How to reduce bloating

Bloating is a feeling of fullness or visible abdominal expansion. Gas, constipation, large meals, fizzy drinks, and changes in gut movement can contribute. Some people notice symptoms after particular foods because of intolerance or fermentation. Bloating may also occur with irritable bowel syndrome, coeliac disease, infection, or another digestive problem, so its pattern matters more than a single episode.

Eat at a relaxed pace, chew thoroughly, and reduce gum, straws, fizzy drinks, and talking while chewing if they make you swallow air. Gentle walking can support bowel movement. Keep a short record of meals, bowel habits, pain, and symptoms rather than removing many foods at once. If a food pattern is unclear or your diet is becoming restricted, a nutrition counsellor can help you test changes safely. Do not start a gluten-free diet before discussing coeliac testing, because it can affect the assessment.

Arrange medical review when bloating is new and persistent, repeatedly returns, or comes with weight loss, ongoing diarrhoea or constipation, vomiting, blood in the stool, fever, or worsening pain. Seek urgent care for severe sudden abdominal pain, a swollen hard abdomen, repeated vomiting, or inability to pass stool or gas.

Share when bloating began, what changes it, and your bowel pattern. Ask whether testing for coeliac disease, infection, food intolerance, or another digestive condition is appropriate.