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Taking Nutritious Food To Control Bloating And Swelling Up In Pregnancy

By Jennifer Smith


One of the most common fears of pregnant women is bloating during pregnancy. This is largely due to the fact that a pregnant woman's digestion slows up significantly, since the digestive tract spends a lot of time in absorbing nutrients from the foods that you eat up. Your body fundamentally now has 2 mouths to feed in, so it is but natural for it to try to obtain the most out of the foods you consume. Because of this, the food remains longer in your gastrointestinal tract to assist in the absorption process. While this is a good thing, this might also result to an uncomfortable feeling of fullness in the stomach. Pregnant women often feel bloated, and this can also lead to constipation and other troubles related with the digestive tube.

How does bloating in pregnancy happen? The intestine houses a lot of normal flora or non-pathogenic bacteria, which live from consuming those indigestible foods that pass over your GI tract. When they digest their own food, however, they make gas. Since digestion slows down during pregnancy, the normal flora are capable to eat more and digest more, leaving the pregnant woman with a notion of bloating because of gas during pregnancy.

Likewise, prenatal vitamins like ferrous sulfate and folic acid contain iron, which further slows down digestion, resulting to more bloating and swelling during pregnancy. According to experts, you can really counter this effect of iron by splitting the vitamin in half and taking in each bit at separate times of the day.

The meal that you consume likewise contributes to the feeling of fullness in stomach. Some of the foods that have this effect is Fries, which comprises lots of fat and grease. Fats further retards digestion since it can calm down the muscles in the digestive tract, and coupled with the slow digestion felt during pregnancy, this can by all odds lead to production of excess gas. This also goes the same for other foods that are rich in fat content, such as burgers and other fried foods.

There are also some veggies and beans that drive inflammation during pregnancy. This is because of their high fiber content, which contributes to the feeling of fullness. Examples of these veggies include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. Veggies are very significant during pregnancy since they are heavy sources of nutrients; yet, to cut bloating and prevent any uncomfortableness it brings about, it is advisable to limit consumption of these vegetables and rather substitute them with ones that are not gas-forming.

Extreme intake of carbonated drinks like sparkling water and soda can also cause fullness, because these beverages comprise extra air that you consume as well. Likewise, sipping drinks and other liquids instead of straightaway boozing them can cause a feeling of being bloated. In order to prevent this, diminish your consumption of carbonated beverages and replace them with water, since it speeds the digestion process, thereby cutting down gas formation. Also have the proper amount of fibre in your diet through fruits and non-gas-forming veggies, so that you do not get constipated.




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