And A Very Flat Tummy This Year!

This year we will all be more beautiful inside and out! A lot of us tend to eat a lot over the holidays and come January, the stomach, hips and thighs pop out! This is me giving my account and of course the remedy!

I got a bit of a shock recently. On Sunday, strolled into the bathroom, casually glancing at the mirror, I stopped short, my heart skipped several beats when I saw my mid riff area, it looked humongous. The only difference between me and Barney was that I didn't have a purple and green fur coat and I wasn't a dinosaur . I was shocked and immediately panicked!

Was I ill or something or had I, as they say “Swallowed?”. I didn't know what to do. So in a small voice I called out to my friend and swallowed a litre of saliva as I didn't know if she would point and laugh at me or aggravate my fear by opening her mouth wide and shake her head.

“What is it?”

“Look at my belly, isn’t it getting so big, I quite worried”

She looked down at it and was silent for a moment. Ah ah, see me see trouble, there I was standing and feeling like Papa Ajasco, not knowing what was going through her mind, another keg of saliva hurriedly passed through my throat for the second time that evening

And then she said

“Look, I think its just food, do you know how much you've eaten today alone. Your throat is getting long, your diet has been up and down of late and besides you might just be having the female bloat”

And so I pondered and did a quick calculation and saw myself in my mind’s eye not discriminating against all the “sweet food” the Lord created, I saw myself like Homer Simpson loving all the “hmmm doughnut…” shoving and cramming doughnuts, cakes, pounded yam etc into my mouth. I saw myself yet again eating (and smiling this time) yam and “Owo” pausing, taking just a moment to savor its unique taste and flavour…I also recalculated and reckoned that “that time of the month must be right round the corner!

Each of us at one time or another have experienced the feeling of being bloated; that uncomfortable feeling where the stomach or intestines pushed against the skin and made the stomach distended and hard. This normally takes place in the abdomen and is caused by an excessive build up of intestinal gas – or wind.

Possible causes of bloating include:

Some common causes of chronic stomach bloating are irregular digestive processes which produce gases at a much higher rate than normal.

• Pre-menstrual Tension (PMT) - The symptoms tend to disappear or greatly improve once the bleeding actually starts. • Contraceptive pill • Salt, or processed foods in your diet - even a small amount of excess sodium causes bloating. • Too little protein in diet. • Carbonated Drinks- Fizzy drinks, including soda pop and spritzers, increase bloating because the carbon dioxide trapped in the bubbles creates gas, which slows down stomach emptying. • Lactose Intolerance- sometimes your stomach is unable to digest the lactose--or milk sugar--in dairy foods leading to bloating.

Finally, eating a lot of fatty food can delay stomach emptying and cause bloating and discomfort.

Foods that may cause gas include: • Beans • Vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, onions, artichokes, and asparagus • Fruits, such as pears, apples, and peaches • Whole grains, such as whole wheat and bran • Soft drinks and fruit drinks • Milk and milk products, such as cheese and ice cream, and packaged foods prepared with lactose, such as bread, cereal, and salad dressing

Get Rid of That Belly!

• Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. • Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day. Beverages with little or no calories, caffeine or sodium, including herbal tea, are best. • Avoid regular soft drinks with lots of sodium. Avoid carbonated drinks, Fizzy drinks, they increase bloating because the carbon dioxide trapped in the bubbles creates gas, which slows down stomach emptying. • Exercise may help release hormones that encourage bowel activity

• Approach milk with respect. Just because milk and dairy products cause bloating doesn't mean you have to give them up. You can drink lactose-free milk, which tastes sweeter! • Prior to menstruation, the female abdomen often becomes the rep

ository of all fluids, much like camels' humps. 
 • Skip the stimulants. Coffee, tea and chocolate (this i cannot leave i am totally a Chocoholic!) can all overexcite the digestive tract. Fat is another food that's often hard to digest and may stimulate spasms--and consequently bloating--in the bowel
 
Lastly, Women who take supplements containing the B-complex vitamins and also magnesium and calcium seem to have fewer complaints about bloating.

Have a fabulous week ahead xxx