Are you feeling a little (or a lot) bloated, and want to learn the best ways to avoid this for your New Years Eve plans? These tricks could help you reduce bloating and feel like yourself again.

Tackle constipation

The magic formula for regular bowels is fibre + water + physical activity. Either too little fibre in your diet, or adequate fibre but too little water to accompany it can result in constipation, which can exacerbate bloating. Getting up and moving helps get the ball rolling as well.

Include plenty of wholegrains, fruit, and vegetables with at least 2L of water a day and 30 mins of physical activity.

Avoid lactose if you are intolerant

Many of us have limited levels of lactose tolerance- that is, we can deal quite well with a little milk in our coffee, or a tub of yoghurt in the afternoon, but if we have too much we experience GI symptoms including bloating.

Ask yourself if you’ve had more milk, yoghurt, ice cream, sour cream, dairy based desserts, custards etc. lately than you normally would and if this could be the cause of your bloating.

Avoiding lactose for a few days before gradually reintroducing a smaller amount may help manage bloating over the short term.

Stay away from carbonated drinks

Beer, champagne, soft drink, sparkling mineral water, anything that bubbles and put extra air in your stomach is going to contribute to bloating. Instead opt for water flavoured with lemon or lime, herbal teas, and in terms of alcohol, the best choices are gin, vodka, or tequila on the rocks or mixed with water and lemon/lime slices or squeezed juice (not cordial), or a nice red wine.

Watch the sugar substitutes

Artificial sweeteners are common in weight loss foods, but can have the nasty side effect of causing gas and bloating if too much is consumed. In addition chewing sugar free chewing gum also causes you to swallow air bubbles, making the bloated feeling even worse.

Some healthy foods can cause bloating…

More so when you aren’t used to having these foods in your diet, but foods like lentils, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli can cause bloating if they aren’t introduced into your diet slowly, with amounts built up gradually over time.