How to Treat Aerophagia through Your Diet

Like with other health problem, to treat aerophagia, you need to focus on eating proper food, trying to reduce your intake of carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, cereals and biscuits. These foods can destabilise your intestinal flora if you want to reduce flatulence and stomach bloating. However, aerophagia is not always caused by a poor diet, it can also be a symptom of digestive conditions such as ulcers, gastritis or Crohn's disease or from taking antibiotics.

To treat this condition you need to know the foods you should eat, as well as the ones you should limit and the ones you should avoid. In the list below you can find some of the recommended foods to treat aerophagia:

• Soya milk or lactose-free milk and its derivatives such as yogurt, cheese and kefir.
• Lean meats such as turkey, chicken and rabbit as well as some cuts of beef.
• Fruit: apple, pineapple, pear, papaya and kiwi. These fruits have enzymes that help break down proteins preventing gas.
• Vegetables: pumpkin, beetroot, spinach, and carrots. You should try to eat a raw portion of them every day.
• Fish: cod, grouper, and hake.
• Butter and olive, soya, sunflower and corn oil.
• Boiled eggs.
• Drinks: juices, water, infusions and broths.

Foods you should eat within certain limits are:

• Dairy, especially desserts such as custard, rice pudding or flan.
• Cold meats and fatty meats.
• Pastries, cakes and ice cream as well as honey, jams and mayonnaise.
• Bottled juices.
• Whole grains.

Finally we have the foods you should avoid when treating aerophagia through your diet:

• Whole milk, condensed milk and cream.
• Fruit: oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, apricots and others that come in syrup, bananas, prunes and other dried or candied fruit.
• Vegetables: artichokes, broccoli, onion, garlic, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, peppers, leeks and radishes.
• Soft drinks, alcohol and chocolaty drinks.
• Vegetables: chickpeas, lentils or broad beans.
• Fatty meats and offals.
• Sweets and pastries dipped in chocolate.
• Sweeteners.

Now that you know which foods are good to treat aerophagia and which ones you should avoid, we give you an example of how your diet should look. This is the example of the meals of one day for a person that is trying to get rid of aerophagia:

Breakfast

• A glass of apple juice
• A slice of bread with butter or jam
• A kiwi

Lunch

• Grilled turkey
• Cream of pumpkin soup
• Spinach salad

Afternoon snack

• Yogurt in whatever flavour you like
• Cheese sandwich

Dinner

• Spanish omelette or hake fillet
• Carrot and spinach salad
• An apple

This diet is only for one day but you can exchange the foods in the meals with other varied foods that help treat aerophagia.

Other recommendations that you should take into account when treating aerophagia are:

• Chew your food thoroughly.
• Eat slowly.
• Avoid eating spicy foods.
• Use digestive aromatic herbs as a condiment: sage, thyme, fennel and rosemary.
• Avoid drinking while eating. This is a sign that you are not chewing the right way. Also, liquids dilute the digestive juices and make your digestion slower.
• Cut out fried foods from your diet. Apart from increasing your weight, they will make you gassy and will raise your cholesterol.
• Yogurt is a great ally.
• Replace coffee and tea with digestive infusions such as mint, sage and chamomile, apart from improving your digestion, they will also prevent any annoying gases.
• If you have constipation, introduce more and more fibre-rich foods into your diet so that your stomach gets used to them.
• Avoid chewing gum.

Natural remedies are always an option for relieving gassiness that leads to aerophagia. Some herbal teas that you can make are:

• Chamomile has anti-inflammatory and digestive powers that lets you ease digestion. Make this infusion with a spoonful of dried chamomile petals per cup of water. Drink up to three cups a day.
• Mint will help get rid of gas if you've overeaten. Add 1 tablespoon of dried mint leaves and 2 tablespoons of fresh mint leaves to 1 litre water and boil. Once cooled, have a cup after meals.
• Aniseed is the plant of choice for eliminating stomach gases. Add 1 teaspoon of dried aniseeds in a cup of water and boil for 10 minutes. Drink 2 cups a day.

In this article you can find some more of the best teas to reduce gas in the stomach.

This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.

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