Sometimes you just can’t catch a break from bloating after eating, even if you were careful about what you ate, how much you ate and how fast you ate it.
That tight feeling in your stomach – like an inflated balloon – might make you feel like crawling up into a ball and taking a nap. In fact, this is the worst thing you can do. The very best thing you can do is get up and move around. You don’t have to break any world records, and you don’t even have to call it “exercise.” Simple movements will help enormously.
The Case For Movement
The basic problem with lying down after eating is that you trap gas in your system. A 2003 study published in the journal “Gut” showed that body posture plays a big role in how gas moves through the digestive system. And as you might suspect, if you’re in motion, the gas in your system stays in motion, too, until it works its way out. Researchers ultimately found that gas moves faster while people stand up rather than lie down.
This study was followed five years later by one published in the “Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases.” Study participants were given either an espresso or favored liqueur or asked to walk at a “leisurely pace” after they ate a large meal. The beverages had no effect on the first group, but the walkers reported that the food moved through their stomachs much more quickly. And when the stomach empties quickly of food, gas goes right along with it.
Bolster Your Moves With CharcoCaps
While walking for 10 or 15 minutes after eating can greatly diminish bloating after eating, it’s understandable that not everyone feels like putting on their walking shoes after a meal.
At this point, a compromise is in order. And you can find it in yoga, or a series of gentle stretching exercises that virtually anyone can do after reading a book or watching an instructional video. (And no shoes are required.) A study published in the journal “Pain Research & Management” found a strong link between yoga and a reduction in gastrointestinal distress.
For distress you’re eager to mitigate right way, turn to CharcoCaps, an over-the-counter caplet that provides relief from gas and bloating after eating – no matter what you ate, how much you ate, or how fast you ate it.