How to Relieve Bloating Fast, Tips From an Integrative MD
Gas and bloating are a normal part of digestion, but the feeling that you need to unbutton your pants just to allow for your expanding stomach is never a good feeling. Don’t do anything drastic yet–bloating doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything wrong, but it’s important to keep in mind the following tips to get rid of bloating fast, and prevent it from happening again.
You’ll learn the most common causes of gas and bloating, and the most effective holistic remedies to relieve bloating using Ayurveda and integrative medicine.
What’s causing your bloating?
Bloating is one of the most common digestive complaints. Even though it can be normal, such as a result of your menstrual cycle, or after eating a big meal… sometimes it seems to happen for no reason. Both of these scenarios are annoying and uncomfortable, and leave you looking for the quickest way to get rid of it.
Most often, bloating is a temporary issue that will resolve given a few hours, and caused by things like:
- Eating too fast
- Stress
- Carbonated drinks
- High fiber foods
- Hormonal fluctuations
- Food sensitivities or intolerance
Sometimes, a gut imbalance like SIBO or Candida overgrowth is also responsible for bloating. If you’re experiencing other symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, irregular bowel movements, or muscle or joint pain, you may need to work with a practitioner to address a more structured approach.
No matter what’s causing your bloating, the main thing you want to know is how to get rid of it–and FAST. These tips can help you identify the source of your bloating, and help you prevent bloating from coming back next time.
How to Relieve Bloating Naturally
There are many different things that cause bloating, and while some can indicate a health issue, sometimes it’s a simple oversight in eating the wrong foods, or not supporting digestion properly.
If you struggle with bloat regularly, the 21-Day Belly Fix will help you identify your trigger foods, and give you the tools to rebuild healthy digestion step-by-step with shopping lists, recipes, and the same methods I help patients in my clinic resolve uncomfortable issues.
Here are my top methods for getting rid of belly bloat at home using holistic or Ayurvedic remedies.
Practice mindful eating.
Stress really messes with digestion, and so does eating when you’re not really focused on your meal, but on the million other things on your mind.
The enteric nervous system, along with its 100 million cells that line your gut, work to send the signals necessary to regulate all the processes of digestion. But when stress creates dysregulation in your nervous system, digestion suffers, and your gut can’t properly do its job (1).
This is why mindful eating is so important. It moves your body from your fight-or-flight state into its rest-and-digest state, which means less bloating, and easier digestion for you.
Be aware of gas-causing foods.
Broccoli, cauliflower, and kale are cruciferous vegetable, which provide a ton of nutrients for detox and healthy hormones. But too many cruciferous vegetables increases the production of gas in your gut.
It’s not harmful–just annoying–but if you want to decrease bloat, be mindful of otherwise healthy foods that might cause you to produce a little more gas than normal.
Beans are another common culprit, especially if they haven’t been properly cooked or soaked, or if you’re sensitive to them.
Get moving.
Movement stimulates your digestive system to get things moving along. So if your bloat is due to slow digestion, a little physical activity is a great help to facilitate what’s called peristalsis–or the natural movement in the muscles in your digestive system (2).
You can stimulate digestion to relieve bloating in a few ways:
- Try my 4-7-8 breath to allow your digestive system to relax.
- Massage your abdomen: Starting from your right hip bone, lightly press your fingers to your abdomen and massage in a sweeping fashion, moving counterclockwise around your torso. While you do this, you can also focus on breathing deeply.
- Go for a walk: The movement of your legs back and forth during walking can help relieve minor bloating.
Drink ginger tea in the morning.
Ginger is a staple in Ayurvedic digestive remedies. It’s been used for centuries to calm an upset stomach, and facilitate healthier digestion. Ginger has been shown to prompt the movement of food from the stomach through the intestines, making digestion more comfortable, and creating less bloating (3).
My favorite way to enjoy ginger is to slice about half an inch of fresh ginger root, let it simmer in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Then add a squeeze of lemon, or a little raw honey for a hint of sweetness.
Soothe your gut.
Certain herbs, foods, or supplements can help get rid of bloating and decrease inflammation in the digestive system. Some of my favorites are:
- Papaya enzymes – Naturally occurring papaya enzymes help your gut break down and absorb foods, and can be found in most health food stores in chewable tablet form (4).
- Triphala or “three fruits” is a widely used Ayurvedic digestive remedy made up of trikatu, amla, and bibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica) and is naturally anti-inflammatory to help relieve bloating (5).
- Turmeric – A staple in Eastern healing remedies, turmeric has many anti-inflammatory and digestive support mechanisms, including fighting bloat.
- Peppermint can help soothe an irritated stomach to relieve causes of bloating.
Belly Fix contains fermented superfoods, greens, and digestive support to help banish belly bloat and get your gut back on track.
How to Stop Bloating from Happening
After you relieve your initial bloating, there are remedies you can put into place to help prevent bloating from happening. These range from avoiding trigger foods, to building a healthy digestive system which breaks down foods that used to give you trouble.
- Build healthy gut bacteria by eating fermented foods or taking a high-quality probiotic. You should also focus on getting healthy prebiotic fiber from fruits and vegetables to fuel a diverse gut microbiome.
- Reduce stress: Stress makes us crave foods that can cause bloating, and also prevents your gut from being able to properly digest food.
- Avoid food intolerances and be aware of your individual food triggers. You’ll find a step-by step guide to figure out your trigger foods and rebuild a healthy gut in my 21-day Belly Fix.
- Get regular exercise. Maintaining a consistent workout routine is a great help to healthy digestive function. It stimulates movement in your gut, helping to prevent bloating and excessive gas.
Other things to remember about bloating
Bloating and gas are a normal part of digestion that will pass, but there may be other factors to consider.
You may feel more bloated at certain times throughout your cycle. If you’re not on hormonal birth control and still having a menstrual cycle, you may feel extra bloated just before your period starts. This can be normal to some extent, but you can support these hormonal fluctuations to protect from a hormone imbalance.
If your bloat is accompanied by other symptoms, like joint or muscle pain, abdominal pain, fatigue, or bowel irregularities, you may have an underlying infection or bacteria overgrowth.
Using Natural Remedies to Relieve Bloating
It’s important to consult with a qualified holistic practitioner if you have reason to believe your bloating is due to an underlying health issue.
Fighting bloating effectively depends upon your individual body and chemistry, and being familiar with your own digestive triggers. You can try these remedies to get rid of bloating and then learn more about the most common causes of bloating for your gut.
Reset your gut and get rid of bloating FAST with my 10-Day Jumpstart.
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