6 foods that can give you a bloated feeling
Awful, a bloated feeling — especially when you don’t know where it comes from. Because with some foods you know they can give you a bloated feeling, but sometimes it comes completely unexpectedly. That’s why I’ve listed six types of food for you that you’d better avoid if you want to avoid feeling bloated.
6 foods to avoid if you don’t want to feel bloated
1. Beans
Well, this probably doesn’t come as a surprise. Beans are packed with fiber, protein and carbohydrates — not unhealthy at all, but they also contain sugars called alpha-galactosides. And people with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) may not tolerate these very well because extra gas is produced while these sugars are being processed… And that can cause a seriously bloated feeling.
2. Lentils
Just like beans, lentils contain plenty of nutrients, but because of their high fiber content they can also leave you feeling full and bloated. And those sugars I mentioned above? Yep, they’re also found in lentils.
3. Cruciferous vegetables
To be honest, I’d never heard of cruciferous vegetables, but this is the ‘family’ that broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and cabbage belong to. They’re packed with fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron and potassium… And those damn alpha-galactosides. What troublemakers they are. You’d be better off eating spinach, zucchini or sweet potato — your intestines will probably thank you for it.
4. Raw onion
You can solve this very simply by cooking the onion thoroughly first, because many people don’t tolerate raw onion very well — and the reason why isn’t really known. It is a well-known phenomenon after eating raw red or white onion, though: that bloated feeling.
5. Barley
And that’s a shame, because barley is also found in beer. It’s full of fiber and contains gluten, so if you don’t tolerate that very well, your stomach may not respond too well to a freshly tapped beer.
6. Apples
This is really new to me. Apples? Yes, as healthy as they are, they also contain a lot of fructose. And that belongs to the FODMAPs, namely Fermentable Oligosaccharides (fructans and galacto-oligosaccharides), Disaccharides (lactose), Monosaccharides (fructose) and Polyols (sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, xylitol and isomalt). In short, certain carbohydrates and fibers that we eat every day and that cause many people to feel bloated. Cooked or baked apples don’t have that effect, by the way, so apple pie is safer. Just not necessarily healthier…
Curious what you should eat when you feel bloated? These 11 foods are perfect for fighting it.
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