Super-easy food swaps to beat bloating

If you’re familiar with bloating, you’d know it’s something you’d like to avoid at all costs. Stomach bloating is often caused by particular foods in a person’s diet, but what you may not realise is that junk food isn’t the only offender. That’s right, even healthy, fibre-rich foods can cause painful bloating.

But before you start cutting out everything from your diet, there’s still a way to enjoy the foods you love. With the help of Brisbane-based nutritionist Alessandra Trovato, we’ve rounded up the best food swaps that will stop bloating in its tracks.

According to Alessandra, it’s important to consume two serves of fruit per day, but if you’re trying to combat bloating, certain fruits are best to be avoided.

Apple is loaded with fructose, or fruit sugar, which some people have a tough time digesting. Alessandra recommends swapping apples for berries “as they won’t upset sensitive stomachs and are much easier to digest”.

Other stomach-friendly fruit options include lemons, limes, figs, grapefruit, peach and rockmelon.

Nothing compares to a flavoursome bowl of pasta or digging into a fresh loaf of bread, but refined grains aren’t always that easy to digest.

“This is because of the high sugar content mixed with yeast — a fermenting agent used in baking which causes gas to be released into the digestive system ultimately causing bloating,” she says.

Alessandra advises swapping white pasta or bread to wholegrain pasta and buckwheat bread — and if you’re feeling adventurous zucchini pasta is worth a try!

And if you’re making pasta, opt for a tomato-based sauce over a creamy white sauce, which will also aid in digestion.

Read more: Healthy alternatives to white pasta that taste great

It’s considered the ‘healthy’ alternative to soft drink, but it appears sparkling water might not be quite as healthy as you think.

The fizz in the water can leave you feeling bloated as the gases sit in your digestive system, causing a build up of air.

“For a healthy option try tap water flavoured with sliced lemon and cucumber for a refreshing drink,” Alessandra recommends. 

Orange juice is a rich source of vitamin C, however, it can cause bloating. Orange juice is loaded with fructose, which some people have a tough time digesting. Alessandra recommends swapping juice for green tea, which is packed with antioxidants and has been proven to aid digestion.

What do you think? Did you know this? Do you suffer from bloating?