How To Get Rid Of Bloating Fast (10 Natural Bloating Remedies)

 

Written by: Spencer Higgs - Oct. 13, 2020

Woman holding a smiley face image by her stomach because she was able to get rid of bloating fast.  

It can be one of the most awkward and uncomfortable experiences—excruciatingly tight pant buttons, uncomfortable squirming, occasional cramping… and where the heck did this food baby come from!? Digestive gases display in many ways, but whether it’s one symptom or all of them at once, all you want to do is get rid of bloating fast. 

If you’re like a lot of people, you either don’t know how to relieve bloating fast, or you’re not sure what bloating remedies exist that don’t require over-the-counter or prescription medication. After all, bloating (like acid reflux) is a natural biological response—your body is trying to tell you something. A lot of the time, you just have to listen. (Not to the tummy gurgling, but to what your body is telling you.) Suppressing the symptoms while ignoring the causes only sets you up for more bloating down the line. 

Luckily there are a lot of natural remedies for bloating, and many of them likely align with your interests and lifestyle already, so incorporating them into your day-to-day won’t be difficult at all. I’m going to show you how to relieve bloating fast and naturally, without relying on medication our hippie niece’s chakra therapy. 🌀

But first, we need to clarify a few important things.

how to get rid of bloating

What Is Bloating?


You may look at your ballooned tummy and think, “Oh no, I’m gaining weight!” But bloating is not the same thing as weight gain around your stomach, even if it still causes your clothes to fit a little more snug than you’d like. 

Bloating is temporary. It’s usually caused by a buildup of digestive gasses and is extremely common in modern diets, and can stem from the food you eat to the speed you eat it, as well as excessive sodium intake, food sensitivities, overeating, etc. Yet, the causes of bloating can also stem from beyond the dinner plate.

Causes of bloating


There are a variety of factors that can cause bloating. Some of the most common causes include:  

  • Stress
  • constipation 
  • Smoking
  • Anxiety
  • Water retention
  • Indigestion
  • PMS
  • Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) 

These are among the long list of (mostly) non-dietary causes of bloating.

Just as wide as the causes are the remedies for bloating. Below are ten all-natural bloating remedies to help you get rid of bloating fast and effectively. If you pay close attention to these bloating remedies as you try them, you should also be able to pinpoint the potential causes of your gas buildup and can adjust your lifestyle to ensure bloating becomes a rarity, instead of an “ohmygodnotrightnow!” thing.

Woman holding her stomach trying to get rid of bloating fast.

1. Eat Slower


Sometimes when we’re in a rush or are starvingggg, we tend to “inhale” our food. (Guilty 🙋🏻‍♀️) But if you’re concerned with how to relieve bloating fast, you’re going to have to slow down. Eating quickly and not thoroughly chewing your food can cause you to swallow air, which leads to bloating. Same goes for chewing gum or talking while you’re eating. So, one of the most common bloating remedies is making a conscious effort to eat slower and chew your food completely before swallowing. As a bonus, when you eat slowly, your body has more time to signal fullness to the brain–and you tend to eat fewer calories! 

2. Find Your Food Sensitivities


Bloating remedies, and the strategies to get rid of bloating fast, can have as much to do with what you don’t eat as what you do. Some foods (even healthy ones!) can be a no-fly zone for your digestion, depending on your own personal food intolerances or sensitivities. Food sensitivities occur when a person has trouble digesting certain foods. This can cause intestinal gas (bloating), abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight gain, and more. It’s estimated that up to 20% of the world’s population experiences food sensitivities, so if you fall into this category, you’re certainly not alone! (1, 2) But you definitely should try to narrow down how to get over bloating fast by carefully monitoring your body’s response to diet, using food sensitivity awareness as one of your remedies for bloating. 

It can sometimes be challenging to identify the culprit due to the range of foods most people eat every day. In figuring out how to get over bloating fast, or even narrow down other gut-related symptoms, consider seeing a food specialist or trying an elimination diet (when you remove foods that are known to cause symptoms and reintroduce them gradually one at a time while monitoring symptoms.)

Carbonated drinks on a table with white background. Avoiding carbonated drinks can help you get rid of bloating fast.

3. Ditch Carbonated Drinks


When researching new ideas for how to relieve bloating fast and effectively, I was surprised to find that fizzy drinks can cause gas to get trapped in your belly. So, avoiding carbonated drinks, like sparkling water and soda, you can help prevent bloating. As an alternative, you may try drinking tea or fruit-infused water if plain water doesn’t appeal to you. Hot water with lemon, a natural diuretic, is also one of the most popular bloating remedies. It not only helps you get rid of bloating fast, but can also speed up metabolism, which fuels weight loss!

4. Drink More Water


Speaking of water, when your body is dehydrated, it begins to retain water, which can cause the stomach to swell. Drinking a lot of liquid may sound counterintuitive as one of the top remedies for bloating, but rehydrating actually does help you get rid of bloating fast. Aim to consume a minimum of 2 liters of water per day to avoid bloating and constipation. (Recall that constipation is a common cause of bloating.) Proper hydration is also great for weight loss since it keeps you full and helps your body flush out toxins. So, if you’re trying to figure out how to relieve bloating fast—start by helping your body to avoid bloating in the first place! Don’t pass on water, even if your belly is feeling bloated! It can help remedy the problem and prevent recurrences.

5. Stress Less (If You Can)


About the hardest thing to do these days, I realize. But stress and anxiety upset the balance of hormones that affect digestion. Stress causes your digestion to go awry, which can lead to all sorts of chaos in your gut, including bloating. Don’t just add stress reduction to your bloating remedies list—add it to your life-hack list as a whole! There are many effective and deeply fulfilling ways techniques you can use, like meditation, yoga, and deep breathing exercises that can help you stay calm when life gets crazy. If you’re wondering how to reduce stress, or even just how to relieve bloating fast, try these techniques to help calm your stress swiftly or help avoid unnecessary stress all together. 

Super Youth Detox tea is the perfect way to get rid of bloating fast.

6. Drink Detox Tea


What do bloating remedies and detox tea have in common? As it turns out, quite a bit. Teas are one of the most traditional bloating remedies, and remains a popular approach for people trying to get rid of bloating fast, even becoming quite mainstream among popular alternative medicines. [3]

Detoxifying teas are fantastic remedies for bloating because they’re rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatories (which help combat a ton of ailments and biological annoyances, bloating being one—but unfortunately not the worst—of them). 

One of the best bloating remedies I use regularly (whether I need to get rid of bloating fast, or just prevent it before it untimely arises) is Super Youth Detox tea. It’s got an army of teas that help with everything from immunity to allergies, and of course bloating. Two superfoods (superdrinks? superteas?) in this blend that work particularly well as bloating remedies are lemongrass and dandelion leaf. Both of these awesome herbals have shown to help alleviate a variety of gastric issues. [4, 5]

7. Start Taking Probiotics


An imbalance of good and bad bacteria in the digestive tract is another common cause of bloating, constipation, flatulence, and other stomach issues. Probiotics are good bacteria that produce enzymes to support proper digestion, which makes them superb remedies for bloating. You can get probiotics from a number of natural sources, including yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, tempe, and kombucha. Alternatively, you can look for probiotic supplements made with  natural extracts and probiotics that support a healthy digestive system and calm bloating. 

8. Increase Potassium Intake


When you’re feeling bloated, gas isn’t always the culprit. Sometimes, it can be caused by high sodium levels, or consuming too much salty food. This can lead to the body retaining more water than usual and leading to that full, puffy feeling. Potassium is awesome diuretic and works as one of the best food-based remedies for bloating by balancing the body’s potassium-sodium concentrations. Sweet potatoes, bananas, and spinach are all great sources of potassium.

Woman eating a banana for the potassium to get rid of bloating fast

9. Take A Walk (Or Exercise)


Talk about counter intuitive—when you’re feeling bloated, the last thing you may want to do is get in a healthy dose of cardio or lift some weights. But if you’re wondering how to relieve bloating fast after it’s set in, try at least going for a walk or performing some flowy, low-impact exercises. Exercise helps gas move around and lets it pass through the digestive system to reduce bloat. This is one reason why going for a walk after a big meal feels so good!

10. Warm Compress/Heating Pad


Rest a heating pad or warm water bottle on your abdomen to help relieve bloating fast and ease the discomfort. This is one of the best bloating remedies to pair with Super Youth Detox because it helps you get rid of bloating fast while reducing toxic buildup. 

The Bottom Line On Bloating


The root exact causes of bloating can be mysterious. Luckily, some of the best bloating remedies also have added perks, such as weight loss or inflammation reduction. And, of course, there are numerous adjustments you can make in your life to get rid of bloating fast, or prevent it altogether. The most important thing is to try to keep track of what sets it off, and work to change or eliminate the cause from your lifestyle or diet.

 

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