While vanity is often the main driver for the desire for a slimmer waistline, a flat stomach is often indicative of a person’s overall good health. Modern fitness and nutritional research warn us that there are no special exercises that can be done to specifically target belly fat for elimination. It’s all about eating clean, whole foods and getting adequate exercise so that your body’s hormones balanced and you lose fat uniformly as a result. However, what if you are at your ideal weight and body fat measurement, and your tummy is still chronically distended? This could be a sign that you are not digesting your foods properly which is causing unnecessary bloating. Here are five flat stomach tips that aid digestion and result in less bloat and fat.
#1 Chew Foods Thoroughly and Eat Slowly
Undigested food that sits around in your intestines tends to produce gas that results in bloating. One way to help eliminate excess gas production is to chew food thoroughly. Digestion begins in the mouth, and completely chewed food gets processed and eliminated quicker than food that arrives in the intestines partially chewed.
Improperly chewed foods show up in the intestines as rather large chunks. Therefore, it takes longer for the digestive enzymes in the intestines to break them down. This means that these large-sized foods are already decomposing before the digestive enzymes fully reach them. Such decaying foods release gas in the gut and also cause other gastrointestinal discomforts such as bloating, abdominal pain, constipation, and diarrhea.
Therefore, improper chewing of foods can significantly worsen systemic infection, inflammation and autoimmune response to the leakage of undigested food particles through the gut to the blood. The trio of infection, inflammation, and the autoimmune reaction is responsible for triggering and sustaining a number of chronic diseases ranging from inflammatory bowel disease to skin diseases (acne etc.) and even certain psychological conditions.
Eating slowly gives you time to chew your food properly and feel satiated without overeating.
#2 Feed Good Intestinal Bacteria
According to a study performed by the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “Twelve weeks of consuming a fermented milk product containing the Lactobacillusstrain was associated with a 4.6 percent reduction in abdominal fat…”.
Maintaining beneficial bacteria in the intestines is one of the most important flat stomach tips. Good bacteria in the intestines aid digestion and support immunity. The proliferation of good gut bacteria is critical to health maintenance, and flora imbalances have been known to result in life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in extreme cases. Try to improve the amount of full-spectrum, beneficial bacteria in your gut by eating fermented vegetables and large amounts of other raw produce instead of consuming specific strains of bacteria through probiotic supplements.
If you don’t have probiotic supplements, here is the list of the best probiotic foods:
- Greek Yogurt
- Miso
- Organic Unfilter Apple Cider Vinegar
- Brine Cured Olives
- Fermented Cabbage
- Kefir
#3 Eliminate Refined Carbohydrates Particularly Wheat Products
Constipation, which is caused by eating low-fiber foods, often results in stomach bloat. Processed cookies, cakes, biscuits, and pasta are definitely not flat stomach food items as they contain very little fiber. These products are mostly made of wheat that eventually turns to sugar; excess sugar is stored as fat around the stomach especially true, if you are an ovary body type.
Also wheat contains gluten, and gluten impacts the digestion process if you have intestinal damage that is caused by gut flora imbalances.
#4 Eat Fruit Alone
Fruit should be eaten alone or with other fruit on an empty stomach.
Fruit is healthy, we all know that plus they are delicious simple carbohydrates that are digested much faster than fats and proteins.
The best time to eat a bounty of fruit is either first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, or as a mid-morning snack (which I prefer) – in between breakfast and lunch
Subsequently, many people have noticed that eating fruit immediately after consuming a protein-rich meal is one of the food combinations to avoid as it results in sluggish digestion. If you eat fruit close to a meal, especially right after a larger meal and combine with other foods, it’s held in the stomach too long along with other foods and will rot and ferment in the gut. If you experience indigestion, heartburn, burping and other digestive discomforts and you blame on the meal – it could be the combination of the food, the fermentation with fruit that causes your upset stomach.
Some people make an exception for papaya fruit that contains the enzyme papain( which reportedly helps to break down protein.
This rule also applies to dried fruit!
#5 Eat In Proper Order and Combine Your Foods Properly
Fruits first, Veggies and Plant Starches EAT MEAT OR PROTEIN LAST! Think of your stomach as a one way load. Don’t slow down the traffic by eating the heaviest foods first and causing a digestive crash. A good rule of thumb next time you eat a plate of food:
- Eat Fruits First
- Vegetables and Plant starches
- Starch Fat + Nuts
- Protein- Meat / Seafood last
#6 Eat Large Meals Early In the Day
Your digestion is the strongest between 12pm- 5pm. Once the sun is down your digestive fire is out. Hearty breakfast portions, which are typical of the American diet, are actually okay when they are followed by smaller meals later in the day. Typically, large meals take longer to digest, and ideally they create the feeling of satiety that will prevent you from over eating throughout the day.
Remember this rule : “Eat Breakfast Like a King, Lunch Like a Prince, and Dinner Like a Pauper”
Don’t be royal all day. A lot of people don’t feel hungry for breakfast because they’re eating too much at night. But you’re better off consuming more calories, including some extra protein, in the morning. It satisfies your appetite, so you won’t be so hungry at night, and you’ll have the nutrients and energy when you need them.
#7 Give your stomach a break
You don’t have to eat every 2 hours, unless you’re a body builder trying to acquire mass or trying to adjust your metabolism and are very active. Cells need to breathe. If you keep putting food in and keep creating pressure in the body, you keep busying up the blood with a different of nutrients and enzymes. Detox happens during emptiness. It’s not the presence of more that detoxes… it’s taking away! If you usually wake up at 6am but ate dinner at 8pm, you don’t need to eat right away. Wait at least 13 hours between dinner and breakfast. I wait even longer because my body feels better eating around 10 am.
Resources
1.https://fittrimhappy.com/bad-gut-bacteria-and-weight-gain-2/
2.http://bodyecology.com/articles/4-steps-to-naturally-eliminate-gas-and-bloating
3. http://www.prevention.com/health/health-concerns/cure-antibiotic-resistance
4. http://thechalkboardmag.com/food-combining-6-common-raw-food-combos-that-wreak-havoc-on-your-health
5. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=47
6. http://www.realnatural.org/probiotics-prevent-gluten-sensitivity-and-intestinal-damage-from-glia[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]