Unfortunately, there are some foods that cause major bloating. You know that icky feeling you get after eating loads of sugar? Or that puffy feeling you get when you down a pizza? It’s not the way you want to feel as you pour yourself into a (most likely) skin tight gown and get ready to be photographed more than Kim K near a maternity ward.
Fret no longer fairies, we’ve spoken to Emily Devereux from Dietlicious about the five foods you need to cut the week before your wedding.
Over indulgence of booze can wreak havoc on your skin. It’s extremely dehydrating to cells within the body, and this is especially evident in skin cells. Following alcohol consumption, women often find they have a noticeably more bloated tummy and puffy face for a few days. Alcohol places additional stress on the liver and the breakdown of toxins can also result in breakouts on the skin. It also causes blood vessels to dilate, which can be an aggressor for rosacea and other skin conditions.
Generally speaking, vegetables are an essential element of a healthy pre-wedding diet. However, vegetables belonging to the cruciferous family (ie. broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale) should be eaten with caution. These vegetables contain sulfur and a carbohydrate called raffinose, both of which are hard for the body to break down which can lead to bloating and excess gas. Cooking helps to break these compounds down, so cooking these particular vegetables first could help to reduce bloating.
The fizz in carbonated drinks can cause gas to get trapped in your belly.
Salty foods cause you to retain water and puffiness subcutaneously while drying your skin surface. Salt causes tissues to swell and may make your face seem puffy and unhealthy. Iodized salt is especially bad in high doses as it has been shown to aggravate acne. Make sure to check all pre-packaged foods for their sodium content before consuming and make sure to rinse all canned vegetables, meats and beans after opening them to reduce the sodium content.
Too much sugar in the diet can lead to insulin resistance, contributing to excess weight gain. Sugary high-fructose foods place stress on the liver. An over-worked liver results in symptoms like fatigue and high blood pressure. Most important to note though is that sugar actually suppresses the immune response within hours of ingestion and no one wants to be sick on their big day!
Dietlicious is a 3, 5, or 10-day meal cleansing program that delivers healthy, gourmet meals created by an Executive Chef to your home of office, so you can detox, lose weight or just kick-start a diet without lifting a finger.
Main photo by Bruce Weber.
