Originally published in The Chalkboard Mag on July 30, 2018.

You dress your best, go out and enjoy a seemingly wonderful meal. However, within minutes you start to feel the discomfort and pain of bloating. You feel the heaviness of gas building up and wish you were back home in your sweatpants. This may be due to a poor food combination, but do not fear! There are ways out of this…

Ayurveda has many tips and tricks to ease bloat within the body. Ayurveda is an ancient science that offers wisdom to bring vitality and health to the mind-body balance. Ayurveda suggests certain herbs and spices to bring this balance to each mind-body (dosha) type.

 

Here a just a few ayurvedic tips for each dosha to help ease the discomfort of bloating…

 

Vata
Vata is composed of air and ether elements, so it’s safe to say this dosha experiences the most amount of bloating since those are the elements gas is comprised of.

 

Here are a couple ways vata types can avoid bloating:

CALL ON CUMIN. If you suffer from regular bloating, try sipping warm cumin-seed water before meals to help stimulate digestion. Add about half a teaspoon to hot water and steep for 10 minutes.

FINISH WITH FENNEL. After a meal, either chew on about half a teaspoon of fennel seeds or go for a hot cup of fennel tea to alleviate gas build up.

 

 

Pitta
Pitta is composed of the fire and water elements and may not bloat often due to having high digestive fire, but when they do, it’s important to be proactive to bring down inflammation.

A few ways pitta types can can alleviate these symptoms:

ADD TURMERIC. Add turmeric to meals or take capsules to bring down inflammation, which will simultaneously ease bloating.

GET CARAWAY-ED. Chew on about half a teaspoon caraway seeds or a sip a hot cup of caraway tea to reduce bloating after a meal.

 

 

Kapha
Kapha is composed of earth and water elements adding an extra bit of heaviness to their bloating discomfort. Not only will they want to ease the gas, but they’ll also want to turn up the heat as they break down the heaviness of a gas-producing meal.

Proactively, kapha types should:

SPICE IT UP. Add a kick of spice to their food, such as cayenne pepper, to help raise digestive fire.

ADD GINGER. Ginger is an excellent choice to bring spice to a dish and alleviate bloat. A little bit can be chewed fresh or brewed into a tea to help reduce any additional post-meal bloat.

 

 

All Types:

EAT SLOWLY AND CHEW THOROUGHLY. Often we are so rushed through meals we don’t take the time to chew completely and allow the enzymatic breakdown within the mouth. People often forget that the mouth is the first site of the digestion process where precious digestive enzymes are produced!

EAT WITH EASE AND GRATITUDE. Often it’s not as much about what you eat, but how you eat. Being mindful and thankful for your food will aid your digestion and the overall experience of a delicious meal.

So whether you’re dining in or out, simply slow down, be mindful and have a few teas, seeds or supplements on hand so you can be more confident with foods you enjoy!