280: 7 Strategies to Prevent Gas and Bloating On A Plant Based Diet

Speaker 1: 0:58

Well, hey, there sunshine. So you started plant-based eating and you're having a little bit more gas and bloating than usual. What can you do about it? That's what we're talking about today. Hey sister, welcome to the Power On Plants podcast. Are you tired of staring into the fridge wondering what to eat so you can just feel better? Do you want to avoid spending hours in the kitchen making complicated meals in the name of health? Would you love to leave fatigue behind and finally have the energy to do all the things you want to do? Hi, we're Chered and you need to resell Christ.

Speaker 1: 1:33

Followers, health care professionals, parents of four and big fans of great tasting food, we too tried exercising more, eating natural and clean foods, but we still found ourselves struggling with what we thought were changes that come with age or bad genes, and we weren't finding answers to traditional routes. So we dug into the research and created our secret nutritional weapon sustainable plant-based living. The truth is, you can eat more whole plant foods and it's not hard. You just need the way that's realistic and delicious so you never feel deprived. If you're ready to enjoy your meals, no longer be held back by your health struggles and actively live your life, then you're in the right place. So grab your favorite plant-based cup of happy pop in those earbuds and let's get started. Well, hello, hello.

Speaker 1: 2:22

What we're talking about today is based on a question that we had inside podcast insiders experience. I love it when you guys get in there and ask us these questions, because sometimes we'll come on and we'll answer your question on a podcast episode and you're going to get some great info that's going to help you to navigate the whole food plant-based lifestyle in the way that is sustainable. And so the question is what do I do about all this gas and bloating? My wife's not having it, but I'm having it. What can I do? So what we first need to understand is some people have more issues with this than others. So what's the difference? Why could one person start eating whole food, plant-based and never having any problems with it, and then another person start eating plant-based and they are torn up? Okay, let's just be real. It happens.

Speaker 2: 3:13

It does happen.

Speaker 1: 3:14

And the reason is that there is a difference in each person's gut microbiome. We might have some of the same bugs in there gut bugs right. We have bacteria that live in our intestinal tract that's your gut microbiome and the good ones feed on fiber. But if you have not been eating this way for very long, you may not have the good colonies built up and you got the bad bugs in there and they're not going to be real happy when you start feeding them the good gut bug food, if that makes sense, the food that feeds your beneficial gut microbiome, those bacteria, is fiber, and you're greatly increasing your fiber as you're starting to eat a whole food, plant-based diet, and so you may have a little more rumbling in the tumbly than usual because of that difference in microbiome, that you just don't have the good flora there, the good gut bacteria that you need. But that's going to start changing as you start introducing these foods. It can change, and it can change rather quickly.

Speaker 1: 4:12

Now. That doesn't mean the gas is going to go away right away. It may take months, but you just persevere with these tips that we're sharing with you today, and this should help you navigate it much more smoothly and calmly if you are having issues, but again, some of you won't have issues with this. I really didn't have a whole lot of problems with it. I think Jared struggled with it more than I did, but I didn't have Somewhat yeah.

Speaker 1: 4:37

But I still could have benefited from knowing these tips, because it really is nice to have those strategic things that you can do that are going to help you to even avoid it in the first place or to navigate it if you're having some difficulty while your gut microbiome is transitioning, because it will change over time. It will shift as your body adapts to the new foods that you're giving it. If it's not too uncomfortable, you want to stay the course and keep eating the whole plant foods, because that's what's going to help your whole body heal, and that includes your gut. So if you're finding it bothersome, here are some tips for you. Number one we don't normally recommend taking a probiotic, but some have found that taking a probiotic at the beginning of their plant-based journey can help to decrease gas.

Speaker 1: 5:25

Not all probiotics contain the same bacteria. It is bacteria. It's helping to establish, as the thought, the beneficial bacteria. They found that really, overall, it doesn't necessarily do that, because the ones that you have can fight with the ones in the probiotics and you might not be getting the exact right ones, but if this is an issue for you, some have found that it can help them. So in general, we don't recommend probiotics, but this is one instance that you might wanna try it or consider trying it, since things are already shaken up down there a bit.

Speaker 2: 5:57

They give it a little bit of a jump start.

Speaker 1: 5:58

And so what if you try one probiotic and it doesn't work? You can try a different one, because they have different strains of bacteria, different numbers of bacteria, and so one might work when the other one doesn't. So this can help to relieve gas.

Speaker 2: 6:12

Now if you decide, hey, I don't really wanna take a probiotic, spend the money or try to spend the time experimenting with one versus another. Getting outside is a great way to be exposed to a lot of the beneficial organism.

Speaker 1: 6:24

Now I want you to think about that for a minute, because we were created to be outside according to. Genesis. I want you to think about this how much we're inside and our body's been sound on these natural things that God has put into our environment to help us heal and stay well, even if you're not having issues with gas and bloating. This is a key tip that you need to take away with you that Jared is sharing right now Get outside and he's gonna tell you why and this is so important.

Speaker 2: 6:48

Well, inside, if we spend a lot of time there, what do we tend to do? We clean it. We may even sterilize it with bleach type cleaners.

Speaker 2: 6:56

Now, we don't, we don't, but in a lot of places they do so. It creates a very sterile environment where you don't have exposure to those beneficial organisms. But when you go outside, in the soil, on the plants, in the trees, there are thousands of different types of microorganisms that are beneficial to us. So by simply getting outside, getting that exposure, breathing it in, having it land on your skin, it will actually migrate to the areas of the body where God intended it for them to go, and you're gonna get far more diversity that way. So simply, just on a regular basis, maybe even daily, go for a good 20, 30 minute walk. If you've got a park close by, or a forest or a trail or something that you have access to, take advantage of that. It's falling off the trees, yes.

Speaker 1: 7:38

It's all around you. You're breathing it in, like Jared said, but he's saying it migrates to your gut.

Speaker 1: 7:43

We find that these things can actually reside and come into your gut by being on your skin, by breathing it, in all these different things. It's interesting how it can change your gut microbiome just being out in creation. It's amazing. We were created to be outside, so it is very important that you get yourself outside If you want to have a healthy gut microbiome, if you want to be making vitamin D because you're in the sun, and all these other things that we don't even know about yet. Science hasn't even discovered it, god knows. That's why he told us we were created to be outside. Number two, although this might be number three, because you just shared an extra bonus tip in there.

Speaker 2: 8:23

It was yeah.

Speaker 1: 8:25

I like it when you mind the gold nuggets.

Speaker 2: 8:27

Maybe it was a one and a half a tip, number one and a half.

Speaker 1: 8:30

Well, I don't know. I think that one deserves its own, but anyway, we'll call this the second one. So this strategy is trying to focus on eating more cooked foods in the beginning of your plant-based journey, versus raw. This is something that the gut doctors actually do recommend, because it is a bit harder for your body to digest raw foods than it is cooked. Do you, and I believe you should be eating more and more raw foods over time? Absolutely, these are living foods. These foods have things in them that have not been denatured.

Speaker 1: 9:02

Now I know I know some of you are thinking, oh, but some foods are gonna get more beneficial things if you cook them. We're not even having that argument here. You need more raw foods, guaranteed. Unless you're a raw foodie that's eating 100% of raw foods, you probably made more raw foods. So just get them over time.

Speaker 1: 9:21

But if you're just starting, one way to ease your gut into it so that you can still eat more and more and more whole plant foods is eating more of the cooked and putting in the raw as you are able. And I would say get it in as soon as possible because it is so good for you. But notice, does it make a difference to me on a day that I eat mostly cooked versus raw. And that takes us into step three. I want you to experiment and start noticing that certain foods, when you eat those, tend to stir up your digestive system to where you have more gas and bloating. If you notice that certain foods do eat less of those, or maybe change how you're preparing those which I'm going to talk about next. So just start noticing which foods stir things up for me versus other foods.

Speaker 2: 10:08

And I would like to add something here. You may be asking well, why would certain foods make that worse than others? Because there are a lot of different prebiotics, which are the foods that we eat, that feed our beneficial gut bacteria, and their fiber, their carbohydrates, their many different ones. And so one particular food maybe, say chickpeas, has one that doesn't get broken down quite as well and may produce more gas than, say, maybe, a black bean or a kidney bean.

Speaker 2: 10:36

And so it depends on what's in your gut, what's living on the inside of you, and then what you're eating.

Speaker 1: 10:43

Absolutely, and so go back if you have not listened to our episode on prebiotics that we released recently it's episode 270, unlock Gut Health with the powerful prebiotics in these plant-based foods, and so we're going to go over some of those foods, and what foods you need to be getting and what prebiotics actually do, in more detail on the episode. So you definitely don't want to miss that one. And tip number four black beans are common culprit for gas, so I recommend that you try to make your own beans. If I soak them them overnight. Now, do we usually recommend soaking beans overnight? No, they don't usually find it's really necessary. I've listened to Gregor and different people on this and it's just not necessary that you have to soak them overnight. You want to make sure you cook your beans long enough, because if you don't, there are things in them that could be harmful for you. So you don't want to eat hard beans. So cook the larger beans, but make sure that if you're eating black beans to try this tip, try soaking them before you cook them and then drain off the soaking liquid and cook the beans. Some people say it doesn't make a difference. Some say it made all the difference in the world. So I say, if you're having issues with it, try it. Try it, it's not gonna hurt anything.

Speaker 1: 11:57

Another thing that you can do this is the extra bonus tip. You can add beluga lentils, black lentils, and replace of black beans. I do know that many people report they do better eating lentils versus beans, probably because it's easier for their body to break them down because they are smaller and a bit softer generally. So the beluga lentils are really a good replacement for black beans. Look those up, they're wonderful. And that leads me to tip number five Anita, I don't want to cook beans. I buy all my beans canned. Well, number one I would say learn how to cook them, because they taste so, so, so good, because you can flavor them up and they're amazing. And it's so easy, if you have an instant pod or a crock pod to make a pot of beans and you know what's in there. And they don't have to have government regulations on how much of this or that they allow into a can and it just take my word for it. You don't want to know. So we do eat some canned beans even knowing those things. But there are a lot of benefits to making your own and it is very quick and simple and you can save them and use them throughout the week and it's just such a nice thing to have on hand. We're not gonna go into beans right now, but if you just say, look, I'm just not that seasoned in my life, I'm just gonna eat canned beans Again, you do you sister, you do you brother.

Speaker 1: 13:13

Whatever works for you at this point, as long as you're getting the whole plant foods Jared and I are gonna high five you all the way home, okay, so rinse your canned beans. This is something that many people have reported has made a huge difference to them. Just getting the canned beans and rinsing those. Try it. What have you got to lose? Nothing. Try it, it may make things a lot more comfortable.

Speaker 1: 13:39

Tip number six be sure that you've increased your water intake, because you're eating a lot more fiber and it's a little bit harder to move the roughage through the system and you may get some gas and bloating because you're getting constipated, because you're not getting enough water to flush out the fibers. So make sure that you're getting plenty of liquid. If you're getting plenty of liquid and you're eating whole food, plant based, you will not believe how a lot of gas and bloating problems will actually go away because your food is not sitting in your system for a week or longer. You're actually having normal bowel movements one, two times a day. That's more normal. You know we've talked about that before, so y'all should be informed. If not, go back and listen to our older episodes where we talk about it. But increase your water intake.

Speaker 2: 14:26

This really is an excellent point too, because most of the bacteria that we have in our intestines live in our colon. You have some in the small intestines, but it's not really where it's colonized. What is the purpose of your colon? It's actually to absorb water from the stool matter, to help conserve water so we don't dehydrate faster. So really, 90% of the water that is in that digested food matter gets reabsorbed in the colon and if you're dehydrated, it's going to absorb more, it's going to make it hard, it's going to make it move slower. What happens? That matter stays there longer. It's going to ferment these fibers, it's going to create more gas. So, staying well hydrated, having the more fiber, being sure to go to the bathroom more regularly, and then that food matter won't stay there to then create the excess gas.

Speaker 1: 15:14

And then number seven. When you are drinking liquid water or your favorite drinks from the Power On Plants Cookbook that I put in there for you Listen, you're going to find some new favorites in there. I've got to throw this in there because sometimes you don't know what to drink. You switch and you're thinking I'm not drinking soda anymore and I'm not drinking this thing and that thing that was bad for me, like for me, the Frappuccinos. What do I drink now? You want to have those good beverage options, some that are deserty, some that are less sweet. I've got some of those for you in the Power On Plants Cookbook. You can grab that at poweronplantscom forward slash cookbook. That's poweronplantscom forward slash cookbook. Get it now because it is going to help you so much. But when you're drinking these drinks, you're drinking your water.

Speaker 1: 15:56

There's something really important when it comes to not getting gassy, and that is lose the straw. Research shows that we get so much more air swallowed, and the amount of air you swallow can greatly increase or decrease the gas issues that you have. So try losing the straw and see if that makes a difference. And then a bonus tip for you is avoid chewing gum. Avoid chewing gum because, again, research shows that many people that chew gum, they swallow a lot of air. So that's another quick and easy tip that you can incorporate to decrease the amount of gas and bloating that you're having. We have shared a ton of information today. Just take one or two tips and start trying.

Speaker 2: 16:38

This has been info packed.

Speaker 1: 16:39

Do not get overwhelmed. We share a lot of things with you. I think that's why the community is so important Getting inside podcasts and sitters, experience taking the course, getting an alumni, the society. It's so important because you have somebody who can show you and walk you through step by step as you're trying these different things, answering your questions as you go and getting things demoed for you. It's just amazing how that can change everything for you. But right now you're here and that's so important because when we have things that aren't open and you're thinking I can't get in right now, I can't get into the free group, you need to absolutely do that. That's the no brainer. I mean it's amazing. Get in there, do it now, don't wait. It's going to make all the difference for you. And as you get inside of podcast and sitters, experience at power and plantscom, forward slash pie.

Speaker 1: 17:29

I want you to start implementing the things we're teaching, not getting overwhelmed. Say to yourself right now this is a lot of information. I'm not going to get overwhelmed by it. I'm going to start taking action on one thing because you know, sometimes, when there's something that we like listening to and there's a lot of really good information attached, like what we do here at power and plants podcast. Jare and I are all about sharing everything with you. We love you knowing these things, but we don't want you to get overwhelmed and not be able to get results. There's a tendency to want to know more because the learning is fun, and so you know this, and you know that you know all the right answers.

Speaker 1: 18:09

Maybe you've been listening for a while, but you just not put into practice as you've gone. What if you had done one thing from each episode you'd listened to and gotten it into your routine? Where would you be today? So there's no regret over that. I'm not saying that to cast any blame, but what I am saying is start today, sister, get with it.

Speaker 1: 18:32

This is the time to start setting yourself up for the future. You want to live today. We live so much in the past and so much in the future. Today's the day that you've been given. This is the opportunity that you have to make the future everything that you want it to be, and it can start affecting your today's Rather rapidly. So take that one thing, just that one thing, whatever it is today, and do that. You can remember three things and put them into practice over the next three weeks. But I want you to take today one thing and start doing it. Try it. If you're having gas issues, if you're not having those issues like guarantee, you've learned something from this podcast that you can implement today that you didn't think about before. Maybe you have never heard of black lentils, beluga lentils. You could start doing that. You could start eating those, because they are delicious.

Speaker 2: 19:20

You're going to love them or you can help share this information with other people.

Speaker 1: 19:24

You can help someone else get farther in their journey. You can get outside. Oh, I forgot, I really do need to get out amongst the trees. I go out a lot and I walk through my neighborhood, but I stay on the sidewalk. I'm not getting into the trails and getting under the trees and having that bacteria fall on me. I'm just scratching the surface of some of the things we shared that weren't even about gas.

Speaker 1: 19:44

So if you see an episode that we've shared and you think I don't have that issue, I'm not gonna listen. You're gonna miss out on some serious skull nuggets. Listen to all of them. Don't worry about what it's about or if it applies to you. That's a big mistake that you can make and we want to save you from that.

Speaker 1: 20:00

If you've listened for any time at all, you know how much that we share, because we care about you and we want you to be able to pick and choose and take those things that you know is gonna work for you right now, today, or that will help that loved one that you're here trying to get information for today, and then I want you to come into podcast insiders experience right now. Right now, post your picture. Post a quick one, two sentence blurb about you so you can start connecting with people and make your first post about the one thing that you're gonna do from this podcast. Today I just listened to episode number blank whatever episode it was that you want to share about and this is the step I'm taking today and I'm celebrating it. We want to celebrate it with you. We are here for you. We're gonna build each other up and lift each other up inside podcast insiders.

Speaker 1: 20:47

Experience, go to power on plants, comm forward, slash PIE and share with us what your one thing is. We cannot wait to hear all about it and we pray Blessings over you. We are so excited to be a part of all that God's called you to do and helping you to fuel your body in the way that's going to allow you to fully live your calling. Have a great day, sunshine, and we'll see you again soon. You.