You’re probably familiar with jet lag but did you know that jet bloat is an actual thing? Me neither. PRweb says that your body increases its volume of gas because of the difference in air pressure that occurs from airline travel.

Think about it this way: the higher you are above ground, the more gas expands in your body. When you become gassy in a confined space, you’re not the only one who’ll experience discomfort.

Whether you’re in coach, business class, or first class; no flight is comfortable when your body’s not cooperating with you.Whether it’s jet lag or jet bloat, no one wants to feel gross during and after a flight. While it’s easy to blame your fitness level, sometimes it’s really not about being in shape but rather what you ate before take off. Thankfully, there are a few ways to avoid that icky feeling. Here’s a list of food you should avoid before flying:

Fast Food

There’s something sinfully good about having a juicy burger and crispy french fries to curb your hunger before traveling (or at any point of the day, actually). Fast food: It’s one of the easiest and cheapest food you can get in an airport, but not exactly the best if you want to avoid jet bloat. All that fat and salt will lead to bloating once you’re thousands of feet above the ground.

 Soft Drinks

What goes well with burgers and fries? Soft drinks and lots of it! Remember how when you were younger, you’d have belching contests with your mates after drinking a can of Coke? Imagine that feeling multiplied tenfold once you’re up in the air.

Beans

There was a funny song from a skit in Nickelodeon that goes like this:

Beans, beans, the musical fruit

The more you eat, the more you toot

The more you toot, the better you feel

So eat your beans in every meal!

 

As funny as the song is, there’s actually a lot of truth in it. While being good for your heart with the added health benefits they give, beans do make you toot a lot. The same goes for peppers, or any other food that makes your stomach growl. No matter how silent your tooting is, the people within your vicinity will still be able to catch a whiff of that stench. Yikes!

Alcohol and Caffeine

What do these two have in common? They’re both diuretics. It’s a fancy way of saying they make you expel more water and salt than usual.

On any normal day, this wouldn’t be such a problem, however it’s not such a good idea when you’re on a plane. While the normal gin and tonic, wine, or other alcoholic beverage may help calm your nerves pre-flight, it will make you wee more.

If you’re in a centre seat, you needing to go to the bathroom every few minutes is a sure way to get the person on the aisle seat mad at you. If that isn’t enough of a reason not to do it, remember that expelling all that water will make you dehydrated. Couple that with the dry airplane air and you have a terrible recipe for a headache.

BONUS: Smooth out all travel necessities before your trip!

Have you ever hurried to hop in the car to get to the airport early, only to find out that you left your cellphone at home? You’d probably (and literally) pull your hair out of frustration. Whenever you’re sad or angry, your body experiences stress. This causes your body to tense, making digestion rather difficult.

At some point, you’re not being paranoid when you “feel fat” during a bad day. The stress of the day can trigger bloating which causes discomfort. This is why you have to make sure that you have your accommodations, itinerary, car rental, airport car parking, and all other travel details sorted. Remember that when you’re prepared, you won’t have much to stress about. When you’re not stressed, you lessen the chances of bloating during your flight!