How to Reduce Gut Bloating

Feeling bloated can put a damper on a delicious meal or outing with friends. Often associated with overeating and carb-heavy meals, it can be caused by other factors too. GI distress, food intolerances, and a low fiber intake can all make you feel uneasy. Most people don’t have the time to cook enough nutritious food every day. Supplements can be very helpful in balancing your gut microbiome and digestion.

Read this guide to find out what causes bloating after eating and how to get rid of it, what foods are high in fiber, and what probiotics are.

What Causes Bloating?

How is it possible that your friends can get away with eating fatty fast foods and creamy desserts, and you experience bloating after a plate full of nutritious vegetables? There may be a myriad of reasons explaining why your stomach responds to certain foods by bloating. Believe it or not, it may have nothing to do with the food at all! Seemingly unrelated factors like your age can have an impact.

Gas is one of the most common causes of bloating across the board. Drinking fizzy drinks or swallowing too much air can lead to a buildup of gas in your system. That kind of gas tends to leave your body through the mouth in the form of belching, but some of it can travel all the way to your intestines, causing bloating. Gas may be caused by an increased consumption of carbohydrates. Your gut bacteria digest carbs through fermentation. While your gut can handle a reasonable amount of carbohydrates, too much can result in gas and bloating. If you notice feeling especially gassy after a hefty sandwich or a big bowl of pasta, you can probably attribute it to excess gas in the gut.

Gas is often associated with constipation. You may have heard that a healthy person has a bowel movement every day, but that’s not entirely true! Staying regular may mean having as many as three bowel movements a day, or as few as one in three days. However, when you begin to feel discomfort or pain in your abdomen, you may be dealing with constipation. Bloating accompanies constipation because the stool spends more time in the colon than it should, allowing the bacteria to continue fermenting. The fermentation creates gas, which, when trapped, leads to stomach aches. Fiber supplements and over-the-counter stool softeners enable waste to pass through the body with greater ease.

Gut bloating is a frequent symptom of a food intolerance, followed by diarrhea or constipation. This type of bloating usually occurs a couple of hours after ingestion. Common food intolerances include dairy, gluten, and citruses. The best way to handle it is eliminating the food from your diet altogether. While that’s not always possible, especially with food groups like gluten and dairy, you can make an effort to avoid the irritant when you can.

One cause of bloating that has little to do with digestion is hormone changes. The time before and during menstruation is marked by lower levels of progesterone and estrogen, which cause the body to hold on to more water and salt. That can cause swelling and bloating in women. Luckily, this is only a temporary setback that will ease up after a couple of days.

How to Prevent Gut Bloating?

Because bloating is usually a digestive issue, focusing on your digestive health is the first step in recovery. An increased consumption of insoluble fibre is known to speed up digestion and regulate bowel movements, preventing the risk of constipation. Try to add more apples, berries, beans, nuts, popcorn, leafy greens, and other fiber-rich foods to your diet. You should notice a change in a matter of days. Don’t be discouraged if you continue to experience bloating from time to time. Some bloating is a normal result of food consumption. What matters is that you don’t stay bloated for long and are able to make a bowel movement regularly.

Many people don’t realize how little fiber they consume until they’re faced with chronic digestive issues. Because eating healthy meals full of natural fiber every single day is not available to everyone, fiber supplements can be a good solution. High-quality supplements mimic the reaction natural fiber creates in the gut and regulate digestion. As a plus, they remove any stress related to eating and give you a little bit more wiggle room for work lunches or romantic dinners. Not to mention, fiber supplements are safe for consumption and have no significant side effects.

Probiotics are another gut health supplement people swear by. They work by supplying your gut with healthy bacteria when you don’t have enough of your own. Probiotic supplements are often recommended to patients suffering from IBS. When taken regularly, this natural supplement has the power to improve digestion and immunity, regulate bowel movements, and keep bloating to a minimum. While the best probiotics can be highly effective, not everyone needs them. Make sure to consult your doctor before committing to a regimen of probiotics.

Improving your gut health may be as simple as drinking more water. Water is the much-needed lubricant for your digestive tract. It keeps things moving along smoothly and doesn’t let your stool solidify, resulting in constipation, gas, bloating, and painful bowel movements. Consistently staying hydrated will help you avoid bloating, but it doesn’t work as a band-aid solution. Make sure to keep up your water balance and drink all throughout the day. Herbal teas, as well as fruit and vegetables with a high water content can help you fight off bloating.

Another easy way to speed up digestion is exercise. Have you ever felt the sudden urge to go to the bathroom in the middle of a workout class or a run? That’s because keeping things moving on the outside causes things to move on the inside too. Regular exercise can help release trapped gas before it creates discomfort. It is especially beneficial to move around after a heavy meal. Exercise is great for reducing water retention and alleviating stress, which is another contributor to bloating and constipation.

Home Remedies for Gut Bloating Relief

A healthy diet, supplements, and an active lifestyle will ensure you feel bloated way less than you used to. If that’s not enough, there are some home remedies you can try. Though these are not quick fixes, they can certainly help alleviate stomach pain and gas.

Peppermint has the potential to reduce stomach cramps and alleviate flatulence by allowing your stomach muscles to relax. Patients suffering from IBS often turn to peppermint tea and oil for bloating relief. Turmeric is just as effective. The root can increase bile production in the stomach, suppressing gas and reducing bloating. It contains a plethora of healthy bacteria, which are known for improving digestion. Ginger tea is another home remedy many people reach for to fight nausea or an upset stomach. The root can also help food move through your GI tract faster, allowing it less time to ferment and create gas. That makes it a solid solution for constipation and bloating.

If you suffer from chronic bloating, then you’re in for a long journey. Improving digestion is a long undertaking, and it can take weeks or even months to feel better. Once you’ve made sure your digestive issues are not caused by a GI disorder, you can start implementing lifestyle changes that will make your gut happy. Exercising, eating well, taking fiber supplements and probiotics, and eating fiber-rich foods will all aid you on the path to a health gut.