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Do your trousers dig in after every meal? Or perhaps your stomach resembles a beachball months after summer is over? You could be suffering from bloating, but help is at hand.
First, see your GP to rule out anything more serious such as coeliac disease or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) if you’ve been suffering for several months.
We need to eat, but the after-effects of a heavy meal aren’t always so enjoyable – in fact, nearly one in three of us experience an uncomfortable bloated feeling after meals.1
This guide gives you the lowdown on the causes of bloating, and how you can help manage it with the right food, lifestyle or supplement choices.
Supplying your gut with the right balance of these nutrients can aid the smooth running of the digestion process.
And as a result, you may find you’re feeling the need to loosen your waistband less often.
Bloating is a feeling of pressure or heaviness in your tummy, usually caused by excess gas.2
Your trousers or skirt may feel tight around the waist, as if you’ve suddenly gained several pounds.3
Other symptoms of bloating include:
For some people, bloating is just a minor inconvenience.
But a 2014 article in Gastroenterology & Hepatology revealed that for more than half of people with bloating, it significantly impacts their quality of life.6
Bloating is the sensation caused when your stomach fills with gas.
When your tummy feels blown out and the waistbands of clothing suddenly get tighter.7,8
For some people, bloating is only a sensation. For others, it’s accompanied by a physical expansion of the stomach area (officially known as abdominal distension.)9
Common symptoms of bloating10 include:
When you have a disproportionate amount of gas lurking in your gut for some reason, your body may struggle to excrete this excess air.
If your digestive system is sensitive to these changes, bloating is a side effect.
You may feel bloated when there’s more gas than usual inside your gut, or if your gut is extra-sensitive.15
This may be due to:
We all carry a certain amount of gas in our digestive system.
Chewing food, gulping down a drink and talking can all cause you to swallow air. Certain activities can further elevate this – such as chewing gum, drinking fizzy drinks and smoking.18
In addition, sometimes your body produces more than normal amounts of gas. This happens for various reasons and contributes to feeling bloated.
Does your stomach feel bloated around the time of your period? Oestrogen has a big role in deciding how women retain water.
Levels of this hormone fluctuate during a woman’s monthly cycle, with the body typically retaining more water when oestrogen is higher in the week or so leading up to the start of a period.
As a result, a common symptom of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is bloating.
The festive period is a common time to experience bloating, for obvious gluttonous reasons. But this can happen at any time of the year.
However, what you eat, as well as how much, can be equally to blame for your bloated belly.
For example, food intolerances can stimulate bacteria breakdown that produces gas and inflammation of the gut.
Bloating and fatigue both have a whole range of causes and triggers. Sometimes making changes to your diet can help.
If bloating and tiredness persist, it’s worth chatting to your doctor to see if an underlying condition may be triggering your symptoms.
The best way to prevent bloating is to keep a food diary, where you write down everything you eat and drink.22
If you suspect food intolerances or a gastrointestinal condition, like coeliac disease, see your GP for testing.
You can also:
We’re often told to up our fibre intake if we’re suffering from digestive problems, but too much cereal fibre can actually make your symptoms worse.
If you think you consume too much of this type of fibre, steer clear of brown bread, breakfast cereals and anything made with wholemeal flour, and choose white versions instead.
It goes against what we’ve been taught, but tweaking your diet may be able to help.
Try it for three months, but if there’s no improvement make an appointment with your GP.
Fibre-rich foods can trigger bloating if you’re not used to them, but it’s still important to eat fibre for wider health benefits and to avoid constipation.23
If you feel you need to, up your fibre intake gradually, starting with an extra couple of tablespoons a day.
“But if you don’t have enough fibre, your bowels won’t open regularly, giving you a build-up of gas,” says Kirsten, who works at The Food Treatment Clinic. “Sometimes I see people with really bad bloating that’s just caused by constipation.”
Friendly bacteria may help by curbing bacteria populations that are associated with bloating, according to a 2011 study in Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.24
In addition to a high-fibre diet, fermented foods and drinks, such as kefir and sauerkraut, are a helpful source of beneficial bacteria for the gut.25
Friendly or ‘good’ bacteria supplements can aid digestion and help counteract the negative effects of bad bacteria in your gut.
Best of all, numerous studies have shown they may help ease symptoms of IBS like pain, gas and bloating.26,27
There are many different types available, so you may need to experiment to find one that works for you.
Fancy some other supplements? Fennel has been used for centuries to help tame tummies: drink it as a tea or take a supplement.28
And peppermint oil can help fight IBS symptoms like cramping or bloating – it works by relaxing the muscles of your intestines. Try taking capsules before or during meals.29
If you become dehydrated, your body will hang on to any fluids, which can cause bloating.
Drinking fluid during the day is a really good way to reduce bloating – choose water, decaffeinated coffees and teas, and herbal teas.
Watch out for sparkling water as any fizzy drinks, even the healthy ones, can make you feel gassy.
It sounds obvious, but constipation – a major cause of bloating – could be triggered by something as simple as not drinking enough fluids.
This can slow your system down, and make your stool too hard to pass.30
Aim to drink 1.5litres of water a day, and cut down on hydration ‘robbers’ like caffeine, alcohol, and fizzy or sugar drinks.
Magnesium is a natural relaxant and constipation can sometimes be related to low magnesium levels.31
Fill up on magnesium-rich green leafy veg, beans, and lentils, and try bathing in Epsom salts – your body can absorb the magnesium in the salts through your skin.
Many women become bloated and constipated when their period is due, or if they become pregnant.
This is when you get a peak in progesterone, which tends to slow your digestion down, making everything sluggish.32
Overcome any hormonal hurdles by staying active – exercise helps stimulate natural contractions in the gut – follow a healthy diet and drink plenty of fluids.
Our gut responds to modern stress the same way it responds to true danger. S
o while your gut is trying to process the meal you’ve just eaten, stress hormones mean your body is trying to divert blood away from the gut and into the muscles as part of the fight or flight response.
The result? Bloating, indigestion, pain, nausea and maybe even IBS.
“Stress triggers hormone changes in the body that are part of the fight or flight response, and these aggravate the nervous system,” says Kirsten. “If your gut is hyper-sensitive, this can cause stomach bloating and pain.”
Chances are, you can’t cut stress out of your life – so instead aim to manage it by making sure you take time to relax.
This could mean soaking in a warm bath rather than having a speedy shower.
Try to tackle any sources of stress, aim to eat lunch away from your desk at work, and make mealtimes a relaxing experience. Yoga, meditation and massage can all help you unwind.
Handpicked article: About stress and how you can manage yours
Certain foods are more likely to produce gas in your gut but many of them are also rich in essential nutrients, so you still need them in your diet.
These include:
The trick is to build up your tolerance slowly, gradually increasing portion size, so you don’t overwhelm your gut.
Try soaking beans before cooking and lightly cook vegetables before eating to reduce gas.
Some gas-promoting foods, like sugar and artificial sweeteners, should be avoided altogether.
It might sound like chewing a stick of gum would be a good tactic for helping you steer clear of those bloat-inducing high-fat foods.
But actually, researchers have found it can actually trigger trapped wind too.
Most chewing gums – even the sugary versions – contain artificial sweeteners, like sorbitol, which are poorly absorbed by the stomach, and can cause bloating and abdominal pain. In large doses, this can cause chronic diarrhea.35
And there’s another problem – all that chewing signals to your stomach that food is on its way, triggering the release of enzymes and stomach acids that aid digestion.
Yet with no food appearing, all that action going on inside your stomach can cause bloating.
You might think that your stomach will flatten if you skip a meal.
But you would be wrong, says Kirsten Crothers, specialist gastro dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association.
“Irregular eating can cause a build-up of gas, which means your stomach will end up bloated,” she says. “Eating breakfast, lunch and dinner helps keep the gut moving – this is called peristalsis – and it ensures that food is digested efficiently. Putting something in your stomach stimulates that movement, getting your system going.”
If there’s a long gap between your meals, make sure you eat a snack.
Try a piece of fruit, low-fat yoghurt, vegetable sticks or a low-sugar cereal bar to give you energy and fibre.
Handpicked article: How eating more frequently can benefit your health
While eating fruit won’t increase bloating if it’s spread out across the day, do be careful of drinking smoothies and fruit juices.
These usually contain three portions of fruit, which means a huge dose of fibre all at once – and this can be a challenge for your body to digest, leading to bloating.
While it may not matter so much on a normal day, if you’re off to a party later, it’s best to avoid it.
Fruit juices, while they don’t contain as much fibre as smoothies, aren’t much better. “Juice has a lot of fructose – fruit sugar – which can cause bloating,” says Kirsten.
Eating large portions can lead to indigestion and bloating. “It puts a lot of pressure on the digestive system and produces a lot of gas,” says Kirsten.
So read the packet of pasta or rice, follow the recommended portion size and weigh it out before you cook it. Your body will find the meal much easier to digest.
Moderate aerobic exercise – even a brisk walk – can be very effective at preventing bloating by lowering stress levels, says personal trainer Laura Williams.
“One theory is that exercise helps to speed up the passage of gas through the digestive tract,” she says. “Aim to walk for at least 15 minutes to give your digestive system enough time to respond.”
You might fancy a quick coffee to perk you up before you go out – but this is not a good idea.
“Caffeine stimulates the nervous system around the bowel, adding to bloating,” says Kirsten. “If you are prone to bloating, this can aggravate it.” She advises avoiding colas and coffee from midday onwards as caffeine stays in the body for around eight hours.
Instead, look out for peppermint tea – researchers have found that it can reduce stomach distension and help to prevent bloating symptoms.
Think ‘meat and two veg’ as the ideal meal on the day of a party: it’s low in fat and plain so won’t irritate your stomach, while also containing a balance of protein, fibre and carbohydrates.
“The result is that your gut keeps moving efficiently,” says Kirsten. Good choices are grilled or oven-baked chicken or Quorn with mixed herbs, potatoes and veg.
As more and more science around gut health emerges, we’re increasingly bombarded with conflicting opinions on how diet impacts digestion.
While some blame gluten, others call out lactose as the culprit. But there are a few eating habits that most dietitians agree on.
Before we talk about specific foods that can help to reduce bloating, here are a few golden rules.
When you feel bloated, these tips could help reduce the discomfort:
Around 100 trillion bacteria live in your gut. Maintaining the diversity of this bacteria is important to gut health. For example, to ease bloating.
Nothing is more influential to the balance of your gut microbiome than what you eat and drink.
The foods you eat are not just part of the cause of your digestive discomfort. They may also hold the answer to how to reduce bloating.
While some foods can trigger your digestive discomfort, others could help it.
Here we focus on four food groups that can help.
But a note of caution, rather than focussing on eating any one category, aim to get diverse nutrients from all of these gut-friendly food groups.
Sources include: wheats (e.g. spelt and durums), rice, barley, maize, rye, millets, oats, buckwheat, quinoa
Fibre helps to keep our digestive system healthy and support gut mobility which could have a positive effect one bloating.
Whole grains are a rich source of fibre, making whole grain breakfast cereals and whole wheat pasta good gut-friendly alternatives.
Sources include: sauerkraut, tempeh, kimchi, kefir, miso, kombucha
Fermented foods are rich in friendly bacteria. By adding these foods to your diet, you can increase the levels of good bacteria and enzymes in the digestive system.
This benefits the health of your gut, which optimises the digestion process. But note, the friendly bacteria has to be live when you consume it so choose unpasteurised alternatives.40,41
Sources include: garlic, onions, shallots, leeks, chives
Allium vegetables contain prebiotics.
These are compounds that feed the microorganisms in fermented foods and help maintain a healthy balance of bacteria in your gut.
Incorporating garlic and onions into your meals is a good way to integrate alliums into your everyday cooking routine.42
Sources include: kidney beans, black beans lentils, chickpeas, haricot beans, pinto beans
Fibre is an important part of a healthy diet. The NHS advises a daily intake of around 30g.43 Beans are rich in fibre and so incorporating them into your diet can help to hit this target.
Overloading your diet with any of these foods is unlikely to help. It could in fact make your bloating worse.
For example, increasing fibre and not increasing water can worsen constipation. This is because water is needed to help fibre to pass through the digestive tract.
Another example is, for people with digestive conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, eating large quantities of allium vegetables can trigger gas, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation.
If your body has difficulty digesting food, your bowel may not empty properly.
This sometimes leads to the production of too much gas and this excess air may get trapped.44
Foods that are more likely to cause problems are:
Bloating is a symptom of a number of chronic diseases, including:
Read on to find out the answers to some of the most asked questions about bloating...
As we learn more about the gut-brain axis, it’s plausible that there’s a link between stress and bloating.
For example, in some people, anxiety and angst can lead to sluggish gut function, making digestive discomfort, such as belly bloat, worse.46
Tummy bloating is usually a harmless annoyance we experience from time to time. And the good news is, it’s usually short-lived.
For example, if it’s caused by your gut’s intolerance for gluten, removing wheat from your meals can often put a stop to bloating and gas after eating.
If your stomach is always bloated or it’s accompanied with other symptoms, it’s worth seeking guidance from your GP.
Having a constantly bloated stomach doesn’t necessarily mean you’re producing more gas than usual.
And it’s not always a symptom of an underlying condition. In some people, it’s simply an overreaction to normal amounts of gas in the abdomen.
And unfortunately, the reasons why this happens to some individuals and not others aren’t fully understood.47
Bloating isn’t usually anything to worry about, but can sometimes be a sign of more serious health conditions.48
See your GP if your bloating continues or you also have unexplained weight loss, blood in your stools or persistent diarrhoea.49,50