Eating home-cooked meals is often considered the best way to maintain a healthy diet. You are avoiding processed foods, preservatives, and unhealthy fats – yet you still experience bloating after meals. What is going on? Bloating, characterised by a swollen or tight feeling in the abdomen, is a common digestive issue. While it is often linked to processed foods, even homemade meals can sometimes cause discomfort due to specific ingredients, portion sizes, and eating habits. Below are the most common reasons your home-cooked food might make you feel bloated.
Here Are 6 Reasons Why You Feel Bloated After Eating Home-Cooked Food:
1. Overuse of Masalas and Spices: Irritating the Digestive System
Indian and other traditional cuisines rely heavily on a variety of spices. While spices like cumin, turmeric, and ginger aid digestion, some spices can irritate the gut lining or cause gas formation when consumed in excess. Food with excess red chillies may irritate the stomach lining and cause acid reflux and bloating. Hing (asafoetida) is used for reducing gas, but in some people, it may trigger the opposite effect. Garlic and onion, which are essential to many curries, contain fructans, a type of fermentable fibre that some individuals struggle to digest, leading to bloating and gas formation.
How to Fix It: Avoid excess chillies and use more cumin, mint, and coriander, which aid digestion. Saunf (fennel) and cardamom after meals can help improve digestion.
Also Read: 5 Expert-Suggested Food Combinations That Make Your Meal A ‘Super Meal’
2. High-Sodium Meals: Water Retention and Puffiness
Eating high-salt meals may lead to water retention and puffiness, even if they are made with fresh ingredients. Extra salt intake draws water into the tissues, causing a bloated feeling. A study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology (2019) found that high sodium intake can alter gut microbiota and increase fluid retention, contributing to bloating.
How to Fix It: Gradually reduce salt to adjust your taste preferences. Instead of table salt, use natural herbs and lemon juice to enhance flavour. Drink plenty of water to flush out excess sodium.
Also Read: Anushka Sharma’s Dietitian Shares 3 Key Nutrients For Women Over 40
3. Gas-Producing Vegetables: Cruciferous Veggies and Legumes
Cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli contain raffinose, which remains undigested and produces gas when fermented in the gut. Beans, lentils, and chickpeas are rich in oligosaccharides, another fermentable sugar that can cause bloating. Radish and onion contain sulphur compounds that also produce gas.
How to Fix It: Soaking beans and lentils overnight and discarding the water before cooking helps break down gas-producing compounds. Cook cruciferous vegetables with digestive-friendly spices like cumin, ginger, or fennel to reduce bloating. Increase fibre intake gradually to allow your digestive system to adjust.
4. Eating Too Fast or Poor Meal Timings
How you eat also affects digestive health. Eating too quickly, keeping irregular meal times, not chewing properly, eating in bed, or lying down immediately after eating can all disrupt digestion. Eating too quickly or gulping food may lead to swallowing excess air (aerophagia), causing bloating. Irregular meal times disrupt the body’s natural digestive rhythm, making digestion less efficient. Eating large meals late at night and sleeping soon after can slow digestion and cause acid reflux and bloating.
How to Fix It: Chew food slowly and mindfully to reduce swallowed air. Eat at regular intervals to maintain a stable digestive system. Avoid large, heavy meals late at night-keep dinner light and eat at least two to three hours before sleeping.
5. Dairy Sensitivity: Lactose Intolerance and Digestive Issues
Some people are lactose intolerant, or even if you consume dairy regularly, you may still experience mild lactose intolerance, leading to bloating, gas, and stomach discomfort. If you feel bloated or experience stomach cramps and indigestion within 30 minutes to two hours of consuming dairy-based foods like milk, paneer, curd, or kheer, you may need to reduce your intake. Some people lose the ability to produce lactase (the enzyme that breaks down lactose) as they age, leading to digestive issues.
How to Fix It: If dairy is causing bloating, try lactose-free milk or plant-based alternatives like almond or soy milk. Fermented dairy products like yogurt and buttermilk are easier to digest and may cause less discomfort.
6. Cooking Oils and Fats: Impact on Digestion
Cooking oils and fats are important for a balanced meal, but both the quality and quantity matter. Too much oil, butter, or ghee can slow digestion and cause bloating. High-fat meals delay gastric emptying, meaning food stays in the stomach longer, leading to discomfort. Fried or oily foods require more energy to digest, increasing bloating.
How to Fix It: Moderation is key. Reduce the amount of oil used in cooking and opt for grilling, roasting, or steaming instead of deep-frying.
The Bottom Line
Bloating after eating home-cooked food is often due to a combination of certain ingredients, portion sizes, and eating habits rather than the food itself. By making small adjustments, you can enjoy your meals without discomfort.
