At a glance:
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You don’t need to punish yourself for holiday indulgences with a crash diet or fast. Your body will naturally detox itself over time.
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Beat the post-holiday bloat, with digestion-enhancing teas, like peppermint, ginger, chamomile, or a combination of all three.
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You can naturally detox the body, flush toxins, and boost digestion by adding fresh fruits and vegetables to whatever you're currently eating.
The holidays may come and go, but the post-season bloat can feel like it lasts forever. If you can still feel the cookies and eggnog sloshing around in your stomach well into the new year, you may want to take a moment to show your digestive system some extra love.
Fortunately, there are ways to beat the bloat that don’t entail crash diets or punishing yourself.
“Your body will naturally detox itself over time,” writes Amanda Capritto, Personal Trainer and Co-Founder at Smarter Sweat. “That’s right. You don’t need to embark on a days-long fast or cleanse to rid yourself of holiday bloat. However, there are some things you can do to expedite the process and help your body shed the excess water, sugar and salt you indulged in over the holiday.”
Ready to optimize your digestion, so you can start feeling better and tackle those resolutions? Here are 6 tips for busting the post-holiday bloat from our team of wellness experts:
Sip herbal teas after each meal
Beat the post-holiday bloat with digestion-enhancing teas, like peppermint, ginger, chamomile, or a combination of all three. Peppermint tea can help with relaxing the digestive system and relieve bloating and indigestion. Ginger tea stimulates the secretion of digestive enzymes and aids with abdominal cramping and pain. Chamomile tea calms your nervous system and has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial capabilities. Sipping these teas after meals can help relieve discomfort while busting bloat.
Joonas Jokiniemi, Founder, Yerba Mate Culture
Opt for cucumbers, papayas, and bananas
These fruits are rich in specific nutrients that help eliminate water retention, inflammation, and ultimately bloat.
Cucumber contains a flavonoid called quercetin which acts as an antioxidant in the body. This plant compound reduces swelling and inflammation, much of which is responsible for bloat.
Bananas are rich in potassium which helps to regulate sodium and prevent water retention.
Papaya contains an enzyme called papain which is responsible for breaking down proteins in the gut which improves digestion.
After challenging your stomach during the holidays, these fruits can be an excellent choice for combating the dreaded bloat.
Lisa Richards, Nutritionist, The Candida Diet
Incorporate celery juice
I recommend drinking celery juice to combat holiday bloat. Celery juice aids in the promotion of the digestive tract's natural movement that propels food through the GI tract. Since large meals can slow down your gut, drinking this vegetable is easy to stimulate digestion and alleviate uncomfortable bloating.
Robyn Newmark, Founder & CEO, Newmark Beauty
Increase fiber intake
After the holidays, when you are feeling weighed down from eating heavy foods and drinking too much, it's a good time to concentrate on moving toxins out of the body by eating more fiber.
You can naturally detox the body, flush toxins, and boost digestion by adding fresh fruits and vegetables to whatever you're currently eating.
For example, if you eat eggs and bacon for breakfast, replace potatoes, pancakes, or your usual starch with vegetables and a bowl of fresh fruit (berries, bananas, oranges, etc).
For lunch, if you normally eat a sandwich, add veggies to it and enjoy a side salad first.
Snack time could consist of more fresh fruit or vegetable sticks dipped into guacamole. For dinner, make some sauteed vegetables to go with your meat or protein of choice.
Heather Hanks, MS CAM, Nutritionist and Medical Advisor, Medical Solutions BCN
Intermittent Fasting
My go-to suggestion for beating post-holiday bloat is intermittent fasting. Bloating comes from foods you consumed and have not finished digesting yet. It takes five to six hours to pass a meal through the digestive tract completely, then several more to metabolize the nutrients.
Taking breaks from food and calories coming in gives your bloat time to subside. Rather than putting more things inside your body to reduce bloating, I recommend just drinking water, or black coffee or tea with nothing added. Start with a twelve hour fast or simply try not to eat any calories at least two hours before going to bed.
Jill Brown, Nutrition and Intermittent Fasting Coach,
Experiment with herbal bitters
Taking an herbal bitter (such as dandelion, burdock root, or chamomile, ideally as a tincture liquid or tea) is a great way to prime your digestive system before a meal. Research shows that taking bitter herbs can help to relieve bloating and other digestive complaints.
You can think of bitters as a way to wake up your digestive system prior to a meal. Bitters work by stimulating bitter receptors on your tongue, which sends a signal to your gut to start increasing digestive secretions and prepares your gut to start the digestive process.
Daniel Powers MSc, Herbal Researcher and Founder, The Botanical Institute
Busting the bloat begins with optimizing your digestion, so the post-holiday season is the perfect time to incorporate Gut Check into your wellness routine. This nutritional boost blends almighty apple cider (with the mother) with 1 billion CFU probiotics to help nourish your tummy.
Beat the post-holiday bloat with KOR!