Periods and period bloating are tough times, aren’t they? You have to deal with mood swings, hormonal imbalances, acne breakouts, and of course the dreaded period cramps. As if all these weren’t enough, women have to deal with period bloating too.
Period bloating is majorly caused by the hormonal changes in your body at the time. Changes in the level of progesterone and estrogen cause the body to retain more water and salt. As a result, the body’s cells become swollen with water, hence leading to bloating.
Remedies For Period Bloating
Bloating can be painful and annoying at times. Some women may misinterpret period bloating with gaining weight. This can be extremely troublesome for some women. However, there are some remedies for period bloating that we have mentioned for you in this article:
1. No Salt Diet
Salt contains sodium, which is responsible for retaining more and more amount of water in your body. So, avoid salty foods to prevent any increases in water retention and thus bloating during your period.
2. Potassium-Rich Diet
Potassium is known to decrease the number of sodium levels in your body, and increase urine production. This helps in less water retention and improvement in period bloating. Therefore, consume potassium-rich foods like:
- Green leafy vegetables such as spinach
- Bananas
- Sweet potato
- Tomatoes
- Avocados
3. More Water
It is believed that drinking more water helps to improve your kidney function, thus reducing water retention in your body. If your kidney function improves you are automatically decreasing water retention. However, there is no proof of this theory. But still drinking water might help you with stomach bloating. It can also help the way a person feels not to mention the other countless benefits of drinking more water regularly.
4. Exercise
Bloating is premenstrual syndrome. It is said that exercising is one of the best remedies for period bloating that helps to relieve the PMS symptoms. Therefore, if you exercise regularly, it might help you with the debloating of your stomach thus making it look less bloated. It is recommended every person should aim to get 2-3 hours of exercise per week for a healthy and fit body.
Exercise
5. Diuretics
Diuretic foods are known to increase urine production in your body. More production of urine helps get rid of water essentially. Therefore, consuming diuretic foods can help decrease water retention in your body. Water retention causes your stomach to bloat and appears bigger during your period. Diuretic foods will help you to decrease water retention and de-bloat your stomach effectively. Some diuretic foods are mentioned below:
- Pineapples
- Peaches
- Cucumber
- Leeks
- Asparagus
- Garlic
- Ginger
You can consume diuretic foods or you can opt for diuretic pills too. You can get a prescription from your doctor for diuretic pills if your bloating is severe and other remedies for period bloating do not work.
6. Avoid Refined Carbohydrates
Refined carbohydrates do quite the trick to keep your stomach bloated. They are responsible for the spikes in blood sugar levels, which in turn are responsible for the increase in levels of insulin in your body. This increase in insulin in the blood causes your kidneys to retain more sodium.
Increased levels of sodium are responsible for more water retention in your body. If you are looking for reduced water retention and less bloating during your period, you should consider cutting off on refined carbohydrates in your diet.
7. Birth Control Pills
It is widely believed that the consumption of birth control pills during periods is effective in the debloating of your stomach. However, it has been reported by many women that they notice more bloated stomachs on birth control pills. So clearly it varies from woman to woman how birth control pills affect the bloating of your stomach. Therefore, you are advised to consult with your doctor to prescribe you the best debloating pills for severe bloat and problems.
These are all the known methods and some of the best remedies for period bloating to decrease and get rid of a bloated stomach when you are menstruating. However, it should never hinder your comfort. If you are okay with having a little bloated stomach for a few days, it should not worry you. Otherwise, these tips will work best for you if you want to debloat quickly.
