How to Reduce Bloating & Puffiness in Your Face & Body: Swelling + Summer Heat | Dr. Shereene Idriss

Are you sick of feeling bloated all the time? Your stomach feels like it's about to pop, your face feels puffy, your fingers just can't get your rings on them, and the beautiful shoes that you just bought by the end of the day are so tight on your toes that you just want to kick them off and walk barefoot. If that is the case, and if the summertime is making everything worse for you, today's video is exactly what you want to watch because we're going to understand what exactly is causing your bloat, What is the difference between bloating and puffiness? How do we address and how do we avoid the different contributing factors? And how can we actually deal with these issues in a way that feels natural and easy for us to do so? I am Dr. Shereene Idriss, a board-certified dermatologist, and welcome back to my YouTube channel where every Saturday morning we cover a different topic, usually defined by you all. If you've not subscribed, subscribe below, like this video, and let me know what you want to learn about. Maybe next week week and we will tackle it then. But for today, we are covering the dreaded bloat because it seems that everyone is talking about bloating, whether it is on TikTok, social media, Instagram, or at dinner parties. The bloat goes from your head to your toes, but not quite. So let's first define what bloating is and why we're always bloated. Bloating really truly by definition is related to the midsection of your body, AKA your abdomen. If gas is building up and you're feeling distended. But people tend to use this word when they are describing their face looking puffy or their fingers getting really thick or their ankles and their feet swelling, and that is really related to puffiness. When we are holding on to water in our bodies, we tend to see it really in those areas. And there is a difference here because bloating itself is not necessarily related to puffiness. Bloating is due to gas buildup within your GI system, and common triggers that can cause that gas to build up are things like milk if you're lactose intolerant, certain foods in your diet like onions, garlic, beans, and lentils. Additionally, carbonated drinks. I love a diet soda, but a diet soda, not to mention the fact that it's a soda, is worse than a regular soda because it has sugar alcohols, which can make matters worse. So think of sugar-free gum, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, Diet whatever, even those protein bars that you think you're eating and helping yourselves with that have sugar alcohols in them can make everything worse. In addition, of course, there are medical conditions. If you have IBS, IBD, but if you are somebody who struggles with constipation, bloating can feel 10 times worse for you, and the cycle in which you you are in depending on your hormonal cycle can also affect and impact how bloating shows up and how the puffiness shows up in your body. Things that make you puffier but not necessarily more bloated include alcohol, which is a huge, huge, huge, huge culprit. Number 2, salt. I love salty food, and in the summer, salt is my enemy because if I go out for lunch and I have a bowl of fries If I'm trying to walk home, I have to take my rings off because my fingers will swell. 3, poor sleep, and this is one that is often overlooked, and we're going to get into in a minute and talk about sleep hygiene. And 4, of course, your environment. Humidity and heat are like the double whammy that will make you look puffier and feel puffier faster. And if you are a woman and you are somebody who hates the feeling of your thighs touching one another or your thighs getting swollen in your pants, you know what I'm talking about. So why does heat though make your puffiness worse or make your bloating feel worse? Because when it is hot outside, right, our blood vessels are going to dilate to try to cool our bodies down. But as our blood vessels dilate, there's going to be fluid shift from within our blood vessels into our tissue, and our tissue is going to expand, making us look and feel puffy from our head down to our toes. And we've seen it with our fingers, we've seen it with our feet, feet, we've seen it with our ankles that are usually, maybe at least for me, the skinniest part of my body, suddenly look big, and it can happen quite literally in the time span of 5 to 10 minutes. Um, so the biggest takeaway is that bloating and puffiness are not necessarily created equal, and it's important that you understand what you're dealing with so you know how to deal with it. So we're going to talk about an anti-bloat toolkit specifically related to different areas of your body um, from puffiness to bloating so that you can best help yourself. So if your face is the part of your body that constantly looks puffy, and I fall in this category, it is important that we take into consideration our behavioral patterns, our environment, in addition to what we could use to help us make that puff go away faster. You really want to be aware of how much salt you are consuming, especially as it is hotter and more humid out. And this is one that I struggle with, especially when I was pregnant in the summer. Because I was craving salty food. If you are going to be eating a salty meal, let's say you're going to be having sushi, try not to have sake with it because alcohol is going to make it worse. And I know these are like, ugh, borings, but they are true. These are all things that you can do to help yourself. Let's say you have a big event coming up at the end of the week, really pay attention to what you're consuming and what you're putting in your body. Number 3, allergies. Seasonal allergies. It is summertime, things are out where there is still a high pollen count. So one thing I do is I take an antihistamine at night, but I will also run the hair dryer, um, hair dryer, blow dryer, whatever, the thing that you dry your hair with, um, through my hair at night if my hair is not wet, just to get any excess pollen out of my hair. Because think about it, if you go to sleep and you're sleeping on your hair, you're going to be inhaling that pollen waking up puffier than you ever wanted to. Also, I try to limit how much heat is being built up around my face. So I have melasma, um, and that's why I have a neck fan. But I've also noticed that when I wear the neck fan, and I wore it all throughout Paris during their crazy heat wave, I was less puffy in my face overall. And that cooling can also help to minimize the puff. Something that I keep in my bag, I love the cold metal roller tip and getting the serum out to help to actively depuff your face. Is a game changer for me, especially as it is so hot midday after lunch. And I just want to make sure that I am moving lymphatic fluid around so I don't come home at the end of the day and look at myself and feel gross or look gross. I actually even keep it by my bedstand and I— nightstand, I can't speak anymore. And I use it at night as well as in the morning to really help that lymphatic fluid move. But also the serum itself is like a magic serum that will be a lymphatic static facial for you long after you're done rolling. Number 2, which leads me to poor sleep. If that is what is making you puffy, we really have to think about our sleep hygiene, which is a term I do not love, but it's really something that you have to start thinking about, especially as you hit 40+. But unwinding a few hours before going to bed, creating an environment that is calming and soothing for you, but also having a routine that you can really start to lean into, whether it is washing your face and doing your skincare routine starting at 6 PM because you know you're not going out for the night, dimming the lights, avoiding Instagram, reading a book, getting your brain to really unwind and calm down. I have started also using, um, I think it's— don't quote me on this— a 432 Hz like sleep music that if it's placebo, it's placebo, but it gets me to calm down. Additionally, magnesium can play a big role here, especially if not only are you puffy but you're bloated. So magnesium citrate can really help if you are somebody who's bloated, and it can help to also help you unwind and to relax. If you're not somebody who's bloated or constipated, then magnesium glycinate is also something you could consider. Ro Nutrition has a powder that you can mix into water, which will also help you sort of hydrate better, um, because it's going to remind you to drink more water as you are calming down and calming yourself at night. If your bloating is more localized to your abdomen and it's truly a bloat, we spoke about magnesium citrate, but I really do always have on me, and it's going to sound funny, Gas-X. It's simethicone. It's going to help the gas bubbles in your abdomen stick together so it comes out more easily. You know what, your enemies will not stand a chance, but all that trapped air feeling will come out and you will not feel tight or distended. If again, you are somebody who is really, really bloated in your belly and you're gassy, You're going to try to eat slower and really avoid inhaling air as you're eating. Additionally, pay attention to the foods that you're eating. Hard to figure out what is triggering your bloat when it's really related to your digestive system. And I never want people to be living their lives in fear of what they're eating. But it's not a bad idea to follow a short-term low FODMAP approach so you can figure out what is your gut reacting to. It could take a couple of weeks for you guys to go through that. I don't want it to become your whole personality or your whole diet, and it should not be forever, but it's worth, you know, investing in to figure that out. Additionally, I drink lactose-free milk. I also have Lactaid pills on me in addition to the Gas-X because I have a very, very sensitive GI system. And I have noticed that even though we want to eat big salads in the summer, for example, eating cooked vegetables is better for me because it allows my gut to really digest those vegetables easier versus eating a raw big salad that my stomach has to fight, especially in the heat, um, that makes me even more bloated by the end of the day. If your bloat is constipated related, right? And you're feeling backed up, heavy, full, unable to really get anything out. Dehydration is a huge, huge, huge culprit of being constipated. So make sure you're hydrating adequately. Um, but don't just hydrate with water because drinking too much water can also not be good for you. You want to find that medium healthy balance. Coconut water is a great place for you to find electrolytes. If you are like me, I love electrolyte packets, but you have to be careful that they're not high in sodium. The Replenisher electrolyte packet, that is the lowest I have ever found in sodium. So I actually do— I'm not sponsored by them— fill my water bottle throughout the day, and I have one packet a day. That keeps me drinking, and I like the taste of it, and so it's really, really nice. It's talked about electrolytes. Additionally, fiber is something you want to incorporate in your diet, but you don't want to go from zero to hero because you will die, okay? You will die, take it from me. It will make the bloating worse. So what I do now is I have 2 tablespoons of chia seed mixed with lactose-free milk and cocoa powder that I put overnight, and it's a beautiful chocolate chia seed pudding that I eat every morning, and it has kept me very, very regular. And one very underrated thing that you could do to help to minimize any constipation or bloating related to constipation is simply walking 10 minutes after a meal. This is something that my husband had tried to implement for the past 3 years and I made fun of him, and I think every time I start following his lead, I'm like, shit, he was right. But walking after a meal can absolutely help support gut motility and make things so much better. And last, if your bloat is period-related, right, you're not just more constipated, you're also swollen, you're bloated, you're heavier, you're puffier. You feel overall just— that is the perfect sound effect— and you're more sensitive to salt and cravings, make sure to lower your sodium around the days you know you're going to puff with your period. And also— sorry about that— make sure you're hydrating consistently, sticking to low-impact movement, because when you are on your period, you do not want to be doing heavy, high-impact sports that can make the puffiness and the bloating worse. And make sure that you are really taking care of yourself in terms of fiber and regular eating. And there you have it, your anti-bloat toolkit from A to Z, depending on what is causing your bloat or your puffiness. And remember that you know your body best, so really pay attention to those patterns so that you can beat the summer bloat and the summer puffiness often associated with it. Um, I hope this video was helpful. Let me know if you guys have any questions below. I hope you have a beautiful Saturday, and I will see you guys next week.