Beat The Bloat!

I loved and wanted to share this article to help you beat the bloat, which will help you to look and feel slimmer in a hurry!

Bloating, belching and intestinal gas: How to avoid them

Bloating, belching, gas and gas pains can be embarrassing and uncomfortable. Here's what causes these signs and symptoms — and how you can prevent them.

Bloating, burping and passing gas are natural and are usually caused by swallowed air or the breakdown of food through digestion. You may experience gas and gas pains only occasionally or repeatedly in a single day. When gas and gas pains interfere with your daily activities, it may be an indication of something serious. Find out how to reduce or avoid gas and gas pains, and when you may need to see your doctor.

Bloating: Gas buildup in your stomach and intestines

When gas doesn't pass through belching or flatulence, it can build up in the stomach and intestines and lead to bloating. Bloating is often accompanied by abdominal pain — either mild and dull or sharp and intense. Passing gas or having a bowel movement may relieve the pain.
Bloating may be related to:

• Eating fatty foods. Fat delays stomach emptying and can increase the sensation of fullness
• Stress or anxiety
• Smoking
• A gastrointestinal infection, blockage or disease
• Irritable bowel syndrome, a condition characterized by abdominal pain or cramping and changes in bowel function
• Conditions such as celiac disease or lactose intolerance in which the intestines aren't able to digest and absorb certain components of food

To reduce bloating, it may help to avoid or reduce the amount of gas-producing foods you eat. Many carbohydrates cause gas, and the following items are common culprits:

• Baked beans
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carbonated drinks
• Cauliflower
• Chewing gum
• Fruits such as apples, peaches and pears
• Hard candy
• Lettuce

Belching: Getting rid of excess air

Belching or burping is your body's way of expelling excess air from your stomach. You may swallow excess air if you eat or drink too fast, talk while you eat, chew gum or suck on hard candies, drink carbonated beverages, or drink through a straw.
Acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can have the same effect. If stomach acid backs up into your esophagus, you may swallow repeatedly to clear the material. This can lead to swallowing more air and further belching.
Some people swallow air as a nervous habit — even when they're not eating or drinking. In other cases, chronic belching is related to inflammation of the stomach lining (gastritis), peptic ulcer disease or delayed stomach emptying (gastroparesis).
You can reduce belching if you:

• Eat and drink slowly. Taking your time can help you swallow less air. Also, avoid drinking through a straw.

• Avoid carbonated drinks and beer. They release carbon dioxide gas.
• Skip the gum and hard candy. When you chew gum or suck on hard candy, you swallow more often than normal. Part of what you're swallowing is air.
• Don't smoke. When you inhale smoke, you also inhale and swallow air.
• Check your dentures. Poorly fitting dentures can cause you to swallow excess air when you eat and drink.
• Treat heartburn. For occasional, mild heartburn, over-the-counter antacids or other remedies may be helpful. GERD may require prescription-strength medication or other treatments.

Bloating, belching and intestinal gas: How to avoid them

Flatulence: Gas buildup in the colon

Intestinal gas is typically caused by the fermentation of undigested food, such as plant fiber, in the colon. Gas can also form when your digestive system doesn't completely break down certain components in foods, such as gluten or the sugar in dairy products and fruit.
Other sources of intestinal gas may include:

• Food residue in your colon
• Changes in intestinal bacteria due to antibiotics or other medications
• Carbohydrate malabsorption, which can upset the balance of helpful bacteria in your digestive system
• Swallowed air that migrates to your colon
• Constipation — the longer food waste remains in your colon, the more time it has to ferment

Sometimes, gas indicates a digestive disorder, such as irritable bowel syndrome or lactose intolerance.
To prevent excessive gas, it may help to:

• Avoid the foods that affect you most. Common offenders include beans, peas, lentils, cabbage, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, bananas, raisins, whole-wheat bread, salads and carbonated drinks. If dairy products are a problem, try low-lactose or lactose-free varieties.
• Eat fewer fatty foods. Fat slows digestion, giving food more time to ferment.
• Temporarily cut back on high-fiber foods. Fiber aids digestion, but many high-fiber foods are also great gas producers. After a break, slowly add fiber back to your diet. Add products such as Beano to high-fiber foods to help reduce the amount of gas they produce.
• Eat slowly. Try to make meals relaxed occasions. Eating when you're stressed or on the run can interfere with digestion.
• Get moving. It may help to take a short walk after eating.
• Try an over-the-counter remedy. Products such as Lactaid or Dairy Ease can help digest lactose. Products containing simethicone help break up the bubbles in gas.

When to see your doctor

Bouts of excess bloating, belching and gas often resolve on their own. Consult your doctor if your symptoms don't improve with changes in eating habits or you notice:

• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Severe, prolonged or recurrent abdominal pain
• Nausea or vomiting
• Bloody stools
• Weight loss
• Fever
• Chest pain

These symptoms could signal an underlying digestive condition. Intestinal symptoms can be embarrassing — but don't let embarrassment keep you from seeking help. Treatment is available.

By Mayo Clinic staff

Coconut and Weight Loss

I have been a huge fan of coconut my whole life.  As a child, I would take the option of buying a coconut from the store over a candy bar any day.  I used to love drilling into the eye and drinking the beautiful water  before spending the next few days working my way through the pure white flesh.  Mmmmm...

Anyway, lately people seem to be more and more interested in the wonderful benefits of this fabulous nut and it's little wonder as there are so many benefits of all things coconut to our health! Coconut water contains loads of vitamins, minerals, and incredibly, electrolytes!

Coconuts, believe it or not, may actually help us with weight loss! Most people seem to be really worried about the saturated fats in coconuts and are skeptical that consuming coconuts will affect their waist lines! So here's some information about coconuts and coconut water that I hope you find useful.





There has been an explosion of coconut water on the scene lately! Coconut water, which is the liquid that comes out when you whack open a coconut,  is our natural 'Sports Rehydration Drink' and the perfect post hangover beverage to help replenish and re-balance your electrolytes.

Coconut water also keeps you hydrated and feeling fuller for longer and has been reported to increase your metabolic rate. Coconut water also flushes out toxins, and contains 3 grams of fibre per cup, helping keep to maintain balance of blood glucose levels, thus helping you to get control of sugar cravings.

Not all brands of coconut water are created equal however. When reading the ingredient list, make sure to look for pure coconut water without any sweeteners, and sans sulphites. My personal favourites are Dr Martins and Vita Coco although Dr Martins can be quite tough to get hold of and works out to be rather more expensive.  This is largely because their coconut water is raw though.  Both are however, 100% pure unadulterated coconut water.



So, what about weight loss? Well, coconut milk is a puree of water and the fresh white coconut meat that has been cooked down, and strained.  Creamed coconut is the version that is solid at room temperature and is usually purchased in 'blocks' weighing about 250g each.   Although there is a lot of saturated fat (yes, this scares people), the saturated fats in coconut milk are composed mostly of medium chain fatty acids.
This is fantastic news because medium chained fatty acids are easily metabolized in the body.  Instead of being stored as fat, medium chain fatty acids get burned off and used as energy quickly (vs. long chain fatty acids found in cow’s milk). Therefore, consuming coconut milk can actually help with weight loss! Also, the medium chain fatty acids do not have an negative effect on cholesterol levels.

And, just one more thing to tell you.  Although I did go over the top and got a bit bored with it, (learn from my mistake and don't go silly! this was a short term experiment) last year, I was eating, on average, a block of creamed coconut a day.  Having for example, coconut crepes with berries for breakfast, curries made using various meats, fish or veggies and creamed coconut and any other coconut recipes I could come up with for lunch and dinner.  I would also take fresh coconut flesh out in a serving saver in my bag when I went out in case I got hungry (although I rarely ate outside of mealtimes because I had no cravings nor was I hungry) and made myself homemade dark chocolate sweets with... you guessed it, coconut!  In 7 weeks I lost 11 lbs.  Then it was Christmas, I ate Christmas foods and didn't go back to eating so much coconut again afterwards but I didn't regain that weight either.  My point is, I still drink coconut water regularly and that's great, but all the fat in creamed coconut and I LOST weight.  You decide :-)