent Bloating
In addition to smoothies for bloating, try these tips to stimulate your stomach to release retained water or gas when you’re feeling bloated.
- Massage the abdomen: An abdominal massage following the large intestine path will help get your bowels moving.
- Take a warm bath: Soaking in a warm bath will help you feel more relaxed and reduce your stress levels, which will enable your digestive system to function properly.
- Try Yoga: Yoga poses that work the abdominal muscles, such as the child’s pose and the happy baby pose, can help release the excess gas from a bloated tummy.
- Drink more water: No, it won’t make you feel fuller. On the contrary, it would help release retained fluids causing the bloating and prevent constipation.
- Eat smaller meals: Instead of a big meal at once, eat smaller meals at regular intervals to put less pressure on your stomach to digest food.
Next Step?
Take out your blender and make these smoothies to get rid of bloating. Let us know in the comments how effectively they worked. If you need more smoothie recipes to help with your fitness goals, you can get access to the YouFit In-House Nutrition program with a YouFit Gyms Premium+ Membership.
