Picture this - you skipped the takeout and had home-cooked dal-chawal expecting to feel great. But what happens instead? You end up feeling heavy and bloated. We have all been there. Consultant nutritionist Rupali Datta states, "Even homemade meals can sometimes cause discomfort due to specific ingredients, portion sizes, and eating habits." Hence, consider adding antidotes to your everyday foods to avoid those post-meal discomforts. The best part is that you can find these solutions in the kitchen pantry without spending a fortune. Let's take you through the simple kitchen items you can find in an Indian household.
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Why Do We Feel Bloated Even After Having Home-Cooked Food?
1. Excess Use Of Spices:
Indian food is all about a melange of spices. They add taste, texture and aroma to your meal. While some spices are considered good for health, a few lead to gas, bloating and acid reflux - red chilli being a popular (read: infamous) example.
2. Excess Use Of Salt:
Adding extra salt to your meal not only ruins the taste but also leads to water retention and puffiness. Experts state that excess sodium draws water into the tissues, causing bloating and uneasiness.
3. Legumes Often Produce Gas:
Lentils and legumes are great for your health. But did you know, they can sometimes produce excess gas in the body? Rupali Datta explains," Beans, lentils, and chickpeas are rich in oligosaccharides, another fermentable sugar that can cause bloating".
4. The Eating Speed:
A WebMD report states, eating fast can cause you to swallow air (along with food), which gets trapped in your digestive system, further leading to gas formation and bloating.
5. Portion Size Matters:
How much you eat is as important as what you eat in a day. Nutritionist Simrun Chopra explains that even healthy foods can cause bloating if eaten in large quantities.
Also Read: These Dietary Changes May Help Ease Heartburn And Acidity - Experts Reveal; 5 Easy Home Remedies
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How To Fix Bloating With Simple Kitchen Ingredients:
Nutritionist Sweta Shah recommends adding the right kind of spices and ingredients to your everyday recipes to avoid post-meal uneasiness in the gut. In one of her Instagram posts, the expert also shared some food pairings that can help you digest food better and avoid acid reflux. Check them out.
1. Add Pumpkin To Sambhar:
Sambhar contains a good amount of fibre, and according to WebMD, too much of it can cause bloating, especially if your body isn't used to it. Sweta Shah explains that pumpkin is cool and alkaline in nature, which helps calm the gut and accelerate the digestion process.
2. Temper Chole/Chana With Hing And Jeera:
Chana or chole contains resistant starch and fibre, particularly raffinose and stachyose, which makes it difficult to digest. Adding hing and jeera, which have antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, to the dish helps break down proteins and accelerate the digestion process.
3. Soak Moong Dal With Cardamom, Coriander And Pepper:
Have you ever felt bloated after eating a healthy portion of moong dal cheela? It happens because moong dal contains oligosaccharides, which make it difficult to digest. Nutritionist Shweta Shah suggests adding spices like elaichi, coriander seeds and black peppercorn to the dal while cooking and soaking to avoid acid reflux. For the unversed, all these spices are known to stimulate the digestive process, further promoting gut health.
Photo Credit: iStock
4. Cook Rajma With Bay Leaf:
Rajma too has complex carbs, which makes it difficult to digest. Bay leaf, on the other hand, is rich in tannins, flavonoids, linalool, eugenol, methyl chavicol and anthocyanins - all of which have anti-inflammatory effects on our body, reducing the risks of bloating.
The Takeaway:
Home-cooked foods are great for your health, only when they are made with the right kind of ingredients. So, include a few tweaks to your recipes, portion size and eating habits and enjoy all your meals without feeling heavy or bloated.