6 Health Benefits of Prebiotics and Its Natural Sources

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Prebiotics: 6 Benefits of This ‘Gut Fertilizer’ and Natural Sources

Although probiotics and prebiotics sound the same, prebiotics have an entirely different role in the body when it comes to your digestive health.

Read on to learn more about this “gut fertilizer” that’s crucial to your health.

Prebiotics vs Probiotics: What’s the Difference?

You may already know that probiotics are the beneficial bacteria concentrated in your colon that help you digest and absorb nutrients from the foods you eat. They’re also your defense system against harmful bacteria, and prevent you from experiencing digestive symptoms and chronic digestive disorders. Probiotics have also been shown to protect against colon cancer 

Now, as essential as probiotics are for your gut, these friendly bacteria simply wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for prebiotics. You see, prebiotics are the “food” that feed probiotics, and allow them to grow and repopulate in your gut. For this reason, you can think of prebiotics as “gut fertilizer.” Prebiotics act as a “gut fertilizer” to feed those probiotics in your system.

While probiotics are found in fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha and coconut yogurt, prebiotics are a type of indigestible fiber that’s found in certain plant foods.

Since this fiber cannot be digested in your small intestine, it passes through your GI tract and remains undigested as it enters your colon. This is where your friendly gut bacteria begin to breakdown or “ferment” the fiber, allowing them to grow and repopulate.

As you can see, prebiotics and probiotics have somewhat of a “symbiotic relationship,” where neither can survive without the other. And as the nutrient that feeds your probiotics, prebiotics also help your friendly bacteria do their jobs more efficiently.

Watch this video – Prebiotics | Food for your Microbiome

Health Benefits of Prebiotics

Let’s take a closer look at how adding prebiotics to your diet each day can improve your overall health.

1. Improved Digestion

It’s estimated that nearly 70 million people are affected by digestive disorders. Since many digestive disorders are often linked to a lack of healthy gut bacteria, prebiotics could be the nutrient your body needs to help repopulate your natural store of probiotics, which, in turn, can help alleviate painful digestive symptoms, such as gas and bloating. Prebiotics can help prevent gas, bloating and bad bacteria overgrowth.

By feeding and promoting the repopulation of your friendly gut bacteria, prebiotics can also help protect against bad bacteria overgrowth. Also known as bacterial dysbiosis, bad bacteria overgrowth can lead to stubborn intestinal bacterial conditions, such as candida or SIBO.

Both candida and SIBO are linked to digestive symptoms such as chronic bloating, gas, acid reflux, constipation, indigestion, nutrient malabsorption and brain fog.

2. Stronger Immune System

Approximately 70% of your immune system is located in your gut—which is why having a healthy supply of probiotics cannot be emphasized enough. After all, the word “probiotic” literally translates to “giving life or pro-life” in Greek.

Needless to say, without the healthy bacteria that support your immune system, your body has no protection against the deadly viruses and bacteria that can kill you.

Sadly, many lifestyle factors in today’s society deplete our natural stores of probiotics, such as frequent antibiotic use, chronic stress, refined sugar and low fiber diets. Stress, sugar and low fiber diets can deplete our natural stores of probiotics.

To worsen the matter, the Standard American Diet is rich in processed foods that contain little to no fiber, which means many people have a serious lack of prebiotics in their diet. This is why it’s no surprise that the occurrence of illness and disease is higher today than ever before.

Luckily, adding prebiotic foods to your diet can help replenish your body’s stores of probiotics, and contribute to keeping your immune system strong and healthy.

3. Better Nutrient Absorption

Prebiotics help recolonize the probiotics in your gut. Since probiotics help us absorb essential nutrients, prebiotics are crucial for facilitating nutrient absorption by probiotics. In other words, without prebiotics, the probiotics in our gut wouldn’t exist. And therefore, we wouldn’t be able to absorb nutrients as efficiently.

Better nutrient absorption leads to better health all around: fewer sick days, reduced stress, healthier bones and teeth, increased feelings of happiness, and limitless energy. Prebiotics helps us absorb nutrients, which leads to better all-around health.

In particular, studies suggest that probiotics can help your body absorb calcium and magnesium more efficiently, which are two essential minerals for stress management and maintaining bone density.

Probiotics have also been shown to produce certain vitamins in your GI tract, such as Vitamin K and several of the B vitamins, including B12, biotin and folic acid. B vitamins are essential for nervous system function and converting food into a usable form of energy.

4. Sustainable Weight Loss

By improving your digestion, prebiotics may also contribute to sustainable weight loss. This is because a sluggish digestive system may eliminate toxins less efficiently, which may then get stored in your fat cells and contribute to weight gain.

It should also be noted that fibrous plant foods further contribute to weight loss because they’re slow to digest, allowing you to feel full for longer periods of time. Fiber also helps balance your blood sugar levels, which prevents your body from releasing excess insulin, a fat storage hormone.

5. Natural Detoxification

If you’ve ever done a colon cleanse, chances are at least one variety of prebiotics was included in the protocol in the form of food or a nutritional supplement.

Prebiotics can act as a natural detoxifier because they help improve bowel regularity, which may help your body eliminate toxins more efficiently.

6. Stress Support

Plenty of research has been done on the gut-brain connection, which suggests your GI tract is like a “second brain” because it’s highly sensitive to emotion. For this reason, it’s suggested that poor gut health may influence negative emotions as well as feelings of stress, anxiety and depression, while good gut health can positively influence your emotions.

By improving your gut health with prebiotics, managing stress may become easier. You may also experience a greater sense of emotional well-being.

Now that you understand why prebiotics are a must-have nutrient for improving your health, let’s take a look at the best sources of prebiotics and how to add them to your diet each day.

Prebiotic Foods

Many foods that contain prebiotics are recommended on a Paleo diet. In fact, studies have shown that the typical male hunter-gatherer diet was rich in prebiotics, which is another reason why following a Primal diet is so beneficial for your health.

As you now understand, prebiotics are indigestible plant fibers. The most common types of prebiotics are inulin, resistant starch, fructooligosaccharides (also known as FOS’s, or fructans) and galacto-oligosaccharides.

These varieties of prebiotics can be found in several Paleo-friendly foods, such as:

• Jerusalem artichokes
• Leeks
• Asparagus
• Mushrooms
• Garlic
• Onion
• Dandelion greens
• Chicory root
• Jicama
• Sweet potatoes
• Unripened bananas and plantains
• Apples (especially the peels)
• Berries
• Citrus fruits
• Yacon root

Eating the foods listed above in their raw form is said to be the best way to get prebiotics in your diet. However, it’s not every day that you’ll crave raw asparagus, yacon root or a green banana.

Luckily, certain prebiotic foods such as green bananas are available in the form of flour, making it easier to add prebiotics to your recipes. Green banana flour can be added to your favorite Paleo snack recipes, such as Banana Flour and Raspberry Muffins. Try adding prebiotic ingredients to healthy Paleo muffins to start increasing your intake slowly.

Chicory root, one of the richest sources of inulin, many also seem tricky to add to your diet. But like green banana flour, chicory root can be added to Paleo snack recipes for a boost of prebiotics, such as Paleo Energy Bars and Paleo Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins. You can find chicory root in bulk at most health food stores.

Chicory root is also an ingredient that’s often included in plant-based, caffeine-free coffee substitutes. When combined with dandelion root, chicory root has a taste similar to espresso.

It’s also easy to include prebiotic foods in your Paleo lunch and dinner recipes. Here are a few of our favorite prebiotic Paleo recipes from our blog archives:

• Creamy Spinach Artichoke Chicken Dinner
• Salmon Burgers With Mango Jicama Slaw
• Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers
• Asparagus and Avocado Salad

You can also find prebiotics in prebiotic supplements, which are typically made from chicory root and oligofructose powder.

Watch this video – What Are Prebiotics – Benefits and Sources

Side Effects of Prebiotics

Based on how effective prebiotics are for improving health, who wouldn’t want to eat them at every meal? Don’t pile on the prebiotics just yet — your body needs to get used to them at a slower pace.

While eating prebiotic-rich foods is a fast way to boost your health, there are precautions with increasing the prebiotics in your diet. Since plant fiber is tough for your body to break down and digest, adding too much fiber to your diet at once may cause digestive symptoms such as gas, bloating and abdominal cramping. This is especially true if you have a diet high in processed foods which contain very little fiber. In this case, it can take some time for your body to get used to breaking down high fiber foods.

How to Add Prebiotics to Your Diet?

Now, that’s not to say you should avoid adding prebiotics to your diet, as they can greatly improve your health. Instead, I’ll leave you with these last few tips for adding prebiotics to your diet, which can help prevent the onset of digestive symptoms.

Start Slow and Gradually Increase

Everyone will have a different tolerance to prebiotics, based on their current diet and digestive health. For this reason, it’s best to start slow when adding prebiotics to your diet, and gradually increase each week.

For example, you may start by having a Green Banana Flour muffin for breakfast, and a sweet potato at dinner. If you experience uncomfortable digestive symptoms, such as gas or bloating after high fiber meals, you’ll know that your body’s tolerance to fibrous foods is low. Therefore, it’s best to eat small amounts of these foods until symptoms after meals disappear.

Increase Your Water Intake

As you increase your fiber intake, you’ll also need to increase your water intake. This is because water helps move fiber through your digestive tract. If you don’t simultaneously increase your water intake, you may find that high fiber foods constipate you.

Increasing your water intake is as easy as drinking an extra glass of water as soon as you wake up in the morning, or even having a green smoothie each day full of high water-content veggies, such as celery and romaine lettuce.

Pay Close Attention to How You Feel After Meals

Your body knows best, so don’t forget to pay close attention to how you feel after eating a high-fiber meal. Paying attention to how you feel after meals, as well as noting the frequency of bowel movements, can help you determine whether you need to increase or decrease the prebiotic foods in your diet, and if you’re getting enough water each day

Written by Brandi Black

Author Bio:

Brandi Black is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and the creator of Feel Best Naked, a health blog for women who want to clear up their skin, lose the muffin top and make the bloat disappear. After years of experiencing (and then healing) her own unbalanced hormones, she’s now obsessed with helping other women feel spectacular in their own skin with natural remedies for hormone balance.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

6 Gut Problems Cause by Taking the Wrong Probiotics Strains

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

The Wrong Probiotics Could Lead to These 6 Gut Problems

Research says that probiotics are good for gut health and immunity, but taking the wrong strain might actually make things worse. Here’s how.

Before you assume that all probiotics are good for you, keep in mind that the strain you’re taking plays a huge role in how it affects your body. In fact, taking the wrong strain could lead to a host of unpleasant symptoms and side effects.

Save yourself some time and (literally) headaches with this helpful guide to probiotics. We’ll help you read labels to find the probiotic strains that target your specific symptoms, and what to avoid that might only make you feel worse.

The Basics of Probiotic Strains

From the moment you’re born, your gut starts a process called colonization. You encounter bacteria, first from your mother and the environment around you, and then from food sources and ongoing lifestyle exposures.

The human gut contains more than 100 trillion bacteria. For reference, the human body only contains 30 trillion cells. That means we carry around significantly more bacteria than we do the cells that comprise us!

Most types of bacteria found in the human gut are friendly and beneficial. They can support immunity, make vitamins in the large intestine, and create short-chain fatty acids from the fiber that you eat.

Since bacteria can’t live forever, the good strains need to be replaced regularly by eating fermented foods or by taking probiotic supplements. Otherwise, the bad bacteria in the gut will grow, leading to health problems.

At the same time, taking too much good bacteria – or getting the wrong types of strains for what your microbiome needs – can also result in negative side effects.

There are three major types of probiotic strains found in supplements:

Bacteria-based probiotics: common strains starting with Lactobacillus or bifidobacteria

Yeast-based probiotics: like Saccharomyces boulardii

Soil-based probiotics: common strains include bacillus coagulans (and other bacillus strains), enterococcus faecium, and clostridium butyricum

If you’re new to probiotics, start with a small dose and work your way up. This should cut back on unpleasant reactions to introducing so much good bacteria to the gut at one time.

However, if you’ve already started a new probiotic and are facing the following problems, your strain could be to blame. Here are the most common side effects of taking the wrong probiotic, and which kinds you should take instead.

6 Gut Problems That Your Probiotics Could Be Causing

The probiotic type that’s best for you depends on the kind of symptoms you’ve experienced lately. For example, if you’re experiencing gas, you might want to try a soil-based probiotic.

If you’re taking probiotics and experiencing any of the following symptoms, perhaps it’s time for a strain change.

1. Gas

Taking probiotics can often lead to increased flatulence. This is typically caused by bacterial strains of probiotics, like lactobacillus and bifidobacterium.

Strains to take instead: Skip the common broad-spectrum products and find a product specifically formulated to minimize gas. Soil-based strains like bacillus coagulans are gentler, optimize digestion of nutrients, and lead to fewer symptoms.

2. Bloating

Bloating is another common side effect of probiotic supplements. Its severity can depend on several factors like diet, intestinal health, and the actual strains of probiotic you’re taking.

For most, bloating is a temporary side effect of probiotics and usually resolves within one to two weeks. However, when the bloating is extreme and lasts a long time, it can be a sign that bacteria from the probiotics are getting trapped in the small intestine and not making their way to the large intestine, where they belong. This can also worsen the condition called SIBO, or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.

Strains to take instead: Try strains like Saccharomyces boulardii, bifidobacterium lactis, lactobacillus acidophilus, and lactobacillus plantarum to reduce bloating.

3. Constipation

While people take probiotics to relieve constipation, sometimes it can make the problem worse. Certain types of yeast-based probiotics are often behind this problem, like Saccharomyces boulardii and others in the same species.

Strains to take instead: Bifidobacteria and lactobacillus strains of probiotics are could help. Try the common bifidobacterium bifidum and lactobacillus rhamnosus to help get things moving again.

4. Allergies

Certain allergies are often caused by excess histamines, which are responding to something that isn’t a real threat. As a result, you can experience unpleasant symptoms like excess mucus, sneezing, itching, watery eyes, and even asthma or trouble breathing.

Histamines that come from the digestive tract are mitigated by DAO, an enzyme that breaks it down. Some people lack this enzyme, making chronic histamine flare-ups a problem, and certain probiotics could add to the problem. Bacterial strains in particular can increase the production of histamine throughout the digestive tract.

Strains to take instead: Avoid strains associated with histamine production, like L. buchneri, L. helveticus, L. hilgardii, and S. theromphilus.

Instead, look for L. reuteri and L. casei, which can reduce allergies from histamine overreaction.

5. Brain Fog

Probiotics can also make you feel a bit fuzzy. Research associates brain fog with high levels of probiotic bacteria strains in the small intestine, where they should not reside.

Lactobacillus bacteria are the strain commonly associated with increasing levels of lactic acid, which could worsen this small intestinal bloating and SIBO.

If you feel fatigued or just can’t seem to concentrate, it’s time to evaluate the probiotic strains you’re taking.

Strains to take instead: Avoid the lactobacillus species and grab soil-based or yeast-based probiotics like bacillus coagulans or saccharomyces boulardii.

6. IBS

Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, can stem from a number of causes. It can be worsened by certain foods or beverages, stress, activity levels, and even certain probiotic supplements.

Strains to take instead: Avoid lactobacillus species, which are more problematic for IBS.  Instead, look for supplements with bacillus coagulans and B. infantis.

Watch this video – Probiotics Side Effects

The Bottom Line

We need good bacteria in our microbiome in order to be healthy. However, the type of strains you take matters, and all strains are not good for everyone.

While most people who take probiotics and experience bloating or gas will naturally adjust within a week or two, some side effects will only worsen. If you think your probiotic is to blame, see if swapping your probiotic for a different type will help.

Written by Aimee McNew

Author Bio:

Aimee McNew is a Certified Nutritionist who specializes in women’s health, thyroid problems, infertility, and digestive wellness. She ate her way back to health using a Paleo diet, lost 80 pounds, and had a healthy baby after numerous miscarriages. She focuses on simple nutrition practices that promote long-lasting results.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

10 Foods That Cause Bloating and What to Eat Instead

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Ever wake up with a flat stomach in the morning, only to bloat out like a hot air balloon right after you eat breakfast—without understanding why? If you’re suffering through each day feeling sluggish, tired, cramped and heavy, you may be interested to know that certain foods can cause bloating.

Bloating is the result of gas or fluid accumulating in your GI tract, or when bacteria in your large intestine have a hard time breaking down certain foods. The most common foods that produce digestive symptoms are high FODMAP foods.

What Are FODMAPS?

FODMAP is an acronym that stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides And Polyols. In simple terms, FODMAPS are a group of indigestible short-chain carbohydrates, or sugar molecules.

Since your body is unable to completely digest these sugar molecules, they travel through your GI tract and reach your colon undigested, where the bacteria that live in your colon begin to ferment them. The fermentation can produce gas and bloating.

FODMAPS are indigestible foods that could be the cause of your gas and bloating.

Now, it’s true that low FODMAP diets are typically recommended for those with serious digestive conditions, such as colitis or SIBO. But avoiding high FODMAP foods has been shown to reduce the severity of symptoms in anyone who suffers from gas and bloating.

In addition to high FODMAP foods, there are several other foods (and beverages) that can contribute to a swollen tummy. So, if you’re finally ready to say goodbye to the food baby, here’s a list of 11 common foods to avoid that cause bloating (and what to eat instead).

10 Foods That Cause Bloating and What to Eat Instead

1. Raw Cruciferous Vegetables

Cruciferous veggies, such as kale, cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage, cause bloating and gas when eaten in their raw form. This is because they’re extremely high in fiber, which can be difficult for your body to break down.

Furthermore, cruciferous veggies contain raffinose, which is a sugar molecule that falls under the FODMAP umbrella.

So, if you’ve ever been gassy after eating a plate of broccoli, you can rest assured it’s not your fault—it’s the raffinose (try explaining that at your next Paleo potluck!).

What to Eat Instead:

Now, cruciferous vegetables provide several essential vitamins and minerals, in addition to the hormone balancing compound Indole-3-Carbinol. So you probably don’t want to leave them out of your diet.

Instead, try steaming cruciferous vegetables to help soften their tough fiber and make them easier to digest.

You can also increase their digestibility by blending them into a soup with a cup or two of veggie broth after steaming. Forget those pre-assembled veggie dips — raw broccoli and cauliflower will bloat your belly!

If you’re on a raw kale kick and find you’re bloated, try replacing kale with a less fibrous green, such as romaine lettuce or watercress.

When it comes to cabbage, try swapping raw cabbage for fermented cabbage, or sauerkraut. Sauerkraut tends to be easier on digestion because it’s “pre-digested” by bacteria during the fermentation process.

2. Fizzy Drinks

If you’ve ever been bloated and belch-y after sipping on a seltzer, you’re not alone. The carbonation in fizzy drinks such as soda, water kefir, and kombucha create air in the intestinal tract, which will cause bloating.

What to Drink Instead:

Rather than opting for bubbles, try replacing fizzy drinks with a refreshing green juice or mineral water with a splash of lime cordial.

If you’re an avid kombucha drinker, you may be interested in trying switchel instead. Like kombucha, switchel is a fermented drink that contains probiotics, but it’s less likely to cause bloating because it’s not carbonated.

Switchel, also known as “haymakers punch,” was traditionally consumed by farmers to promote hydration and replenish electrolytes. But with unpasteurized apple cider vinegar as a main ingredient, switchel also contains friendly bacteria which makes it an ideal, non-carbonated alternative to kombucha.

A basic switchel recipe combines still water, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar, ginger, and a natural sweetener, such as coconut nectar, raw honey or pure maple syrup. You can experiment with different flavor combinations by adding herbs, fruit and spices (such as citrus and mint).

3. Onions

Onions are a high FODMAP food because they contain fructans, which are a fructo-oligosaccharide. Even when eaten in small amounts, onions have also been linked to other digestive symptoms, such as acid reflux and indigestion.

Cooking onions may help reduce digestive symptoms for some people.

What to Eat Instead:

As one of the best flavor enhancers for Paleo recipes, you may not want to leave the flavor of onions out of your diet entirely. You can try cooking with onion infused oils, such as extra virgin olive oil, which is less likely to produce digestive symptoms.

Replacing onions with scallions and shallots isn’t recommended, as they’re closely related to the onion family and also contain FODMAPs.

4. Apples

As one of the most nutritious foods on the planet, how could apples cause bloating? Swap apples with berries or cantaloupe if you’re prone to bloating.

While it’s true that apples are full of phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals, they’re also higher in fructose than most fruits. Fructose is a monosaccharide, which makes it a high FODMAP food. The high fiber content in apples may also be difficult for some people to digest.

What to Eat Instead:

If you’re prone to bloating, you may want to try replacing apples with lower FODMAP fruits such as berries, cantaloupe, grapes or bananas. Cooking apples and making applesauce can also help increase their digestibility.

5. Sugar Alcohols

Sugar alcohols such as xylitol, mannitol and sorbitol are commonly used as low-calorie sweeteners in processed foods such as granola bars and cereal. Since sugar alcohols are made up of polyols, which are a FODMAP, they’ve been linked to promoting digestive symptoms such as bloating, gas and diarrhea.

What to Eat Instead:

Although xylitol is often recommended as a healthy alternative to refined sugar, green leaf stevia or 100% pure maple syrup are better choices because they’re lower in FODMAPs.

In addition to sugar alcohols, other fructose-rich sweeteners to avoid include high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, brown sugar, beet sugar, evaporated cane juice and cane syrup.

Lastly, although it’s a healthier Paleo-friendly alternative to processed sweeteners, honey also contains fructose, which classifies it as a FODMAP food that can cause bloating.

6. Garlic

As a close cousin of the onion, garlic is another high FODMAP food that can cause bloating and gas. Garlic is said to be most aggravating in its raw form, but may still produce digestive symptoms when cooked.

What to Eat Instead:

If sauteed garlic is a no-go with your GI tract, try replacing garlic with chives, which are a low FODMAP alternative. Although no food can imitate the exact pungent flavor of garlic, chives come in as a close second when it comes to enhancing the flavor of your recipes.

7. Beans and Legumes

Beans and legumes, such as fava beans, chickpeas, lentils, peanuts and soybeans, aren’t permitted on a Paleo diet because they contain a protective coating called phytic acid.

Phytic acid is considered an “antinutrient” because it binds to the nutrients in the food it’s found in, which prevents us from digesting and absorbing essential vitamins and minerals.

Beans and legumes are also a high FODMAP food because they contain a sugar molecule called alpha-galactosides. In fact, the FODMAPs in beans are why they’ve earned the reputation as being a musical fruit.

What to Eat Instead:

Since beans and legumes are considered a primary source of protein in many diets, replacing them with a low FODMAP protein source such as organic grass-fed meat or eggs can help prevent bloating. Replace beans with grass-fed meat and eggs for more vitamins and minerals.

Since grass-fed meat and eggs don’t contain phytic acid, they’ll also provide you with a higher concentration of bioavailable vitamins and minerals.

8. Grains

As another food that contains phytic acid, grains such as oats, rice and wheat aren’t permitted on a Paleo diet. Grains also happen to be a high fiber, high FODMAP food, which can cause or worsen existing digestive symptoms.

What to Eat Instead:

If pasta is one of your favorite ways to eat grains, try making Paleo-friendly pasta “noodles” from spiralized zucchini, which is a low FODMAP food.

Quinoa can also be a substitute for grains because it’s closely related to the spinach family, and is actually more of a seed. With a fluffy texture and nutty flavor, quinoa can replace brown rice or oats in recipes. However, quinoa still contains phytates, so it’s best to soak quinoa overnight prior to cooking, which can help reduce the phytic acid.

9. Mushrooms

While mushrooms can make any savory Paleo recipe taste amazing, they can also be a major cause of the bloat. As you may have already guessed, mushrooms contain polyols which make them a high FODMAP food.

Additionally, mushrooms are a type of fungi that may aggravate digestive symptoms in those who have yeast overgrowth, or candida. As a fungal infection in the GI tract, candida can produce digestive symptoms such as bloating, which are worsened by foods that contain yeast and fungi.

What to Eat Instead:

Finding an ideal substitute for mushrooms will depend on whether you add mushrooms to your recipes for flavor or texture. Sauteed zucchini can provide a similar texture to mushrooms, while bone broth or seaweed such as kombo can add a savory, salty flavor to your recipes.

10. Dairy Products

Dairy is another food you won’t find on the Paleo diet, partially because it’s difficult to digest.

Dairy is linked to bloating and gas because it’s high in lactose, which is a milk sugar. In order to digest lactose, our bodies require the digestive enzyme, lactase.

Unfortunately, many of us stop producing a sufficient amount of lactase beyond the ages of breastfeeding, which makes it hard for us to digest the milk sugar in dairy.

Casein, the protein found in dairy, has also been shown to promote inflammation in the gut lining in those who are sensitive to dairy, which can further produce digestive symptoms such as bloating.

What to Eat Instead:

Coconut milk and nut milks such as almond milk, cashew milk and hemp milk are excellent alternatives to dairy, and they are also higher in essential vitamins and minerals.

Watch this video – How to Reduce Bloating Quickly – Causes of Bloating and Tips to Debloat Fast!!

Bottom Line

As you can see, the most common foods that cause bloating are high FODMAP foods, or foods that contain phytic acid. In addition to being linked to certain foods, bloating can also result from lifestyle factors such as eating too fast, eating while distracted, or not chewing your food properly.

Eliminating foods that cause bloating from your diet is an excellent start for improving your digestive health, but chronic bloating may suggest that a deeper, underlying health issue is at work.

In addition to avoiding foods that cause bloating, working with a natural healthcare practitioner to address the root cause of your digestive symptoms may be most effective when it comes to saying goodbye to the food baby for good.

Written by Brandi Black

Author Bio:

Brandi Black is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and the creator of Feel Best Naked, a health blog for women who want to clear up their skin, lose the muffin top and make the bloat disappear. After years of experiencing (and then healing) her own unbalanced hormones, she’s now obsessed with helping other women feel spectacular in their own skin with natural remedies for hormone balance.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook