Five ways to flatten your belly instantly

When I was in the library reading the July-August 2008 issue of Health magazine today, the cover referred to an article “Get a Flat Belly While You Sleep.”

That sounded great. However, someone had ripped out the page with the article, and I wasn’t able to locate it on Health.com, the magazine’s Web site. I’ll see if I can find it in another library or on the newsstand and write a post about it later.

I did find another article worth writing about: “Five Tricks From an MD to Instantly Flatten Your Belly.” The tips, from Walter Coyle, M.D., gastroenterology program director at Scripps Medical Center in California, are:

Cut out bubbly drinks. The carbon dioxide in carbonated beverages can stay in your stomach and cause visible bloating.

Don’t chew gum. You swallow air when you chew gum. Also, sorbitol, a sugar substitute found in sugar-less gum, is turned into gas by bacteria in your gut bacteria. Bloating results.

Drink peppermint tea. It could help ease the upset stomach that makes gives you a pooch.

Ban salty foods. These foods cause you to retain water. You’ll look bigger than you really are.

Promote healthy bacteria. Take a probiotic, such as acidophilus, or eat yogurt with live cultures to increase the good bacteria in your digestive system. It’ll help you be regular and reduce bloating.

Comments

[Beth]

Great tips. I've (almost) given up diet soda, although I fall off the wagon 2-3 times a month, but I used to be a 2 diet coke a day consumer. And I find peppermint tea soothing.

[Rita]

Hi Beth,

Thanks for your comment. It's good you're giving up diet soda. It isn't good for people. I'll be doing an article on it soon.

Rita