How to Prevent Salad Bloat

Boost your digestive firepower and make raw foods your friend.

Does eating salads cause bloating, pain and other uncomfortable issues? You’re not alone. Some people can eat salads all day without any issues. Others experience symptoms annoying enough to put them off of salads altogether.

As we’ve mentioned, raw vegetables, fruits and meats can cause digestive issues and one way to aid the digestive process is to cook your food.

How strong is your digestion? Take our gut-check test:

Do you rely on TUMS after meals for digestive comfort?

Do you experience stomach pain, burning or aching 1 to 4 hours after eating?

Do you feel hungry an hour or two after eating?

Do you feel heartburn when lying down or bending forward?

Do you have excessive passage of gas (super farty)?

If you’re answering YES to some or most of these, you need to boost your digestive firepower.

Here’s how to help your body digest fiber:

Increase water intake.

There are many digestive juices in your body and drinking adequate water (half your body weight in ounces) helps keep them at optimal amounts. Also, soluble fiber (found in grains, nuts, seeds and some fruit and veggies) attracts water, meaning if you’re not drinking enough, things won’t “flow” and you’ll find yourself with symptoms such as bloating, gas and pain.

Tip: This does NOT mean drinking a lot of water with your meals. When you drink water while eating, you dilute your digestive juices, meaning they won’t have as much digestive power. Instead, consume minimal liquids with meals and drink freely between meals.

Chew your food. A lot.

Oftentimes we’re hurrying and wolfing down breakfast or lunch on the go. Take your time and chew until your food reaches an almost-liquid consistency. Digestion begins in the mouth. So, if you don’t adequately break down your food here, it will be more difficult for your body to do so downstream.

Change how you eat.

Swap those on-the-go and standing-at-the-counter meals for ones where you are sitting down, feeling calm and thinking positive thoughts. Stress inhibits digestive processes, so eating when your body isn’t prepared for food will lead to poor digestion and uncomfortable feelings.

Add in the good bugs.

No, we’re not talking about crickets; we mean beneficial bacteria! Your gut is full of them and they do a great job of helping break down fiber. Sauerkraut, lacto-fermented pickles, kefir, kombucha and good quality multi-strain probiotics are excellent sources of good bacteria.

We hope this post will help your body love salads. As always, Healthy Nest is here to help you get to the root of your digestive issues. We have a plethora of delicious recipes that will aid in digestion. Click here to schedule a free 20-minute phone consultation with a Healthy Nest holistic nutritionist.