Avoiding these foods may help to reduce stomach bloating

If a flat tummy is your goal, core exercises and ab crunches can go a long way – but your diet, and what you eat also plays a big role. To lend a helping hand, top Training and Nutrition Specialist, David Wiener from Freeletics, shares a list of foods you should steer clear of to prevent bloating:

Chewing Gum

You naturally swallow a lot of air while chewing gum, which can make you feel bloated and leave your stomach distended. Chewing gum can also stimulate your digestive enzymes to expect food which can in turn make you feel hungrier and result in an increase in snacking.

Popcorn

Popcorn can cause bloating simply because of its volume. There isn’t anything specific in this popular snack that causes bloating; it’s simply the volume of popcorn that most people eat which causes your stomach to expand more than usual. A typical snack size bag of popcorn is around 25-30g, which is a lot of popcorn for your stomach to hold.

Fizzy Drinks

When you have a fizzy drink, the gas (carbonic acid) fills the stomach with air, creating pressure which pushes the air back up the oesophagus. If you suffer from bloating, the extra gas will make it worse as the air will sit in the stomach. These bubbles eventually burst and get reabsorbed into the blood. Fizzy drinks can also aggravate irritable bowel syndrome, a condition linked to digestive system problems.

Artificial Sweeteners

Many people gravitate towards artificial sweeteners because they have no calories. But calories aren’t everything, and sweeteners like xylitol and sorbitol take a long time for the small intestine to digest, which is why substances like these can lead to bloating. To avoid bloating, be aware of these sweeteners in the foods you eat and limit the amount you consume.

Wheat

Wheat is found in most breads, pastas and pizzas, as well as baked goods like cakes biscuits and waffles. Wheat contains the protein gluten which can cause bloating, gas and mild stomach pain in some people. It is, however, easy to avoid with there now being so many gluten-free alternatives to wheat, such as pure oats, quinoa, buckwheat, almond flour and coconut flour.

David Wiener is a Training Specialist at Freeletics, the #1 fitness app in Europe offering personalised AI fitness coaching which continuously adapts to your feedback and situation to always deliver the perfect workout, no matter what.