During the summer months, it’s easy to slip into less healthy eating and drinking habits. This can affect the digestive tract, and result in more gas and bloating! Summer clothing is often tighter fitting and more revealing, which can make us more conscious of these symptoms (thinking bathing suits here!). Here are my tricks to ease gas and bloating for a more comfortable experience and more efficient digestive process;
- Ginger root is an anti-inflammatory for the digestive system and a great motility agent. It can also aid with cramping. Steep ginger root in hot water and drink before or after meals.
- Chamomile is an anti-inflammatory for the gut and used commonly for leaky gut. It calms the system and helps with IBS symptoms while also nourishing the microbiome. Camomile is most easily consumed in tea or capsule format.
- Anise seed is a carminative herb, which means it expels gas! Anise seed also relaxes spasming and cramping in the GI tract. This is a great option to be steeped in hot water and consumed after a meal.
- Mint decreases gas and bloating and aids in speeding up digestion. Mint can be added to salads, smoothies, teas and desserts!
- Bitters stimulate bile secretion from the gallbladder, which in turn helps stimulate digestion. Bitters are handy after a big meal to help with the digestive process and soothe the system.
- A good-quality, high-dose probiotic helps address the root cause of digestive issues stemming from microbiome imbalances. It’s important to choose a probiotic that is “human strain” and is higher than 25 billion CFUs if you are looking for true rebalancing of the GI tract. I recommend HMF Intensive Capsules by Seroyal.
Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable remainder to your summer! If you are concerned about GI issues, come see us. There are numerous tests that we can run to determine the health of your gut/microbiome and create a personalized plan especially for you to feel your best!
Be well,
Dr. Kate