Bananas Can Beat Bloating: Here's How

It's hard to think of anything less comfortable than wearing a tight sweater or a crop top when you're feeling bloated. The awkward belly protrusion hits at random — and often inopportune — times, leaving you self-conscious and on edge. It doesn't seem fair! You have to go on with your day looking larger than you actually are.

Unless, of course, there was some magical food you could eat that would ease your bloat immediately, letting your stomach rest and retract back to its usual slimmer size.

While that food unfortunately doesn't exist, there is one fruit that comes really close: bananas.

The starchy fruit contains potassium, a mood-boosting, stroke-preventing component of superfoods that also just so happens to help your body hydrate effectively. Potassium aids your body in regulating its sodium levels, effectively balancing out the fluids in your body and easing the strain of digestion.

Bananas also contain a significant load of fiber, which, as you probably know, helps you poop.

So whether dehydration or indigestion is the problem, bananas have you covered. And most of the time with bloating, one of those conditions is to blame.

Before you take your first bite, however, make sure the banana isn't too ripe. An overripe banana might taste 10 times sweeter, but it's an absolute disaster for an already upset stomach. The extra sugar in the riper version of the fruit, paired with the potential for minor rotting that you just didn't notice, is going to wreak havoc on your digestion. Stick to a fruit with average ripeness instead.

Excessively ripened bananas aren't the only food that can make your bloating worse. Click here for other foods you should avoid if you don't want any uncomfortable bloating.