One of the most common complaints I hear from my clients is that they're bloated. Not all the time, but every now and then, they deal with bloating. It could be related to their menstrual cycle, something they ate the night before or a build up of foods they never should have eaten in the first place.

Fortunately, our bodies are very forgiving...and receptive to healthy things. This may be hard to believe as many of us struggle with stubborn body fat, low energy levels and anxiety, to name a few, but cutting out poor food and lifestyle habits make a monumental difference on overall health.

Belly Bloat Buster Tea

I made this Belly Bloat Buster Tea while I was pregnant with my third baby. I was retaining a lot of fluid. In fact, I'm pretty sure my ankles no longer existed. Yes, in addition to helping with prenatal or postpartum bloating, this tea also helps with fluid retention!

Despite eating as clean as possible, sometimes a pregnant body will do what a pregnant body wants to do - and it's not always pretty.

I'm no longer pregnant and still retail fluid from time to time. As much as I love a warm, sunny day, heat can be a trigger for water retention in my body. It sounds odd, but it happens.

The two big stars of this tea are turmeric and ginger. Raw and fresh are the best ways to make this delicious concoction, but if you don't have fresh roots, just use a dried spice (amounts given below).

Ginger is usually available in root form in most grocery stores. When buying ginger, make sure the skin is smooth, not shriveled. Turmeric root is finding a regular spot in most grocery stores these days, thanks to the awareness of its stellar health benefits. Both are really affordable - to the tune of a couple bucks for an 8-cup pot of tea.

Here are the benefits of the Belly Bloat Tea!

Benefits of Ginger For Belly Bloat

Nausea-fighter: Probably the best known benefits. Just a little bit of ginger goes a long way, so it's not a bad idea to have a root hanging around in your kitchen.
Inflammation-fighter: Most people don't quite make the connection between inflammation and body fat. If you have inflammation (from achy knees to chronic sinus infections and everything in between), you will have a much more difficult time losing weight. Ginger kicks inflammation in the butt!
Improves Indigestion: If you eat a funky meal and don't feel so great afterward, ginger can help.
Eliminates Excess Fluid: Whether it's your belly, or like me during pregnancy, ankles, ginger can push excess fluid and sodium out of your body. Keep in mind, unusual fluid retention can be caused by serious health problems, so if you think you're fluid retention extends beyond diet/lifestyle-related reasons, see a doctor.

Benefits of Turmeric for Belly Bloat

Detoxifier: Turmeric's magic compound is curcumin, which gives turmeric its bright orange color. Curcumin helps to detox the liver in a very healthy way. Could there be an unhealthy way to detox? Why, yes! In fact, you could get really sick if you attempt to detox in the wrong way, but more on that next week. Bottom line, turmeric is a safe detoxifier, especially if you're sipping it in tea form once a day.
Cancer-fighter: I'm pretty sensitive when it comes to cancer and rarely promote anything as a true cancer fighter. That being said, I feel safe in stating this because enough research has been done on this root to validate the claim.
Improves Cholesterol: Need to lower your bad (LDL) cholesterol? Drink some turmeric tea. This makes perfect sense as it's such a strong liver detoxifier. When our liver is clean, there is usually a corresponding effect on our cholesterol. Imagine that!
Fluid-fighter: It should come as no surprise that along with all of these benefits, turmeric is amazing at ridding the body of excess fluid, too.

Before I jump to the recipe, one ingredient that helps to activate turmeric is pepper, which is why I've added a "pinch" to the recipe below. Without heating turmeric and adding a smidgen of pepper, you're really not reaping all the benefits of this wonderful ingredient. To help buffer the spice of this tea, I've also included honey and lemon. If you're vegan, feel free to add real maple syrup instead.

If you like these recipes, you might also like this Lemon Ginger Spice Tea.

Belly Bloat Tea Recipe

Yields 2 cups

1 inch ginger root, peeled
1 inch turmeric root, peeled
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Note: if you don't have fresh ginger root or turmeric, you can substitute 1/4 tsp of the dried spice instead.

1. Peel ginger and turmeric. Consider wearing a pair of kitchen gloves to protect your fingers from the staining effect of turmeric root. I used a paring knife to peel the roots. You can use a vegetable peeler, too.

2. Add roots to a pot filled with 2 cups of water.

3. Allow roots to simmer (not boil) in water for about ten minutes.

4. Remove from heat and add honey, lemon juice and cayenne pepper.

5. Strain mixture into a cup and enjoy.

Note: Double, triple or quadruple this recipe to save time if you want to drink over the next few days!

Let me know what you think of this tea.