To avoid a bloated stomach from eating, it's important to consume foods that are easy to digest and that don't cause gas to build up as they're processed. But when it comes to eating for a flatter belly, it's as much about the foods you don't eat as the ones you do.
Avoid High-fiber Foods
High-fiber vegetables and pulses produce gas as they are broken down in your gut. While this is a natural side effect of digestion, excess gas causes bloating and discomfort. To avoid these symptoms, limit your portions of high-fiber veggies such as onions, garlic, leeks, peas, beans, lentils, cabbage, cauliflower and brussels sprouts.
Avoid Fatty and Salty Foods
Greasy, fatty foods such as chips, cheese, fried foods and oily dressings take longer to digest than healthy, natural foods. That means they hang around in your stomach, which can cause it to bulge. Limit your intake of high-fat foods as part of a healthy diet -- the added benefit of doing this is that your stomach will appear flatter. Bloating can also be caused by dehydration and fluid retention due to a high-salt diet. Drinking plenty of water, at least one glass an hour, will help hydrate and flush your system of sodium. Include plenty of fruits and vegetables that have a high-water, low-salt content in your diet such as cucumbers, watermelon.
Eat Carbohydrate and Protein-rich Foods
Carbohydrates and certain proteins are easy for your body to digest, which means they don't hang around in your stomach and cause bloating, notes the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. For a flatter belly, the best proteins to serve as part of your meals include well-cooked, lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs, canned tuna and tofu. Breads such as sourdough, pita and plain bagels, rice, polenta and cous cous -- as well as cereals with less than two grams of fiber are low-bloating sources of carbohydrate.
Eat Fruits and Vegetables
Fresh fruit and cooked vegetables that are not high in fiber tend to be easy to digest, according to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Some of the best, low-bloat fruits are apricots, bananas, melons, peaches, pears, papayas, mangoes and nectarines. To further reduce the bloating effect, make sure you remove the skin, which can take longer to digest than the flesh. In terms of vegetables, go for tender-cooked asparagus tips, beets, carrots, green beans, lettuce, mushrooms, pumpkin, winter squash and potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams without skin.
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