Bloating, what now? The feeling of having suddenly turned into a Michelin Man is anything but funny and can lead to an uncomfortable feeling of fullness and bloating to severe abdominal pain. Women in particular are often affected by flatulence and a bloated stomach during their period, but ultimately everyone is probably familiar with this problem. Of course, we've got a few smart tips up our sleeve to bail you out on days like this.
But let's start at the source - where does flatulence actually come from?
There are various causes for flatulence. These include, for example, unhealthy nutrition, stress, hormones, too much carbonic acid, but also eating too fast. It is important to note that air in the intestines is absolutely normal and you don't have to worry about it. Even if your flatulence smells bad at times, it's usually not a cause for concern because the odor comes from various gut bacteria creating sulfur-like gases in your abdomen as they break down the food in your intestines.

Here are our top eight tips against a bloated stomach:

1. Nutrition: If you often suffer from a bloated stomach, it may well be due to your diet. This means that it is best to avoid foods that are difficult to digest. But the portion size of your meals also has an influence on your gut feeling. Try to eat smaller meals and make sure that you chew enough, because your chewing behavior can have a significant impact on your digestion. You can find more about chewing in our blog post “The art of chewing”. Another reason for bloating can also be fizzy drinks - so if you're a bloated stomach and consume a lot of fizzy drinks, an attempt would be to cut down on them.
2. Potassium: Bloating is also often caused by excess sodium building up in your body. A measure that you can easily use against it and that also promises quick relief at the same time is to eat mild foods. These include things like bananas, avocados, and sweet potatoes - all of these foods help flush excess water and sodium out of your body.
3. Water: Another reason that can cause bloating is not drinking enough fluids. This makes the body feel like it needs to store the water in your body and holds it back to avoid dehydration. But if you now drink a lot of water very regularly, the body knows that it is constantly supplied with enough liquid and flushes out the water retention. It's also important to note that fizzy drinks cause more air to build up in your intestines than usual. This means that you might be better off without them - as hard as that may be.
4. Exercise: If your bloat comes along with bloating, some exercise is definitely advisable. You don't have to do a hardcore workout for this - a short "digestive walk" is enough! Exercise in general means that your digestion is stimulated and your intestines move more vigorously again. This helps your body to get rid of the unpleasant gases in the stomach more easily. So take some time for yourself, put on your favorite music or podcast, and walk around your neighborhood until you literally feel lighter again.
5. Dandelion root tea: A bloated stomach at work or before an important appointment? There is practically nothing more unpleasant and strenuous than this feeling of pressure - of course there is automatically no trace of the ability to concentrate. This tip is for days when the bloating needs to go away, and as soon as possible. A true silver bullet for this is dandelion root tea - a natural diuretic. A diuretic is a drug that naturally causes the body to get rid of excess water. As we explained in the previous section, too much water in the body can also lead to bloating and bloating!
6. Epsom salt: The magnesium contained in Epsom salt also helps you to eliminate additional - excess water from your body. It is essentially a natural saline laxative. A bath in Epsom salts is particularly advisable for patients who feel bloated, sore and also tired.
7. Intestinal health: Dysbiosis in the intestine can also lead to flatulence and bloating. Dysbiosis describes the condition in the gut when the number of “good” and “bad” gut bacteria is out of balance. As a result, the "bad" bacteria gain the upper hand and unpleasant side effects such as indigestion and flatulence can be the result. But how do I get my gut microbiome back in balance? Probiotics can be a suitable measure for this. These ensure that the body is supplied with sufficient “good” bacteria and that your intestinal microbiome can work optimally again. Try our Dailybacs especially for women and men and find out what effects the intake has on your body!
8. Massage: Another very effective treatment method for bloating and bloating can be a gentle massage of the abdomen. A stomach massage helps the intestines to relax on the one hand, and on the other hand excess air is "expelled" from the stomach. And what is the best way to massage? To do this, lie on your back and use massage oil so that the pressure does not irritate your skin. Start with gentle circular motions around your belly button, gradually increasing the circles over time.

• https://www.oprahmag.com/life/health/g27311411/how-to-debloat/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15220671/
• https://www.self.com/story/8-sneaky-ways-to-debloat-in-just-one-day

Dr. Adrian Weingart

Humanmediziner, Mikrobiomspezialist | LMU München