5 Ways To Relieve Bloating Fast

Bloating is a common issue that affects just about everyone from time to time. When you’re dealing with bloating, it can be difficult to carry on during the day without feeling sluggish, overstuffed, and just overall uncomfortable.

Thankfully, there are several ways to get quick relief from bloating, and ivee is here to cover them in this article.

Before we talk about what can help relieve bloating fast, let’s look at the science behind bloating and why it occurs, so you’ll have a better idea of what’s happening in your body the next time you’re feeling bloated.

What Causes Bloating?

There isn’t just one isolated cause for bloating. The uncomfortable sensation of feeling overly full can come from a variety of factors, which can sometimes make bloating even more frustrating. When you’re feeling bloated, it’s helpful to narrow down the cause by seeing if any of these factors apply to you.

Too Much Sodium

Bloating can be linked to eating lots of sodium-rich foods, which can be all too easy thanks to the Standard American Diet. Your body needs some sodium, but ultra-processed food and other less-than-ideal dietary choices provide most people with far more sodium than their daily diet needs.

In addition to fast food and other forms of processed food, sodium also abounds in certain condiments, including soy sauce, ketchup, mustard, and barbecue sauce. Overconsumption of these common toppings can make you feel bloated, especially if they’re enjoyed on top of an already sodium-heavy meal.

Sometimes, it can be tricky to discern where all that excessive sodium is coming from, especially if your food doesn’t taste particularly salty. Unfortunately, sodium can be sneaky, and there’s more in many pre-packaged foods than you might think – or taste.

Lots of Refined Carbohydrates

This type of carbohydrate is one of the primary reasons processed junk food can be harmful. Pre-packaged snacks and desserts are full of refined carbohydrates, which reach your bloodstream faster than their complex carbohydrate counterparts.

These carbohydrates affect your blood sugar levels so quickly that they can make you feel bloated at times. This is because simple carbs cause your body to retain water, leading to that uncomfortable, too-full feeling.

The primary culprits when it comes to refined carbs are processed foods, but they’re not the only carbohydrate sources that can make you feel bloated. Too much white rice, white bread, or pasta may give you the same feeling, as these are all sources of simple carbohydrates as well.

Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, take longer for your body to digest, giving them more time to be metabolized and steadily used. This means your body can process them without a negative impact on water retention or blood sugar in most cases. These carbohydrates are found in abundance in healthy foods like whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. You’ll hear more about them in the paragraphs below.

Eating Too Fast

If you tend to finish your meals within just a few minutes, you may end up suffering from bloating often. This is because eating quickly prevents your body from getting a chance to process and digest your food. When you slow down and give each bite a little more time to digest more, you’ll find that you may enjoy meals more and are less likely to feel bloated after you’ve finished.

Overeating

One of the easiest ways to get that bloated feeling is eating too much. While it can be tempting to load your plate up multiple times at buffets or even during dinner when you’ve made a little too much food, eating more than your body needs is a recipe for problems like bloating. This is especially true if you tend to eat quickly, as your stomach doesn’t have enough time to signal to your brain that you’re full.

As a rule of thumb, your body needs about 20 minutes after the start of a meal to start feeling full or you may feel overstuffed if you eat too much, too fast. To feel better during and after a meal, slow down and wait for your body to feel satisfied.

Food Intolerances

One common cause of bloating is an allergy or intolerance to a certain food. These issues can sometimes be more severe, which makes them easier to spot earlier in life. However, milder food intolerances can cause symptoms like gas and bloating, sometimes making it harder to realize what’s going on for years.

If certain foods tend to leave you feeling bloated, talk to your healthcare provider about it. Eliminating these foods from your diet may help you get the relief that you need from bloating and other uncomfortable symptoms.

Some of the most common food intolerances are gluten and dairy, but these aren’t the only foods that your body might not react well to.

How Can I Relieve Bloating Fast?

Now that you’re familiar with the most common causes of bloating, let’s talk about five of the best ways to get the relief that you need, fast.

1) Move Your Body

If excess gas and a lingering need to go to the bathroom are the primary causes for your bloating, getting some light exercise may give you some much-needed relief.

Exercise helps stool move towards your rectum, which is its last stop before it exits your body. After going to the bathroom, you may feel your bloating subside, along with other uncomfortable symptoms like gas.

Our favorite way to add low-impact exercise to your day is with a brisk walk. Walking isn’t overly intense, but it still provides you with the many benefits of physical activity. By walking to relieve bloating, you’re also supporting your overall physical health.

2) Lower Your Stress

Stress can sometimes make bloating worse, especially when that stress can result in not-so-healthy eating habits. Some people engage in the practice of “stress eating,” which usually looks like taking in excess calories due to lingering feelings of stress.

When you’re stressed, it’s sometimes harder to determine where your hunger and thirst levels are. This confusion may lead you to eat and drink more, either from a false sense of hunger or in an effort to distract yourself from the stress.

Either way, overeating when you’re stressed out isn’t likely to make you feel better. In most cases, the extra calories can make you feel worse due to feeling overstuffed and bloated.

If you habitually engage in stress eating or use food to cope with overwhelming circumstances, consider talking to a counselor or therapist. Talking to a professional about finding healthier ways to manage your stress can be a key step in breaking the habit of stress eating.

3) Skip the Soda

While the carbonation in drinks like soda and sparkling water doesn’t contain any calories, it can sometimes make you feel bloated. This is because carbonation is a combination of water and gas, which can take up space in your stomach without providing any nutritional value.

In addition to making you feel bloated, sodas and other sugary carbonated beverages aren’t very good for your health. These drinks contain high levels of added sugar, which provides you with calories and a spike of glucose that isn’t doing your health any favors. These “empty calories” might taste good, but they won’t satisfy you when you’re hungry.

4) Add Probiotics to Your Diet

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria. This bacteria adds to the microorganism population in your gut, which is essential for healthy digestion. When your gut is healthy, you’re less likely to experience uncomfortable symptoms like bloating and gas. That means that probiotic foods can be some of your best assets in preventing bloating.

Fermented foods are excellent sources of probiotics, and these foods are easy to add to your daily menu. These foods include sauerkraut, yogurt, kimchi, tempeh, miso, and fermented drinks like kombucha and kefir. If none of these fermented foods and drinks sound appetizing to you, consider trying a probiotic supplement instead.

5) Try an Anti-Gas Medication

When you aren’t getting relief from changes to the way you eat and what you eat, turning to over-the-counter anti-gas medications may help. These medications can be especially helpful if you suffer from bloating on a regular basis or get bloated after eating certain foods.

Conclusion

Bloating is an uncomfortable but common issue with plenty of simple, practical solutions. If you’re dealing with bloating after most meals, try implementing these solutions into the way you eat and drink, and you might be surprised by how quickly you get the relief that you need.

Chronic bloating is sometimes a sign of an underlying health condition that needs medical attention, so it’s best to rely on your doctor for additional guidance, especially before you decide to incorporate new supplements or medications into your routine to try and help with bloating that doesn’t seem to go away.

For more tips on how to live a healthier life, make sure to visit our blog.

Sources:

Belching, gas and bloating: Tips for reducing them | Mayo Clinic

Effect of Low-intensity Exercise on Physical and Cognitive Health in Older Adults: a Systematic Review | NCBI

Guidelines for a Low Sodium Diet | Patient Education | UCSF Health