Have you ever felt bloated after eating home cooked food?. If yes, then have you ever thought about the reasons for that issue?
It is believed that eating home cooked food is the best way to maintain a healthy diet but sometimes we feel bloated.
What is a bloated feeling?
A tight feeling in the abdomen is bloating and it is a common digestion based problem. Not only processed foods from outside can lead to a bloated feel in us, even home cooked food too. It might be due to certain ingredients or due to portion sizes etc.
Various important reasons of feeling bloated even after eating home cooked food are
Overuse of spices etc:
It is known that many types of spices are used in preparing Indian dishes. Truth is that spices like turmeric, cucurmin and ginger etc would help in digestion whereas spices would irritate our gut lining and lead to gas formation. When we consume red chilly based foods, then it would cause irritation to the stomach lining and produce acid reflux and bloating etc. Even garlic and onion that are usually good for our health would be difficult to digest for some people. It might cause a bloated feel in them. This could be overcome by avoiding excess chillies and instead we could use more mint, coriander and cumin etc.
Intake of high sodium meals:
By eating high sodium or salt based foods, we could get puffiness due to water retention. This would happen even if these foods are made up of fresh ingredients. It must be noted that excess intake of salt could make us feel bloated as it would draw water into the tissues. It was brought to light by a research study in the USA that our gut microbiota would get altered by intake of sodium. This would increase the fluid retention and make us feel bloated. Gradually reducing the intake of salt is important. It is better to use natural herbs and lemon juice to improve the flavour.
Intake of cruciferous vegetables etc:
When fermented in the gut, vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower etc having raffinose will produce gas. We could feel bloated if we eat lentils, beans etc rich in oligosaccharides. The presence of sulphur compounds in radish could lead to bloating in us. It is possible to avoid bloating after eating lentils and peas etc by soaking them overnight in water and discarding the water before cooking them. By this, gas producing compounds would get broken down. By cooking cruciferous vegetables with digestion friendly spices like ginger, cumin or fennel and avoid bloated feeling.
Eating food very fast:
When we eat the food fast without proper chewing, we would swallow more air. This could result in bloating also. Bloating can also occur in us if we eat food by lying down or eating a large meal in the night etc. To reduce swallowed air, it is necessary to chew the food properly. It is necessary to avoid heavy meals at night.
Dairy sensitivity etc:
If a person is lactose intolerant, then he or she could get bloated. It must be noted that persons who are sensitive to dairy products like paneer, milk, curd etc. could get bloating issues. Instead of dairy products, the person could opt for alternatives like soy milk or almond milk etc.
Cooking oils and fats etc:
There are chances of getting bloated by excessive oils, fats, ghee etc. Oily or fried foods would result in bloated feeling also. It is essential to reduce oiling and instead opt for grilling, roasting, steaming etc.
