How to avoid bloating after holiday meals: 5 simple tips

Photo: Getty Images

Holiday meals are often hearty and can cause bloating, heaviness, and stomach discomfort. Health experts say there are some simple steps to reduce this feeling.

A typical holiday dinner can have over 3,000 calories, nearly double the daily requirement for most adults. The stomach has a limited capacity and when overfilled, it can cause indigestion, nausea, and bloating.

5 tips to reduce bloating during and after holiday meals:

1. Know the foods that cause you to bloat

Each person has "trigger" foods (such as dairy, gluten, very fatty or very salty foods).

It is important to know what foods bother you. Keep a food diary to note the relationship between food, quantity, and symptoms. If possible, ask the person who cooks at home about the ingredients of the foods.

2. Don't "save" calories for the big dinner

Not eating all day to "compensate" later often leads to rapid and excessive eating, which increases bloating.

Eat meals and snacks throughout the day. This helps digestion and prevents overeating. Be careful with large amounts of fat, salt, sugar, and fiber added suddenly.

3. Make healthier food substitutions

Even small changes help:

Instead of very fatty foods: vegetables, sweet potatoes;

Instead of heavy cream: milk;

Instead of very starchy rice: legumes (beans, lentils).

If this seems difficult to you:

Fill the plate like this:

? vegetables, ? light protein, ? favorite foods.

4. Add green leafy vegetables

Vegetables like spinach, kale, asparagus:

- They have a lot of water

- They are easy to digest

- Helps reduce bloating

Increase fiber gradually and drink more water, otherwise the opposite may happen (more bloating).

Vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower are often better tolerated cooked, not raw.

5. Limit or avoid alcohol

Alcohol:

- Dehydrates the body

- Slows down digestion

- Increases water retention and bloating

Recommendations:

- Maximum 1 glass for women, 2 for men.

- For every glass of alcohol → 1 glass of water

- Drink water throughout the day, not large amounts at once.

Good alternative: non-alcoholic drinks (mocktails) with mineral water and 100% natural juice (e.g. mineral water + cherry juice + lemon).