Six reasons why you’re bloated – and how to fix it

Bloating is one of those annoying facts of life – like unexpected bills, surprise rain and colds that develop overnight – that can cut short any good mood or upend any fun plan. Some of us are lucky enough to only ever experience bloating after a big Christmas dinner or an extra slice of cake, while others are burdened by it constantly, no matter how healthily they eat or how much exercise they do.

The bloat is an “extremely common” problem, says Dr George Goodchild, a consultant gastroenterologist at The London Clinic. “It’s normal to experience bloating from time to time, as it’s a by-product of digestion, but there are factors that can make it stick for longer or become difficult to shift.” The fact that it is so banal makes it no less frustrating, “and it can become painful and uncomfortable at times, as we all know”, Dr Goodchild says.

Here is how to relieve your bloating, why it might be happening, and how to prevent it in the first place.

What is bloating?

Simply put, bloating “is a feeling of excess pressure in your digestive system, like having a balloon in your tummy,” says Dr Megan Rossi, the founder of The Gut Health Doctor. This is actually a separate problem from distension, “which is the physical protrusion in your stomach that you might get after a large meal, where you have to unzip your pants or might even look pregnant”.

The two often come together, but they can occur separately, and they have different causes. Both can be a result of constipation, but bloating specifically can be prompted by three other issues in your body, Dr Rossi says: “Excess gas, trapped gas, or a problem with your gut-brain axis, which is how your brain communicates with your stomach and is the underlying mechanism behind conditions like irritable bowel syndrome”.

Distension meanwhile is usually the result of overeating or gas-related bloating, but in persistent cases there can be other causes too. “One is diastasis recti, where the abdominal muscles separate, which lots of women experience after pregnancy and don’t always fully heal from,” Dr Rossi explains. “This means that whenever they eat, their stomach bulges out and causes a change in the size of their abdomen.”

Another cause is a disorder of the gut-brain axis, called abdomino-phrenic dyssynergia. “Normally after eating a meal, your diaphragm relaxes and your abdomen contracts, to prevent a distended stomach,” says Dr Rossi. “Someone with this condition experiences the opposite, meaning that they can become very bloated even after one glass of water.”

Exactly why all of this happens varies greatly between people, however. “In my work I’ve seen that there are 22 different combinations of lifestyle factors and food sensitivities that can trigger bloating,” says Dr Rossi. “For people who struggle with it persistently, working out how to stop it is a matter of exploration and trial and error.”

What causes bloating and how to fix it

1. Not enough fibre, or too much of the wrong kind

Constipation causes a lot of bloating cases, says Dr Goodchild, and a major cause of constipation is a diet that’s low in fibre – or too high in it, after a period of low fibre intake. “Insufficient dietary fibre can lead to bloating through constipation, on the contrary eating too much or the wrong type of fibre can also lead to bloating through excess bacterial fermentation,” he explains.

Fibre is food for your gut bacteria, which produce gas as they feed on it. “Going from a diet that’s low in fibre to one that’s high in fibre suddenly causes bloating, as your gut isn’t used to it, and there’ll suddenly be a lot of bacterial activity,” says Dr Rossi. “This can produce excess gas, or the gas can get trapped in your stomach if you’ve been constipated for some time already.”

For this reason, gut health experts like dietitian Lucy Kerrison won’t tell constipated patients to crack open a tin of prunes: “If you suddenly increase your fibre intake, constipation and bloating can become worse,” she explains. Instead, fibre should be introduced slowly and titrated upwards, alongside an increase in fluid.


Foods containing natural probiotics like kefir and kimchi can contribute to the health of your gut over time, but “as with other dietary interventions, slow introduction is advisable to prevent unwanted side effects,” Dr Goodchild says.

Rather “I’ll advise someone to add a small amount of soluble fibre to their diet, to get things moving, as this can’t be fermented by your gut,” says Dr Goodchild. “I’ll commonly suggest that people add a teaspoon of flax seeds to their diet, building up slowly to two tablespoons per day, added to breakfast yogurts, soup or salads, along with more water. The clinical benefits are not seen overnight but if patients are consistent then they should start to notice a difference in several weeks.”

Psyllium husk, a type of soluble fibre made from Plantago ovata seeds, a kind of plant found in the Mediterranean, “is also very laxating,” says Dr Rossi, being found in many anti-bloating teas and sold as a dietary supplement. Gentle massages and yoga can help, as “this can help to relieve pressure from the bowel,” says Kerrison.

2. Food sensitivities

Bloating can be so frustrating “because it can seem to happen for such mysterious reasons,” explains Dr Rossi. “People will notice that they get bloated after eating a specific food, often one that’s high in fibre, like chickpeas, and cut it out. We really don’t want them to do that, because they’re good for us. It’s just a case of getting your gut used to them.”

It is often those foods that are best for us that can cause sensitivity-related bloating. “Onions, garlic, chickpeas, leeks, mushrooms, celery, lentils, sweetcorn – all are really healthy and promote the growth of good gut bacteria,” says Kerrison. “These are readily fermented and can increase gas and bloating in some people, but it’s important not to cut these out entirely in the long term, as this can cause a bacterial imbalance.”

These are high FODMAP foods, says Dr Goodchild, FODMAP standing for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols: compounds that the small intestine struggles to absorb, and so can cause digestive problems, especially in people who have gut conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, which affects one in five people in Britain.

Almost a third of adults in Britain have a sensitivity to at least one food, which can trigger bloating as well as constipation, diarrhoea and stomach cramps in some cases. Sensitivity to fruit is also common. “I’d never want to tell people to cut out fruit, but too much fructose is something that a lot of people find difficult to digest,” Dr Rossi says.

It is possible to work with a sensitive gut. “I’ve never met someone that couldn’t be helped to tolerate just about any food, outside of allergies,” says Dr Rossi. Working with a dietitian to pin down your food sensitivities can be helpful, before “temporarily cutting them out and reintroducing them gradually, such as by having a tablespoon of chickpeas a week and building up”.

3. An irritated gut lining

Bloating makes your trousers tight, but tight trousers can actually cause bloating too, says Dr Rossi. “Irritation in the lining of your gut can trap gas in, whether that is internally with stress impacting the gut:brain axis or externally by constantly wearing tight trousers.”

In moments of stress, the body releases cortisol, which halts digestion as part of the body’s fight-or-flight response. The repeated contractions of your stomach muscles caused by this can lead to an inflamed and irritated gut lining. Over time, chronic stress can lead to the development of IBS because of “the communication between your brain and your gut,” Dr Rossi says. In conditions such as this, “the nerve endings in your gut become more sensitive, and just a little bit of food can prompt bloating”.

Similarly, wearing trousers that are too tight can put pressure on your stomach muscles and make it harder for them to pass food and gas throughout the day. Wearing trousers with a looser fit and managing stress through breathing techniques and meditation can help reduce bloating. Deep-breathing exercises can both promote the movement of food through your system and relieve anxiety.

Peppermint oil capsules, and peppermint tea, “which can relax tense muscles,” says Dr Rossi, can help relieve cramps, pain and gas build-up in many people an effect found in a number of rigorous scientific studies. Using a hot water bottle or heat patch could also help with this sort of bloating, as “this should help to increase blood flow to the area and encourage your muscles to relax,” Dr Rossi says.

It would also be wise to avoid drinking coffee on an empty stomach first thing in the morning as caffeine could further irritate your gut. “It’s better to have a glass of water first at least, and even better to have breakfast first, as this is much easier on your gut,” says Kerrison.

4. Eating too quickly

It’s not only what we’re eating but how we’re eating that can make us bloat. “By eating very quickly, you’ll swallow extra gas, adding to your bloating,” says Dr Goodchild. “You’ll also absorb fewer nutrients when you don’t chew properly, giving your gut less to work with, and this can also prompt over-fermentation and more gas production inside your gut itself,” says Dr Rossi.

The remedy for this is simply to chew more thoroughly, Kerrison says. “Chewing your food well, as well as eating small meals frequently rather than large meals infrequently can reduce bloating by making it easier for your stomach to empty more quickly.” This will not only reduce the build-up of gas in your gut but help your body to absorb more nutrients from your food, improving your health overall.

5. Hormonal changes

According to a worldwide study from 2024, almost a quarter of women experience bloating regularly, compared with just over one in 10 men. A big reason for this is that both menstruation and the menopause can prompt bloating: high levels of oestrogen before a woman’s period prompt water retention and bloating in the abdomen, while the hormone progesterone slows down bowel movements, making constipation more likely. Women experiencing menopause meanwhile see these same issues with water retention.

There isn’t much that we can do to counter the work of our hormones. Water retention for any reason can be relieved, however, and one of the best ways to do so is through gentle exercise. “A gentle walk or gentle yoga can both be helpful to relax your intestine and keep food moving, while reducing water retention by burning some glycogen stores,” Kerrison says.

6. Health conditions

Gastrointestinal disorders that cause frequent or persistent bloating are very common in Britain, with a third of people living with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and 45 per cent of people saying that they have a chronic gut health problem. IBS is a disorder of the digestive system and while it doesn’t always cause bloating, “about 80 per cent of people with IBS experience bloating regularly”, along with stomach cramps and changes in bowel movements (constipation or diarrhoea), says Kerrison.

Other gut conditions that can cause bloating include small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), which causes distension and discomfort in the upper stomach area. “This is more rare than IBS, but it’s likely underdiagnosed,” notes Dr Goodchild. “Estimates vary, but somewhere between 2 and 20 per cent of people in Britain have SIBO. Whilst it is more common in patients with certain underlying health conditions or previous abdominal surgery, it can occur due to medicines, such as proton-pump inhibitors which are widely prescribed for acid reflux across all age groups.”

Bloating can also be a symptom of coeliac disease, an autoimmune condition that leads to damaging reactions to gluten, or Crohn’s disease, which leads to chronic bowel inflammation.

“It’s important to seek medical help if you’ve been consistently bloated for more than three weeks, even if it happens first thing in the morning before you’ve eaten,” says Dr Goodchild. NHS guidelines suggest that people should seek help especially after experiencing bloating every day for three weeks, “or if you have other symptoms like diarrhoea, weight loss, blood in your stool, changes in your skin colour – especially if you’re going yellow – or a fever, as your symptoms could be a result of something more serious,” says Dr Goodchild.

Can I take tablets for bloating?

Over-the-counter remedies for bloating or IBS such as Buscopan or Colofac “can help some patients with bloating in the short term, but in the long term, it’s important to avoid dietary triggers,” says Dr Goodchild. Medications can be helpful for symptom relief but won’t prevent bloating in the first place.

Are bloating remedies sold online safe?

Pills and supplements that claim to prevent or relieve bloating are popular online, “but they are unlikely to be as effective as they claim to be, and before and after photos are probably not real,” says Dr Rossi. “Some of these products contain digestive enzymes, which might sound good but aren’t at appropriate doses to provide effect. Others contain laxatives like senna that your gut can get addicted to, so you require more and more creating a vicious cycle. And then there are generalised probiotics which promise the world but don’t deliver as a bloating solution, according to the science.”

Are there any supplements that I can take for bloating?

Peppermint oil and psyllium husk are the only evidence-backed supplements that reduce or relieve bloating, says Dr Rossi. “Peppermint oil is best taken half an hour in advance of eating a meal to relax your digestive system and prevent bloating in the first place.