Key Points at a Glance
- Although a bloated stomach isn't a medical condition, it can still be uncomfortable.
- In the morning, my stomach is still nice and flat—but after lunch, it literally swells up.
- Why is that? A bloated stomach can have several causes.
- And the crucial question: What really helps against a bloated stomach?
Does this sound familiar? You wake up in the morning in a good mood and are happy about your great, flat stomach. But by the afternoon at the latest, after you’ve had lunch, that happiness is long gone—your stomach swells up, you immediately feel much worse, and your self-confidence takes a hit, too. It’s high time to declare war on that bloated stomach. There are several options to choose from.
A bloated stomach can have many causes
But let’s take it one step at a time. First, we need to get to the bottom of what causes bloating, and there are quite a few possible explanations. For one thing, there’s apparently just too much air in the stomach, which suggests eating in a hurry. When you do that, you end up swallowing a lot of air along with your food.
It’s also possible that you ate foods for lunch that are difficult to digest and cause gas in the intestines, such as legumes. These are the more harmless causes. However, it’s not uncommon for the cause to be a food intolerance, an allergy, or a condition such as irritable bowel syndrome; in that case, you should consult a doctor. You can, however, make changes to your diet and eating habits on your own.
How to Prevent a Bloated Stomach
Before we talk about food, let’s take a look at beverages first. If you drink only unsweetened tea and water, you’ll reduce the risk of bloating. Fruit spritzers or even soft drinks, on the other hand, contain carbonation, which causes the stomach to visibly swell. By drinking two liters of tap water a day, you’ll avoid this problem and stay properly hydrated.
This brings us to a serious problem in the modern workplace. Everything has to be done quickly and efficiently, and eating is no exception. We eat hurriedly and wolf down our meals because we have another appointment coming up or a client is waiting for your call. As a result, we swallow a lot of air while eating, which causes bloating. If we eat more slowly and chew thoroughly, we can minimize this risk and improve digestion at the same time.
Small portions and easily digestible foods
If you eat large amounts of food at every meal, don’t be surprised if you end up with a bloated stomach. The stomach can digest smaller (and low-fat) portions much more easily, and you won’t end up with a bloated stomach. You should also avoid foods that are hard to digest, such as cabbage, mushrooms, fatty foods, legumes, onions, or sweets.
The following home remedies can help relieve acute bloating and also prevent it: raw ginger, peppermint oil in lukewarm water, fennel or chamomile tea (or tea made from fresh chamomile flowers), and chewing fennel or caraway seeds. You’ll also find relief by filling a hot water bottle and placing it on your stomach.
If you still experience bloating despite all your efforts, you can try to at least minimize its effects—for example, by using products that relieve bloating and stomach pain.
