Gases like oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and methane enter your gut when you swallow air and food food ferments in your large intestine.

This leads to increased gas. Possible causes include :. Bloating is triggered by many dietary and lifestyle factors, but identifying the cause can help reduce or eliminate symptoms.

Some foods — such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains — can cause bloating but also provide essential nutrients. It may also help if you wait an hour before eating fruit or having a drink after a meal.

Keeping a food diary may help you identify which foods and habits seem to cause your symptoms so that you can avoid them or manage how you consume them.

Which foods and drinks can help prevent bloating? Some foods and dietary habits can increase the risk of bloating. Limiting these foods and practices may alleviate symptoms. Lactose is a sugar found in milk.

Your body needs an enzyme called lactase to break down lactose. This may lead to bloating, stomach pain , increased flatulence , and belching. If you suspect you have lactose intolerance, reducing your dairy intake may help. What are some lactose-free foods? Lactose intolerance causes multiple digestive symptoms, including bloating.

Constipation can lead to bloating because it can slow the outlet of gas as well as feces. Also, the longer certain substances spend in the gut, such as lactose, the more fermentation by bacteria can take place, increasing the amounts of gas.

Ways of managing constipation include:. Get some tips for fast constipation relief. Constipation may cause or exacerbate symptoms of bloating. Increased fiber and fluid intake, as well as physical activity, are effective natural treatments.

Bloating is a common symptom of IBS, along with abdominal discomfort , diarrhea, and constipation. Research has suggested that limiting certain carbs — fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols FODMAPs — may reduce bloating and other IBS symptoms.

Foods high in FODMAPs include:. In a low FODMAP diet , you will eliminate certain foods for several weeks then gradually reintroduce them, monitoring their effect. FODMAPS are poorly digested fermentable short-chain carbs found in a wide variety of foods.

They ferment in your large intestine, producing gas. A low-FODMAP diet may relieve bloating in some people. Some research suggests probiotics may help reduce bloating and other digestive symptoms by boosting the number and types of healthy bacteria in your gut.

In turn, this may reduce bloating and other symptoms common to IBS. They are available as supplements but also occur naturally in some foods , such as:. Still, most studies have focused on people with IBS, and the evidence is mixed. The results may depend on individual factors and the types of probiotic strains they consume.

What are the best probiotic supplements? Probiotics may improve the bacterial environment in your gut, which may counteract bloating — especially if you have IBS.

Eating large meals and salty or fatty foods may contribute to bloating in the following ways :. Reducing portion sizes and limiting your intake of foods high in salt and fat — such as fried foods , chips, and chocolate — may help manage bloating.

Get some tips on managing portion size. Large meals and foods high in salt or fat may contribute to bloating by increasing the production and retention of gas and water in your bowels.

Limiting your portion sizes and your intake of foods high in salt and fat may relieve symptoms. Peppermint as supplements or in other forms may help with digestion. In , for instance, 72 people with IBS took mg of peppermint oil capsules three times per day for 4 weeks. They reported improvements in bloating and other symptoms.

Some evidence indicates that peppermint oil combats bloating and distension in people with IBS, but more research is necessary. Swallowing excessive amounts of air, known as aerophagia , can cause bloating.

Avoiding rapid eating, chewing gum, and carbonated drinks may reduce bloating by lowering the amount of gas in your gut. Light exercise, such as walking or cycling , may help reduce bloating after meals, according to some research from that focused on people with IBS.

Additionally, regular exercise can help manage stress , a risk factor for bloating and other abdominal symptoms. Other benefits of exercise include weight management and a lower risk of heart disease and other chronic conditions.

Current guidelines recommend doing at least minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking. Light exercise like walking or cycling may help clear gas from your bowels and stomach, thereby reducing bloating. Rapid weight gain can occur for various reasons and may increase the risk of bloating.

This may be due to visceral emotional changes linked to digestion through the gut-brain axis, which links digestive functions with those of the brain. They can advise on weight management strategies and may investigate to see if there is an underlying cause.

Recent weight gain can lead to bloating. Bloating often involves a physiological reaction in the digestive system. Typically, when you eat, your diaphragm rises and the front wall of your stomach contracts to create more space without pushing out your belly.

When bloating happens, the diaphragm — a muscle just below the ribs — presses down on the stomach, causing it to protrude. This technique enables you to see how your muscles are reacting on a screen. Some research suggests it may help you retrain your muscles to prevent bloating.

Biofeedback is a therapy that helps retrain these muscles to relax and relieves the symptoms of bloating and distension. Taking some light exercise, such as a walk, after eating may help reduce bloating in the short term. Water can help reduce the risk of constipation, which can be a cause of bloating.

It is also beneficial for overall health. Instead, wait for 1 hour after eating to have a drink of any kind. Maintaining a healthy diet and weight, promoting good bowel habits, and getting regular exercise may help reduce bloating.

If specific foods appear to trigger bloating, avoiding or eliminating these foods may help. If you have IBS, a low FODMAP diet — and potentially products like probiotics or peppermint oil — may be helpful. Bloating usually subsides as your body digests food, while additional body fat gain persists over time.

When the bloating goes down you will not notice that your weight is lower. If you lose body fat , you should see your weight fall. Bloating has been linked to recent weight gain and often affects people with obesity, but there is no evidence that it leads to weight gain.

Bloating is a common condition caused by a wide range of dietary, lifestyle, and health factors. Foodtrainers has a private label magnesium pill for just this purpose, which they recommend packing on trips to help avoid the bloat and constipation that often accompanies travel.

I prefer a hypoallergenic supplement, like Pure Encapsulation. Whether you had a little too much alcohol or had a giant cheeseburger, drinking plenty of water can help you debloat overnight—or even faster, says Burgess.

If you tolerate it well, Metz explains that dairy will provide you with a boost of probiotics, which helps with gut health. Eating slowly is key for allowing your body to properly digest and allow for hunger cues, which in return will enable the migrating motor complex.

Celebrity facialist Nichola Joss recommends using a face oil to give yourself a facial massage, helping with lymphatic drainage and making your face appear more sculpted.

Start with a few drops of oil in your palms, then gently apply the palms of your hands to your face and move them outward in smooth, sweeping movements.

See the full step-by-step process here. As mentioned earlier, plenty of us are taking in way too much salt on a daily basis even if we're not adding a ton to our meals, thanks to excess sodium found in many processed foods. A refreshing and tasty antidote is coconut water, which may help counteract water retention and bloating, says Nicole Lindel, RD , Everlywell adviser, who notes that this potassium-rich bev helps the body release water.

That said, you might want to check in with your doctor or nutritionist before chugging it, notes Lindel. If that's you, debloat by sticking to plain old H2O. If you're eating more fiber-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in an effort to keep your digestive tract moving and grooving, you'll want to take baby steps, says Lindel, who recommends a gradual increase of fiber in the diet while also increasing fluid intake.

Too much fiber and too little water can lead to constipation, gas, and bloating. Though it's tempting to meet pals for dinner after dark or to enjoy a late night treat or two, cutting things off after the early bird special might be your ticket to easing digestive woes, as Lindel explains.

In addition to eating earlier in the evenings, overeating can also lead to bloating. We are often too busy during the day and we forget to eat! This often leads to eating too quickly and overeating at dinner.

This ancient practice—which involves a practitioner puncturing the skin with small needles at particular anatomical points in the body—is believed to be a pain-free way to manage stress , boost energy levels , and ease many physical ailments.

And while Lindel notes that more concrete research is needed, she points out that "one study found acupuncture to be beneficial in those with dyspepsia aka indigestion. Indigestion often involves symptoms of abdominal pain, bloating, sensation of fullness after eating, nausea, belching, and heartburn.

It might be worth giving it a try—even mild to moderate relief will help you feel better ASAP. Though exercise is a proven bloat-buster, we don't blame you if you just can't swing an intense sweat session when your midsection feels like a balloon.

A more gentle yoga or stretch session might be the move to help soothe your stomach without making you feel worse. If you're not a seasoned yogi, don't fret. Even just taking some time to stretch your body can help gently move things along without the discomfort of high-impact exercise.

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