Think about the last time you had to run to the toilet shortly following a snack or meal. Clearly the food was involved, but what exactly was it that caused the urgency, who knows? This post will aim to shed some light over the first action plan to take place if you think you may be suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or simply a strong bowel reaction to some foods. There is a lot of depth, which I will go into in another post around foods that can really trigger digestive problems, however when starting out with dietary changes these 5 food groups should be your first plan of attack:

1. Spicy foods
2. High fatty foods- could be in the form of fried foods or simply high fat sauces and meats used in cooking
3. High Fibre (insoluble e.g. bran fibre) foods
4. Caffeine- mostly coming from beverages
5. Alcohol

The 6th culprit is not actually food involved, it relates to stress. As people often know, when they are stressed their bodies can behave differently, with appetite dropping, weight dropping off, and often digestive processes fastening up.. Some food simply travels quickly through the digestive tract and makes its way to the bowel at a faster pace than usual.

It is important to note that the load of food or food substance will make a big difference too,  so if you have a large high fat and spicy meal or strong tall take away coffee, you are likely to see stronger affects, compared to a small spicy soup, or morning instant coffee.

With all this in mind, think about your last indian meal, fast food attack, strong coffee break, or stressful period in your life, and trace back as to whether these caused you to have to leave a meeting urgently to run to the bathroom.

Might be worth changing over that double strength coffee to an instant coffee for a while and noting the differences.

There are so many products on the shelves these days promising to help combat a bloated body. Some come in tablet form, others come in fortifications added to foods such as yoghurts and other dairy based products, and some even come in drinkable food products.

There is a direct link between having a diet high in sodium (salt), and feeling bloated in both your face and body. Straight forward thinking would be to remove salt from the diet, however it is thought that almost all of the salt we consume actually comes in the form of sodium, which is found in processed foods to aid with flavour and shelf life, as opposed to the salt we add onto our meals.

Now I am one for being practicle, and I certainly am not suggesting that everyone cuts out all packaged foods, however given that so many people are complaining of feeling bloated, and most would access a supermarket at least once in a week, choosing “low salt” products would be the first step to reducing your sodium intake and combating the bloat.

A low sodium food is one that has less than 120mg/100g of sodium. Anything with above 450mg/100g is classified as a high sodium food and should be put back onto the shelf and a healthier alternative be selected.

The most commonly consumed high sodium foods that ideally should be replaced in the diet are:

1. Processed meats (no matter if they are 98% fat free, or not, this does not affect the large amount of sodium in the food).
2. Packaged soups- even if per 100mls they have less than 450mg, typically you would consume around 200-250mls in the one sitting (one small cup), and therefore would get double the amount of sodium in one hit.
3. Asian based stir fry sauces- yes even oyster sauce or a salt reduced soy is still extremely high in sodium.
4. Bread- similar to the packaged soups, typically someone would consume 2 slices in the one sitting, therefore you would be consuming anywhere between 80-100g of bread.
5. Canned meats and fish- even 98% fat free tuna, can still be high in sodium, check the label as you will be surprised that you may have 2 favourite flavours, with one being a far better choice in relation to sodium reduction.
6. Flavoured rice crackers and chips- rice crackers promote that they are low in fat, however they are still often covered in a salt based flavouring, if you consume 1 row (25g) this may not pose a problem, however if you are over indulging, thinking they are a “healthy” snack, you could be consuming well above the recommended intake.

So how much sodium should you be having a day?

Adults should be aiming to have no more than 2,300mg a day, and ideally as a heart protective/blood pressure reducing strategy, be having no more than 1,600mg a day.

Go on, check your bread, tuna or stir fry sauce when you get home, you may be pleasantly, or unpleasantly surprised, either way, from there you will be able to work towards beating the bloat!