When most women enter their 50s, they battle with a host of menopausal symptoms like weight gain/loss, mood changes and bloating.

If you are menopausal and feel gassy or your stomach is extended and is often rumbling, then you may be suffering from menopause-induced bloating.

This study explains that women are subject to these challenges at that age because of hormonal changes.

The quantity of estrogen becomes disproportionate to progesterone during menopause. As a result, your body starts to retain more water and even more salt. These substances often accumulate around the belly.

To deal with the condition, engage in activities that do not exacerbate bloating. You also want to do things that help in restoring your body’s natural hormonal, water and salt balance.

Here are some of those strategies:

Easy Ways to Stop Menopause Bloating

1. Cut Down on Processed Carbohydrates

Sometimes bloating in this stage of life could be a result of poor carbohydrate metabolism. Your body may lose its ability to process glucose, and that could lead to diabetes.

If you consume too many processed carbohydrates, your body will struggle to keep up since its metabolism is already compromised. One of the side effects may be flatulence.

Consider not taking any carbohydrates for about 3 days and see if the menopause bloating reduces. If it does, then carbs may be the culprit.

Afterward, cut down on pizza, white bread, bagels, and other similar food items.

2. Stay Hydrated All the Time

Water is an all-natural, simple remedy for too much flatulence. It works by restoring the sodium balance in the body.

Additionally, it removes from the system some of the toxins that could be causing constipation. If water is not exactly your cup of tea, consider getting it from juicy fruits like watermelons and tangerines. You may also add a tinge of lime in your water.

This intervention also means avoiding those foods that cause dehydration such as coffee. Caffeine makes your digestive system slower and thus more susceptible to menopause bloating.

3. Find Your Triggers

Even though hormonal imbalances are causing the menopause bloating, you want to make it as easy on your system as possible by only consuming those foods that you can easily digest.

Avoid certain known offenders like beans, which contain short-chain carbohydrates. The latter are usually hard to digest and may start to ferment in your gut thus causing flatulence.

Some people may be sensitive to wheat or gluten. Onions, garlic, lactose/milk, or broccoli could also be the source of the problem. Test yourself by removing these foods from your diet and see how you react.

4. Take Probiotics

In some instances, there could be excess estrogen in your body because of a bacterial imbalance in your gut. As a result, there will be a lot of gas in your stomach.

A good way of restoring gut bacteria is through consumption of probiotic supplements. These may even be bought on Amazon at very affordable prices. Here are the best probiotic supplements for weight loss.

5. Say NO to Carbonated Drinks

Soda usually contains a lot of gas. This is why you’ll hear a hissing sound or pop when you open soda bottles or cans.

If you constantly consume carbonated drinks, the gas settles in your stomach and contributes to the menopause bloating. It’s even worse when you use straws for this.

Sports drinks also fall in this category because they contain extra salt as well as artificial sweeteners, which are all known causes of gassiness.

6. Strive to Balance Your Salt

Excessive salt intake leads to more water retention in the tissues and hence gassiness as shown in this study. To address this problem, reduce the amount of salt you take.

You could start by eating more fresh foods and avoiding canned or pre-made foods. Watch out for condiments that may be loaded with salt like salads and sauces.

Some snacks like peanuts are touted as healthy but they contain a significant amount of salt.

7. Drink Herbal Tea

Peppermint tea, lemon and ginger tea, black pepper, turmeric, and apple cider vinegar are natural remedies for excess menopause bloating.

A mix of lemon and ginger boosts your metabolic enzymes. Additionally, this remedy helps restore the balance of hormones in your system. That way, you will have an excessive amount of estrogen in your body.

These herbal remedies are also good for reducing inflammation or stomach cramps. That way, you feel more comfortable.

8. Forget About the Alcohol and Cigarettes

The problem with alcohol is that it upsets the digestive system by wiping out beneficial bacteria.

Additionally, beer is often carbonated thus implying that the carbon dioxide it contains will reside in your stomach, research shows.

Beer is worse than spirits because it is made from fermented carbs like barley, which may also cause excessive menopause bloating.

Cigarettes are also a bad idea because as you smoke, you inhale a lot of air, the toxins from the line the stomach, and your gut bacteria would be ruined. Because of these preconditions, your stomach is likely to become more bloated.

9. Watch Your Quantities

Ever noticed that bloating worsens after a party, a buffet dinner or just a big meal? Reason for this is you may be overwhelming your already weak, menopausal digestive system with too much food.

This implies that most of it will sit in your stomach, ferment and produce those bad gases that make you uncomfortable.

Instead, practice portion control and stop eating whenever you feel full. At that point, your body is telling you that it has taken on enough work, so listen to it.

10. Change How You Eat

Do you simply gulp your food or finish your meals too fast? You could be inducing gas formation.

Allow your brain enough time to register that it is digesting food. Chew slowly so that the system does not have to work too hard to break down all the food you eat.

If you swallow large mouthfuls, you could be taking in too many air bubbles that lead to menopause bloating.

Alternatively, if you are fond of eating a big meal just before you sleep, this could be worsening the problem. At night, your digestive system slows down, just the way the brain does.

Furthermore, when you are asleep, gravity cannot help in moving the food within your digestive system. As a consequence, the food is more likely to sit there and cause some unwanted outcomes.

11. Tame Stress

Stress can worsen menopause bloating through its effects on hormones.

When you constantly worry, hormones like cortisol tend to increase in your body. As a result, digestion and other body functions start to be neglected.

This happens because your body assumed that breaking down food is not a priority. Blood is thus redirected from the digestive tract and the enzymes needed to digest food become fewer in number. The result is slower digestion and accompanying bloating.

12. Exercise Regularly

When you work out, gas has a better chance of passing through your digestive system. Exercise may not be an immediate remedy, but it could work indirectly to address some causes of bloating.

For instance, if it is stress-related, you will have a calming effect after exercise. Even though there is no one exercise to get rid of bloating, consistent working out makes the condition less severe. Manage stress by identifying your triggers and avoiding them.

I’ve found that crunch variations are excellent for squeezing excess gas out of your stomach.

Final Word

Bloating during menopause doesn’t have to overwhelm you. Make these lifestyle adjustments to tackle the hormonal and body changes that menopause has brought on.

Practice elimination methods to establish whether certain items are exacerbating the situation.

As I’ve said, regular exercise can play a vital role in beating menopause bloating. Therefore, take advantage of these amazing short home workouts.

The post 12 Easy Ways to Stop Menopause Bloating appeared first on Focus Fitness.

This content was originally published here.