Bloating Problems? The Steam Cooking Solution

“Greens for bloating and gut health”, “best juice for bloating”, “best supplements for bloating and weight loss”, etc. Google search have plethora of request for remedies against bloating. Little in ways of explanation, except for stress, pregnancy, or food intolerance. Little is said in ways to explain that if it isn’t a digestive condition, could it be the way we prepare our foods ?

You have bloating problems ? Be assured you are far from the only one. Virtually everyone has days or foods that trigger bloating and digestive discomfort. Some people suffer from chronic bloating, while other from infrequent digestive episodes. Many people report mere sleepiness after lunch. So much so that they may think it is a normal thing.I am here to reassure you, it is not: you can feel satisfied and full of energy after dinner.

Meanwhile, certain individuals are in digestive discomfort so much of the time they don’t actually know that is a life beside what Dr Mark Hyman calls FLC, i.e. “Feel Like Crap” syndrome.

What is that”Feel Like Crap” feeling about?

Food is the fuel you put in your most important piece of machinery: your body. If we use the wrong fuel grade for too long, our bodies are bound to tell us “game over” after a while.

You’ll say “what about the food I eat makes me feel this way?”

It can be :

• The food you eat that does not sit right, or;
• How it was grown, what it was sprayed with, or in case of animal food, what it was fed (farmed raised and pasture raised meat, or wild caught and farmed raised fish are radically different animals );
• What it contains ( gluten, phytates and other antinutrients, i.e. compounds that are harder on the digestive system) ;
• Type of food and its consistency: roots, greens, meat, fish, beans, nuts all have different consistency and ease to digestion;
• Did I eat it raw, or cooked?
• How did I cook it? : boiled, steamed, charred, deep fried, air fried, grilled, etc all impact digestion differenly;
• The state of your microbiome i.e. the type of bacteria populating your digestive system.

These are a few that directly come to mind.

conditions involving bloating

IBS – Irritable Bowel Syndrome

If you sought the help of medical professionals, they probably diagnosed you with IBS ( Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Health professionals generally define IBS by its symptoms.

“Clinical symptoms of IBS include abdominal pain or discomfort, stool irregularities and bloating, as well as other somatic, visceral and psychiatric comorbidities.” (1) In short, it affects your whole digestive system, which is in distress and affects you in the most practical ways, all day. Sleepiness after meals, digestive discomfort and stomach pain after meals are two basic symptoms.

IBS affects many people. However, isn’t a disease, it is a symptom, which can affect us chronically.

SIBO- Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth.

One another term for digestive discomfort is SIBO or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. This is more specific, as it describes the reason bloating occurs: a fermentation of overabundant bacteria in the small intestine. SIBO occurs when friendly bacteria from the colon find their way into the small intestine and take up residence there. These bacteria are too prevalent in our gut and are wrecking havoc. They also feed at any source of sugar we ingest.

Unfortunately, today’s food culture is sugar loaded. So, as long as we keep ingesting sugar, bacterial overgrowth keeps going, and so discomfort continues or gets worse. If your gut balance if off, i.e. the wrong types of bacteria dominates your gut, these bacteria will feed on sugar and keep overshadowing immune-defending and nutrient-uptaking bacteria. From there on, imbalances continue disrupting your digestion.

Why would bad bacteria dominate?

In the past, you may have had digestive issues like a stomach bug, or a run of antibiotics that wiped the bacteria previously balanced in your digestive system. It also may be that our food sources are too loaded with pesticides that also kill digestive bacteria. The steps you take after a run of antibiotics and the type of foods you usually eat define what kind of bacteria repopulated your digestive system.

Our digestive system is a result of a balance between friendly and unfriendly bacteria. The unfriendly one feed on sugar and disrupt the work of friendly bacteria i.e. nutrient absorption, immune system protection; and contribute to leaky gut. By contrast, good bacteria assists the digestion and uptake of essential nutrients, protects the gut against aggressors, support immunity. If good bacteria strains are overtaken by their sugar-drunk buddies, they won’t be able to do their job properly.

What is SIBO involved in ?

Many diseases involve some degree of SIBO, including Irritable Bowel Syndrome. They include “ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, cirrhosis, metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), … gastroparesis, , cystic fibrosis, … diabetes, hypothyroidism, hyperlipidemia, … autism, Parkinson’s disease, systemic sclerosis, … fibromyalgia, asthma …” (2) Many of these diseases worsen based on the bacteria that dominate the gut . That may be an overconsumption of sugar, or even fiber containing foods. Fiber is a prebiotic, which means food for bacteria, whether good or bad.

If you know your condition involves SIBO, steaming your foods may result in eating foods that contain more fiber after cooking. Ordinarily, this would be a healthier move. But in the case of severe SIBO, fibers may trigger adverse effects on your digestion until SIBO is resolved. Because fibers and sugar feed bacterial overgrowth, bloating may continue or worsen. We recommended consulting a holistic doctor or nutritionist to solve your SIBO problems with the right gut-healthy remedies.

If you don’t have that issue, your temporary discomforts may be due to eating overcooked foods, which I argue is a major cause of bloating.

Overcooking foods causes bloating

One major reason we ingest more sugar than we think is how we cook our foods.

What are the reasons for bloating ? Fermentation in the belly 

What ferments in the gut? High FODMAPS food with compounds like fructans in onions, lectins in tomatoes, or phytates in nuts or famously gluten in wheat are difficult to digest and tend to ferment more in our gut. This is the reason why health practitioners recommend low FODMAP ( as in low in fermentable compounds) diets to people with SIBO.

However, these foods are not difficult to digest for people with SIBO only. They may be difficult to digest for other people too. My understanding is, this is due to how these foods are prepared.

Some cooking methods break down fibers entirely

Pressure cooking i.e. cooking at high temperature for a short amount of time, as well as simmering for hours both break fibers. Fibers, which make up for the structure of the plant when it grows and before it is cooked, may be hard to digest unless they are cooked. But just how much cooking is necessary for proper digestion?

Foods high in fibers bring in more than just fibers

Fibers are beneficial. How? They feed the good bacteria in our digestive system. Plants also contain many vitamins ( C), trace minerals ( (like highly bioavailable calcium, magnesium…), and plant hormones that contribute to hormone balance. Cooking breaks down fiber to some degree depending on how long we cook our foods. But it also destroys vitamins and can diminish some other nutrient absorption. For this reason, carefully consider what cooking method you choose for most meals.

Some foods contain more soluble fibers than insoluble fibers. When you cook, insoluble fibers tend to break down faster into single sugars, and these sugars will feed the sugar-hungry bacteria. This is what occurs when foods ferments in your digestive system, and that is what causes bloating. Cooking your food for shorter time, or introducing raw fibers like raw carrots, tomatoes or lettuce at the beginning of your meals , or green leafy vegetables cooked for a short time may decrease bloating.

What does too much cooking do to our foods?

Cooking for too long does not just soften the some of the fibers in our foods, it may breaks them completely. That, in turn depends on the type of fiber you eat: There are soluble fibers ( absorb and break down in water) and insoluble ( they are harder and don’t dissolve in water). The longer you cook fibrous foods, the more your food’s sugar compounds break down sugar molecules, which start fermenting in contact with bacteria. Too much fermenting bacteria in the gut equals more bloating.

Foods with less sugar compounds ( for example green leafy vegetables as opposed to potatoes or beans) will tend to cause less bloating. Unfortunately, especially in the case of food with less sugar content, too much cooking tends to also break down the taste of foods and make it more bitter. Cooking a shorter amount of time may make it easier to enjoy these vegetables that we try so hard to feed our kids.

Wait, but doesn’t cooking make digestion easier? YES AND NO.

Some foods like beans do necessitate prepping and cooking to be eaten

Meats of course, but also black beans, white beans, kidney beans are those. Their fibers are too dense for us to chew them enough and digest them properly. However, some legumes can be just soaked and sprouted and eaten raw : lentils, garbanzo beans for example ( it may take some getting used to !)

Cooking too long makes food mushy

As a result of longer cooking, our foods get mushier, easier to swallow, and we tend to forget to chew them. As a result we underuse digestive enzymes that facilitate digestion. Hence we skip the first step of digestion which should occur in the mouth, the home of digestive enzymes. Also, fibers have broken down and can no longer slow down digestion. They also are no longer there to assist the good bacteria. Quite to the contrary, the sugar compounds attract the sugar-hungry bacteria, and these are the ones that thrive and which population growths. This is why purchased canned beans are often less tolerated than the ones properly prepared at home, soaked and boiled or steamed.

In short: if you want to support the growth of digestion-helping bacteria, do not only seek out probiotics. Assist them by eating more fiber and nutrient dense foods!

Proper food processing eases digestion

Cooking too long and/ or at high temperature breaks down of fibers. Preserved fibers means preserved nutrient density, and slowed down digestion. One big clue your food is nutrient dense: you need to chew it more. Think about it: do you bloat when you eat raw fruit ? Fruit are higher in sugar compounds, however fibers are intact and counteract the sugar. The amount of bloating is lower thanks to fibers.

bloating and gut health: Prevent one, improve the second

• Presoaking foods to remove some anti nutrients ( almonds and other nuts, legumes generally);
• Cook them for a shorter amount of time of time so the fibers are still crunchy. Yes it will take more time to eat, because foods you need to chew will be digested thanks to digestives enzymes from your mouth;
• Best indicator that you cooked your foods properly is COLOR ( its natural color is still bright after cooking), FLAVOR ( i.e. does not need tons of sauce), TEXTURE (crunchy), and SCENT ( it smells good) !
• For that you may use a good quality steam cooker!
• Start meals eating foods that require more chewing and chew them properly. Lettuce, raw vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, green onions, cucumbers, often referred to as “crudités”, are a good start to slow down the digestion of the whole meal, and decrease boating.

How will steaming help?

It makes easier not to overcook your food and preserve fibers.

Steam cooking goes faster than most other cooking methods. It preserves nutrients, textures and colors, but also fibers. Fibers slow down digestion and decrease bloating, unless you have a condition in which more fibers increases bloating.

Cooking in a steamer is easy.

It’s fast and easy to open and lay your food in, or open and take your food out. No huge cooking skills necessary to make tasty meals. You can easily use your favorite herbs, oils, and dressings over steamed foods and make delicious meals full of color, taste and texture.

you will need to stick around your stove, so you keep up With the cooking speed

Keeping close is the condition for your foods preserving their nutrient density, color, taste and texture. But that’s okay if it’s fast, isn’t it?

While you cook one item you prepped, you can prep the next one.

Most cut veggies cook for 3-7 minutes, cut meat take less than 10 minutes, whole individual protein portions less than 15. Grains take 10-20 minutes. You can own two steamers and speed up the process: while rice cooks, you can cook veggies together that cook the same amount of time.

Steaming with the proper food steamer is fast, keeps texture. And bonus: the taste and nutrients are still there. All it takes after steaming ingredients is to mix them together a few minutes in a skillet with salt, herbs and spices, oils of choice.

Recommendation: if you have a hard time with fiber, go slow. 

Oftentimes, people struggle with fibers when their digestive system isn’t used to digesting them. A probable explanation is that the people that made these meals overcooked them. The cooking process broke down fibers in the process. What they are eating was transformed into sugar, which ferments easily and bloats them, makes them sleepy. Their digestive system is reacting to it .

They think it’s an intolerance to fibers. But it’s probably because their daily meals are mostly devoid of fibers, so their digestive system isn’t used to it any more and reacts to fibers when it encounters them.

Could this apparent intolerance be a cleansing reaction more than an intolerance ?

They can reintroduce fibers slowly and acclimate their digestive system to fibers again. A spoon food at a time.

In short, steaming can help you improve issues with bloating and gut health, unless your problem is elsewhere. If it is, solve it with the help of your physician or healthcare professional, and come back later to explore steaming!