How to decrease bloating: practical steps

Bloating is a sensation of fullness or visible abdominal distension. Gas can build up when you swallow air, eat quickly, chew gum, drink fizzy drinks, or have difficulty digesting certain carbohydrates. Constipation can also trap stool and gas. Recurrent bloating with abdominal pain or altered bowel habits may occur with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Food Intolerance, Lactose Intolerance, Coeliac Disease, infection such as Giardiasis, or Helicobacter Pylori Infection can need a clinical assessment rather than a series of restrictive diets.

Keep a brief record of meals, bowel movements, discomfort, and timing. Eat at a calmer pace, chew thoroughly, and reduce fizzy drinks, gum, and habits that make you swallow air. Gentle movement can support bowel activity. If constipation is present, increase fluids and fibre gradually, because a sudden fibre increase may temporarily add gas. Do not remove major food groups for a long period without professional guidance; Nutrition Counselling can help test a suspected trigger while keeping meals balanced.

Seek urgent help for severe or rapidly worsening abdominal pain, repeated vomiting, a hard swollen abdomen, inability to pass stool or gas, fainting, or blood in the stool. Book a medical review if bloating is persistent, keeps returning, wakes you, comes with weight loss, anaemia symptoms, fever, diarrhoea, or a new change in bowel habit. A clinician can decide whether testing is needed.

Could constipation, a food intolerance, or another digestive condition explain my pattern? Which foods should I trial and for how long? Do I need testing before changing my diet?