What should you know about stomach gas and bloating?

Bloating is a feeling of fullness or visible abdominal swelling. Gas may build up when air is swallowed while eating, fizzy drinks are consumed, or gut bacteria break down certain carbohydrates. Food Intolerance, lactose intolerance, Coeliac Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Giardiasis, and Helicobacter Pylori Infection can also be associated with digestive symptoms. The pattern matters: note foods, bowel changes, pain, and whether symptoms settle after passing stool or gas.

Eat slowly, chew thoroughly, and reduce habits that make you swallow air, such as chewing gum or drinking through a straw. Try smaller meals, gentle movement, and a food diary rather than removing many foods at once. A Nutrition Counselling appointment can help identify a balanced approach if symptoms keep returning. Do not start a restrictive diet without suitable guidance.

Arrange medical assessment for bloating that is new and persistent, steadily worsening, or accompanied by weight loss, repeated vomiting, ongoing diarrhoea or constipation, blood in stool, fever, or marked pain. Seek urgent help for severe pain, a rigid swollen abdomen, fainting, or inability to pass stool and gas with vomiting.

Ask whether your symptom pattern suggests testing for a food-related problem or infection, and whether a medicine could be contributing. Bring a record of meals, bowel movements, pain, and swelling, including what improves or worsens the discomfort.