How to Get Rid of Bloating Fast and Fix What's Causing It

To get rid of bloating fast, take a 10-minute walk, sip peppermint, ginger or fennel tea, and leave out fizzy drinks and gum for the rest of the day; for bloating that returns week after week, enteric-coated peppermint oil has strong trial support.37 To keep it from coming back, find what's making the gas or trapping it, most often bacteria in the wrong place (SIBO), foods you don't fully digest such as lactose and FODMAPs, constipation, swallowed air, stress or hormone shifts.12

I treat bloating as a signal that points upstream, and fixing what let it start is the whole strategy.1 You're far from alone with it: in a national survey of 88,795 Americans, 13.9% had been bloated in the past week, and more than half of them had never sought care for it.8 The drivers can be found, and food, movement, a steady meal rhythm and a few well-tested natural remedies can change them.

Holiday meals, the biggest of the year, are a good time to put this to work, and the holiday section below has the game plan.

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What is bloating?

Gas gets into your digestive tract two ways: air you swallow, and gas your gut bacteria make when they break down carbohydrates your small intestine didn't digest.2 Normally it moves through and leaves as a burp or as gas. You feel bloated when more gas is made than usual, when it's made too early in the gut, or when it moves too slowly. If burping is your main problem, see our guide to belching; if it's gas pain, see how to get rid of gas.

A swollen belly can also come from the belly wall itself. In people whose bellies visibly swell after meals, the belly wall and diaphragm play a part, a reflex the body section below explains, and it can be retrained.910

What causes bloating? The root causes to find

If you're asking "why am I so bloated?", the answer is often more than one thing at once. Here are the drivers worth checking, and what to do about each.

Bacteria in the wrong place: SIBO

SIBO, short for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, means bacteria that belong in your colon have settled in your small intestine. There they feed on your food before you can absorb it, making hydrogen or methane gas right where digestion happens.1 It's common in people told they have IBS: across 25 studies comparing 3,192 people with IBS and 3,320 without, IBS came with about 3.7 times the odds of SIBO, though the tests varied and the evidence quality was low.11

Garlic, onions, beans, even an apple set those patients off within an hour, and many had been told they had IBS and handed a fiber supplement that made everything worse.1 SIBO almost always starts with something that slowed the gut or lowered its defenses: low stomach acid, a past stomach bug, chronic stress, a slow thyroid or acid-blocking medication.1 In a review of 19 studies with 7,055 people, taking a proton pump inhibitor, a common acid blocker, came with 1.71 times the odds of SIBO.13

As I wrote in that protocol, most SIBO plans fail because they jump straight to killing bacteria and then stop, while the slow gut, low acid and snacking that let the bacteria in stay the same. That's why the order I use with patients is prepare, clear, restore, then prevent.1 For the clearing, herbs can do the job. In a review of patient records at Johns Hopkins, 104 people with newly diagnosed SIBO chose either the antibiotic rifaximin or two blended herbal formulas for 4 weeks, so people knew which treatment they got; on a repeat breath test, 46% had cleared on the herbs and 34% on rifaximin, a difference that wasn't statistically significant, and the herbs cleared it in 8 of 14 people the antibiotic hadn't helped.14 Herbal antimicrobials such as berberine and oregano oil lead the Clear phase of my SIBO Protocol.1

Foods you don't fully digest: lactose and FODMAPs

Lactose intolerance means you get bloating, gas, belly pain or diarrhea after milk products because your gut doesn't break down all the lactose you eat.15 Lactose is one of a larger group of fermentable carbohydrates called FODMAPs. The others include the fructans in wheat, rye, onion and garlic, the sugars in beans and lentils, the extra fructose in apples, pears and mango, and sugar alcohols. They draw water into the gut and ferment quickly, and in a sensitive gut that means bloating.161

Wheat deserves a separate note. Celiac disease is real and needs strict avoidance, so if wheat bloats you, get tested for celiac disease too.17

An out-of-balance microbiome and a leaky gut lining

I know this one from the inside. In my first year of practice, I was the patient I'd later spend my career treating: 80-hour weeks, cortisol pinned through the roof and eating poorly because I never stopped gave me full-blown leaky gut, with bloating, brain fog and sensitivities to foods I'd eaten my whole life.18 On my show, I've explained that poor diversity in the gut microbiome is connected in clinical studies to IBS and inflammatory bowel disease, and to everyday digestive issues like gas and bloating.19 My Healing Leaky Gut Protocol rebuilds that balance in six steps, from removing what inflames the gut to reinoculating it with good bacteria and repairing the lining.18

Yeast can be part of the picture too. My Candida Cleanse Protocol lists chronic bloating, gas or a distended belly after meals among its 10 hidden signs of yeast overgrowth, and three or more of those signs put yeast on your list of suspects; our candida diet guide covers the food side.20

Constipation and a slow gut

When things back up, gas backs up with them. In the national survey above, people with chronic constipation were more likely to report bloating.8 Your thyroid sets part of your gut's speed, too: in a study of 50 people with a history of an underactive thyroid, 54% tested positive for SIBO, against 5% of 40 people without thyroid disease, and bloating was more common in those who had it.21 If you also feel cold, tired and sluggish, our guide to thyroid problems covers the other signs.

For natural constipation relief, start with food. In a 4-week trial of 79 adults with chronic constipation that compared three foods with no placebo group, people eating 2 green kiwifruit a day reported less bloating than when they started, and kiwi had the fewest side effects of the three (kiwi, prunes and psyllium).22 A gentle belly massage helps too: in an 8-week randomized trial of 60 people with constipation, adding abdominal massage to their usual care eased digestive symptoms and brought more bowel movements.23 I put kiwi on my SIBO food list because it supports regularity without heavy fermentation, and in the first phase I add magnesium citrate or glycinate, 300 to 400 mg at night, to help keep things moving.1

Swallowed air

Every gulp of air has to come back up or move through. You swallow more when you chew gum, suck on hard candy, drink carbonated drinks, eat or drink quickly, smoke or wear loose dentures.2 Chewing gum often carries sugar alcohols such as sorbitol and xylitol, which are also on my SIBO Protocol's limit list.1 Slowing down at the table is one of the simplest fixes there is; our guide to mindful eating shows how.

Stress and the gut-brain connection

Stress puts the gut in slow motion, and calming your nervous system before you eat turns digestion back on.1 That's the gut-brain connection at work, and it's why I call stress the number one driver of leaky gut.18 Chinese medicine has long tied digestion to worry and overthinking, and I teach the same thing: worry and rushing slow the gut and make every symptom louder.1 For daily practices that help, see our guide to stress relievers.

Hormones: bloating before your period and in menopause

Period bloating is common, and it's real. In a survey of 156 healthy women, 62% had bloating in the 5 days before their period and 51% during it, and bloating was more common in women who also had low moods.24 Magnesium may help this pattern. In a small placebo-controlled trial where 38 women each took 200 mg of magnesium for two cycles and a placebo for two cycles, magnesium didn't change symptoms in the first cycle, but in the second it eased fluid-retention symptoms more than placebo, a group that included belly bloating.25

Bloating can show up in perimenopause as well. In my Perimenopause & Menopause protocol, bloating and the midsection soften as insulin and cortisol come down, with strength training, 30 grams of fiber a day and one to two bowel movements daily as part of the plan.26

Salt, alcohol and big meals

Salt can bloat you. In a trial of 412 adults who each ate three sodium levels for 30 days apiece, the high-sodium diet raised the risk of bloating by 27% compared with the low-sodium one.12 The high-fiber diet in that trial raised bloating too, which is why fiber is something to build slowly: my Healing Leaky Gut Protocol works up to 30 grams or more a day once you tolerate it, mostly from cooked vegetables.1218 Alcohol is out during my healing protocols, and sugar and alcohol as habits are on my SIBO Protocol's list of things to avoid for good.1 See which high-sodium foods to watch, and the holiday section below for big-meal days.

How bloating starts in your body, and how it lets go

Bloating comes from more gas than usual, gas made too early or gas moved too slowly, and each has a cause upstream. Your small intestine has a cleaning wave, the migrating motor complex, that sweeps it between meals and overnight. Grazing all day shuts it off, and once the sweep slows, bacteria that belong in the colon can move up and ferment your food before you absorb it.1

Whether bloating shows depends partly on your belly wall. In a study of 45 people whose bellies visibly swelled in episodes, the diaphragm tightened and dropped about 12 mm during each episode while the belly's girth grew 32 mm, and in the 15 who tried a couple of sessions of guided breathing retraining, girth shrank by 25 mm.9 Every link in that chain can change. Movement clears gas, peppermint relaxes the gut's smooth muscle, breathing retraining resets the belly-wall reflex, and fixing the driver keeps it from coming back.34101

I read bloating through traditional Chinese medicine as well as through lab tests, and TCM described this pattern long before anyone measured it. In TCM, the Spleen and Stomach, which really stand for your whole digestion, pancreas included, "rot and ripen" food into energy. When Spleen Qi, your digestive energy, is weak, food sits and ferments and produces Damp: bloating, heaviness, loose stools and fatigue after meals. Stress makes it worse, because the Liver "invades" the Spleen and symptoms flare under pressure.1 The TCM answer fits right alongside the modern one: warm, cooked, simple meals eaten at regular times, no snacking, less cold, raw and sweet food, and a calm mind before you eat.1

The expectation I set is simple: many people feel less bloated within the first two weeks of changing what and how they eat.1

Find your cause: the tests to ask for

My rule is test, don't guess.1 And if SIBO keeps coming back, look for the cause: acid-blocking medication, a slow thyroid, stress or constant snacking.1 Your doctor can order the lab tests below.

The tests to ask for when bloating keeps coming back

How to debloat fast

These are the steps for how to relieve bloating today. They're simple on purpose, and most come straight from the daily habits in my protocols.

1. Walk for 10 minutes. A short walk after meals is one of the simplest ways to get the gut moving.13

2. Sip a warm tea. Peppermint, ginger or fennel, matched to you as in Teas for bloating below.4

3. Chew a pinch of fennel seed. Half a teaspoon to 1 teaspoon after a meal helps trapped gas pass.4

4. Take five slow belly breaths. Breathe so your belly rises rather than your chest, which shifts the gut into rest-and-digest.1

5. Rub your belly gently. Abdominal massage eased digestive symptoms in an 8-week randomized trial of 60 people with constipation.23

6. Use warmth. A warm compress or a warm bath relaxes a tight, crampy belly.

7. Leave out fizzy drinks and gum. Both add swallowed air.2

8. Stay upright. Don't lie down right after eating; sit up or walk instead.1

9. Sip water between meals. Drink it between meals rather than gulping a big glass with them.18

10. Take an enzyme with beans or dairy. A digestive enzyme or lactase with the meal helps break food down before bacteria can ferment it.127

11. Eat 2 green kiwifruit if you're backed up. In a 4-week trial of 79 adults with chronic constipation, with no placebo group, people eating 2 kiwi a day reported less bloating than when they started.22

Teas for bloating

A warm cup of tea for bloating is one of the oldest digestive habits there is, and each of these teas has its own job. Traditional Chinese medicine also matches them to the person, which my herb field guide follows.4

• Peppermint tea is cooling, so it suits gas and cramping in people who run warm; menthol relaxes the gut muscle so spasms ease. Steep 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried leaf for 5 to 10 minutes and drink it after meals.4
• Ginger tea is warming, so it suits people who run cold, with chilly hands and feet or loose stools; it speeds stomach emptying so meals don't sit and ferment. Simmer 1 to 2 inches of sliced fresh ginger for 10 minutes.4 Our ginger tea recipe shows how to make it.
• Fennel tea is warming too, a classic for cold, cramping belly pain with gas. Crush 1 to 2 teaspoons of seed and steep it, covered, for 10 minutes.4
• Chamomile tea is a gentle evening choice, and one of the best teas I know for reducing any type of digestive distress.28

For more options, see our guide to herbal tea benefits.

Natural remedies for bloating, and how to use them

Each of these seven home remedies for bloating has a place in my protocols, and they're ranked by the human research behind them, much of it done in people with IBS or functional dyspepsia, where bloating is a core symptom.

Enzymes, bitters and gut-repair support

Digestive enzymes help break food down before bacteria can ferment it, and my SIBO Protocol uses 1 to 2 with meals.1 For beans, an enzyme called alpha-galactosidase is the one studied: when 8 healthy volunteers each ate a big serving of beans with the enzyme and with a placebo, the enzyme lowered gas production and flatulence.27 For dairy, a lactase enzyme does the same job for lactose. In my Healing Leaky Gut Protocol, the Replace step is where post-meal bloating usually eases: enzymes with protein meals, bitter foods such as arugula, dandelion greens, lemon water or apple cider vinegar in water 15 minutes before eating, and every bite chewed 20 to 30 times.18 Betaine HCl, which adds stomach acid, is part of that step, used with guidance.118 Our guide to digestive bitters covers the rest.

When the gut lining needs repair, my protocol's Repair step adds L-glutamine at 5 grams twice a day, zinc carnosine at 75 mg twice a day, collagen at 10 to 20 grams, and marshmallow root with slippery elm at 1 to 3 grams, alongside 8 to 16 ounces of bone broth daily.18 Their job is rebuilding the lining, and few studies have measured bloating itself with them. For a sensitive gut, partially hydrolyzed guar gum is the gentle fiber in my SIBO Protocol, at 5 grams a day, and on my show I've said it creates the growth of good bacteria without the overfermentation.119 Our guide to gut health supplements compares the options.

Holiday bloating: how to enjoy the big meal

Thanksgiving through New Year's brings the biggest, richest, saltiest meals of the year, plus long days of sitting in the car or on a plane. The same habits that calm everyday bloating carry you through the season.

My SIBO Protocol pairs that habit with a verse to meditate on: "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).1 A prayer of thanks before the meal is a holiday tradition already, and it's good for your gut too.

• Pause first. Five slow breaths and a short prayer of thanks before you eat, sitting down, without screens.1

• Start with a smaller plate. Eat slowly and chew well; you can always go back.18

• Go easy on salt. Salty sides, gravies and snack trays add up fast, and the high-sodium diet in the trial above raised bloating risk.12

• Choose still water or tea. Fizzy drinks add swallowed air.2

• Pass the fennel. A pinch of fennel seed after dinner is the old Mediterranean and Indian habit.4

• Walk after the meal. Make it a family walk of 10 minutes or more, the after-meal habit in my SIBO Protocol; movement helps trapped gas clear.13

• Give your gut a break after dinner. Have dessert with the meal, then go 4 to 5 hours with nothing but water.1

• Plan for travel days. Drink water, get up and move every chance you get, and pack 2 kiwifruit if you tend to get backed up.122

Cold-and-flu season can hit your gut too. If a winter infection leaves you on an antibiotic, Saccharomyces boulardii is the probiotic I've called very good after a round of antibiotics, and my Healing Leaky Gut Protocol rebuilds with fermented foods, starting small.1918

Foods that cause bloating, and foods that calm it

These are the lists I use for SIBO: you limit the foods that feed fermentation for a few weeks, then bring them back one at a time to see which ones are yours.1

Foods that feed bloating, and foods that calm it1

How you cook matters as much as what you cook. On my show I've said cooked vegetables are typically more easily digested, and that a big bowl of bone broth soup with a little chicken and loads of veggies is going to be better for a troubled gut than raw broccoli and other raw cruciferous vegetables.28

Fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi belong on the calming side once your gut is ready for them; start small and build up, as in the probiotics section above.18 If you do dairy, start with fermented goat milk or sheep's milk kefir and yogurt, or coconut yogurt.

Bloat-calming recipes to try

• Ginger tea, for after a heavy meal.
• Chicken bone broth, to sip warm between meals.
• Roasted fennel bulb, a cooked, easy-to-digest side for the holiday table.
• Low-FODMAP recipes, for the weeks of your reset.

Why am I bloated after eating?

Bloating soon after you eat usually comes from swallowed air, a big or rich meal, or a food you don't fully digest, such as lactose or a FODMAP food. Bloating that builds through the day, flat in the morning and swollen by dinner, is the classic SIBO pattern.21

Timing is a clue. If you bloat within minutes, look at how you ate: fast, on the run, with a fizzy drink.2 If it builds over the hour after certain foods, the food diary and a short low-FODMAP trial will usually show which ones.16 And if it builds all day, look at your meal rhythm. As I put it in my SIBO Protocol, the 3 p.m. bloat is the loop talking: most people reach for another snack or a fiber bar, when four to five hours between meals with nothing but water lets the gut's cleaning wave run.1 That's why my protocols call for three meals a day rather than constant snacking.

Bloating vs. belly fat: how to tell

Bloating vs. belly fat9

A belly that stays swollen all day and never fully settles belongs on the When to see a doctor list; for bloating that comes and goes, the plan below is where to start.

When to see a doctor, and how to use these remedies safely

Bring your food-and-symptom diary to the appointment; it gives your doctor a head start.

Peppermint oil. It can worsen heartburn and reflux, and in pooled trials, side effects were more common than on placebo.432 With reflux, choose another remedy on this page. Use enteric-coated capsules, and if you take an acid reducer, ask your pharmacist about timing. Never apply peppermint oil near the face of a child under 6.4

Fennel. It has mild estrogen-like activity, so ask first if you have an estrogen-sensitive condition, and avoid the concentrated oil in pregnancy.4

Ginger. In high doses it can add to bleeding risk, so check first if you take a blood thinner, and stop ginger supplements 1 to 2 weeks before surgery.4

Chamomile. If you react to ragweed or daisies, use caution with chamomile and choose peppermint, ginger or fennel tea instead.4

Apple cider vinegar. It helps some people and worsens others, and it can irritate an already inflamed esophagus, so with active heartburn or reflux, leave it out until things calm down.50

Probiotics and fermented foods. Some people get mild gas or bloating in the first week as the microbiome shifts; start small and build up.18

Low-FODMAP and other elimination diets. Keep the strict phase to a few weeks, then reintroduce foods one at a time.1 If you plan a celiac blood test, have it before you cut out wheat, since going gluten-free first can throw off the result.51 If planning every meal around fear has taken over, get support; that tension keeps the gut tense too.1

Magnesium. Use magnesium citrate for short stretches only, and if you have kidney disease, check with your doctor before taking any magnesium supplement.

Medications. Keep taking any prescribed medication, and don't stop or change it on your own. If you've taken an acid blocker for years, review it with the doctor who prescribes it.1

The bottom line

How to get rid of bloating: frequently asked questions

References

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2. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Symptoms & Causes of Gas in the Digestive Tract. NIH.
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15. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Definition & Facts for Lactose Intolerance. NIH.
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Doctor of Natural Medicine · Founder, DrAxe.com

Dr. Axe is a certified doctor of natural medicine, clinical nutritionist, and multiple New York Times bestselling author. He has spent 20+ years in clinical practice helping people heal at the root cause and founded one of the most-visited natural-health platforms in the world.

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