Healthy foods you didn’t know caused bloating

Lentils are an excellent source of fibre, which can also work against you, causing bloating in some people.

This normally happens when you’re not used to eating so much fibre in a serving.

This deliciously sweet fruit comes with an alarming high level of fructose, that can be a problem for people who can’t fully absorb it.

What comes after that would be gas, bloating and sometimes even diarrhea.

If you like adding raw onions to your salads, it will probably be wise to cook them before doing so.

As they contain soluble fibres, known as fructans, which can cause major bloating, eating them raw will make it worse.

It can be hard to avoid wheat altogether especially since it is found in foods like bread, pizzas, wraps, biscuits, cakes, pretty much what we usually consume.

But if you have the tendency to feel bloated after eating these, it is best to cut back on how much you actually eat. Wheat contains short chain carbohydrates as well as sugar alcohols.

As its name suggests, these drinks are filled with carbon dioxide.

When it’s trapped in the digestive system, that’s when bloating and cramping happens, especially when consumed with a full meal.

Due to the lactose found in the sugar from dairy foods, those are lactose intolerant, can find themselves suffering from digestive problems – leading to bloating, cramps and gas.

They might be filled with beneficial nutrients but veggies like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage also contain short chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols that can cause bloating.

The term “beer belly” says it all. Beer is a carbonated drink made from fermented carbs like barley and wheat, along with yeast and water – this combination includes a whole lot of gas and fermented carbs, equating to the perfect formula of bloatedness.

Both popular ingredients in cooking, garlic and onions contain a fibre known as fructan that cannot be digested by your small intestine. This leads to increased gas production in your body to cause some serious bloating.

During the occasional cheat days at fast food chains, swapping your fries for a side of corn may seem like a good idea. But the external coating of each kernel contains high amounts of cellulose, a fibre that the human stomach cannot break down. Eating too much of it can cause you to feel bloated.

Binging on nuts because they are often recommended as a healthy snack might not be a good idea. While nuts are a great source of protein and fibre, they also contain phytic acid, which slows down your body’s natural absorption of minerals like iron and zinc. This may leave you feeling gassy, bloated or constipated.

Beans are rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. However, they also contain large sugar molecules known as oligosaccharides that cannot be broken down or digested in the small intestine. The undigested sugar will be transported to the colon where it undergoes fermentation to produce gas.

Mushrooms contain large sugar molecule raffinose and the fibre fructan, both of which are potential triggers for gassiness. Small amounts probably will not do much damage but having foods that constitute huge servings of mushrooms like mushroom soup or risotto, could be the culprits behind excessive flatulence and bloating.

Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away? Apples are often associated with abundant health benefits like improved cardiovascular health and lower cholesterol levels. However, apple skin contains an insoluble fibre that your body struggles to break down. Apples also contain fructose, which will ferment in the large intestine to produce gas.

This arrticle was first published on Shape.