Do you experience bloating with pomegranate juice? Here’s what to consider

If you find yourself experiencing bloating after consuming pomegranate juice, you’re not alone. While pomegranates offer various health benefits, including cooling the stomach, treating acidity, addressing stomach ulcers, and stopping diarrhoea, excessive intake may lead to bloating, particularly in individuals prone to constipation and dry, hard stools, said Sushma PS, chief dietitian, Jindal Naturecure Institute.

According to Sushma, this bloating effect is attributed to the astringent property of pomegranates, which can increase Vata or air and space in the gut.

Why does bloating happen?

Ushakiran Sisodia, registered dietician and clinical nutritionist, diet and nutrition, Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital said in an earlier interview that bloating occurs due to the build-up of gas in the digestive system, often caused by consuming foods that are difficult to digest. “Bloating and indigestion are common among Indians due to our food choices — spicy, oily, astringent foods, wheat-based foods, and legumes,” she said. To avoid bloating, it is important to choose foods that can be digested and metabolised easily by the body or have them with certain dietary additions to neutralise their astringent effects.

Bloating can happen due to pomegranate juice (Source: Getty Images/Thinkstock)

Some ayurvedic experts suggest that there are practical steps you can take to alleviate this discomfort. According to Dr Alka Vijayan, Ayurveda thyroid expert, one effective approach is to first try to add a handful of black raisins to pomegranate juice or add a pinch of powdered black salt. Both these remedies can take care of the bloating or flatulence, she said.

Do these remedies work?

Sushma described that this combination helps reduce the dryness associated with pomegranate consumption, potentially easing bloating.

 

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Dr Dilip Gude, senior consultant physician, Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad mentioned that black salt contains minerals like magnesium, calcium, iron, etc, and is known to reduce bloating and flatulence. “Pomegranate juice may cause flatulence and bloating and adding a little of black salt can certainly help combat these,” said Dr Gude.

However, Dr Gude said that raisins “may contain extra sugar and may not help in reducing gastro symptoms” while having pomegranate juice.

Therefore, Dr Gude advised moderation in drinking such juices and stressed that more research is needed to confirm the effectiveness of all such remedies.

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