Beat The Bloat: Tips to Reduce Bloating and How to Avoid It
What is bloating?
Abdominal, or stomach, bloating is most commonly caused by a buildup of gas in the GI tract. When bloated, your stomach might be distended, swollen and hard. Being bloated commonly comes with:
Pain
Flatulence
Burping
Stomach grumbling
Abdominal bloating is extremely common in adults and children and can cause a lot of social anxiety, inability to participate in social events and cause significant discomfort. In times like this, you’re normally desperate for quick and effective bloating relief.
Why does bloating happen?
Gas and air
Bloating occurs when the GI tract contains excess air or gas - commonly because you may have swallowed gas or air or when undigested food gets broken down, releasing gases.
Swallowing air is very common when people eat or drink, but some people this happens more regularly than others due to:
Eating too fast
Drinking carbonated drinks
Chewing gum
When you have excess gas or air, there are only two routes the gas can escape - belching or flatulence. If these paths become blocked (e.g. constipation) or there is excess gas, you’re likely to experience bloating.
Medical causes of bloating
Bloating can also be caused through medical conditions which cause factors that cause bloating such as:
Bacterial imbalance in the GI tract
Altered gut motility (the speed your gut works at)
Blocked pathways for gas transit (e.g. constipation)
Food intolerances
The conditions vary but the most common that lead to the above issues are:
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis)
Hormonal Imbalances (especially in women)
Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)
6 Tips to Reduce Bloating
When stomach bloating occurs, your tummy can be quite painful and stop you living a fulfilled day - so we are highlighting 6 ways you can debloat quickly and effectively.
Move your body
Moving your body gets your bowels moving - this is especially important if you’re constipated. Lack of movement can cause gas to build up in the GI tract - simply moving more can cause the body to twist and turn which helps manipulate the excess gas out of the body.
We would recommend low impact, gentle exercise such as:
Walking
Yoga
Cross-trainer
Yoga can be extremely powerful at helping you debloat and remove gas as there are many twisting movements - we would recommend to look at this guide for the best yoga moves for bloating relief.
Peppermint oil capsules
Peppermint oil capsules can be extremely effective at reducing bloating quickly - they are commonly used by individuals with IBS but can be used by most people to reduce bloating.
Peppermint oil capsules work by relaxing the GI tract muscles, allowing stool and gas to move along it more easily - this in turn helps gas leave the body.
Drink water to debloat
This is a really simple and effective way to debloat for gas relief. Drinking water will soften the stool in the body which then makes it easier for the intestines to move. This will help release the trapped air or gas too.
Take a warm bath
Warm baths can provide effective relief for the stomach / abdomen when you’re bloated - helping the muscles relax and the gas to escape. Epsom salt is a great addition.
A warm bath is also quite relaxing, this can help reduce stress levels - stress is a known cause of bloating as it stops our digestive system from working properly.
Abdominal massage
An abdominal massage can help to get the bowels moving, just as yoga or walking can. An abdominal massage is one which follows the pathway of the intestines, encouraging bowel movement. Follow the steps below on how to perform an abdominal massage for bloating effectively:
Place your hands just above the right hip bone.
Rub in a circular motion with light pressure up towards the right side of the ribcage.
Rub straight across the upper belly area toward the left rib cage.
Moving slowly down toward the left hip bone.
Natural remedies for bloating
Natural remedies are simply foods, herbs or natural substances that have a natural benefit to treat bloating.
We would recommend trying:
Ginger
Fennel (high FODMAP)
Bananas
Papaya (which contains digestive enzymes)
Wild Dose is preparing an all natural formulation for gas relief and bloating containing natural herbal extracts, digestive enzymes and probiotics - it’s also low FODMAP and friendly for those with IBS.