Physical health (27)
- Medical history: Compiling your medical family tree
- Hand washing: Do's and don'ts
- 10 symptoms not to ignore
- see all in Physical health
Mental health (11)
- Self-esteem: Boost your self-image with these 5 steps
- Self-esteem check: Too low, too high or just right?
- Resilience: Build skills to endure hardship
- see all in Mental health
Healthy relationships (7)
- Forgiveness: Letting go of grudges and bitterness
- Domestic violence against men: Know the signs, seek help
- Domestic violence against women: Recognize patterns, seek help
- see all in Healthy relationships
Healthy at work (11)
- Office exercise: How to burn calories at work
- Office stretches: How-to video collection
- Sick leave: Smooth the transition back to work
- see all in Healthy at work
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Bloating, belching and intestinal gas: How to avoid them
Bloating, belching, gas and gas pains can be embarrassing and uncomfortable. Here's what causes these signs and symptoms — and how you can prevent them.
By Mayo Clinic staffBloating, burping and passing gas are natural and are usually caused by swallowed air or the breakdown of food through digestion. You may experience gas and gas pains only occasionally or repeatedly in a single day. When gas and gas pains interfere with your daily activities, it may be an indication of something serious. Find out how to reduce or avoid gas and gas pains, and when you may need to see your doctor.
Bloating: Gas buildup in your stomach and intestines
When gas doesn't pass through belching or flatulence, it can build up in the stomach and intestines and lead to bloating. Bloating is often accompanied by abdominal pain — either mild and dull or sharp and intense. Passing gas or having a bowel movement may relieve the pain.
Bloating may be related to:
- Eating fatty foods. Fat delays stomach emptying and can increase the sensation of fullness
- Stress or anxiety
- Smoking
- A gastrointestinal infection, blockage or disease
- Irritable bowel syndrome, a condition characterized by abdominal pain or cramping and changes in bowel function
- Conditions such as celiac disease or lactose intolerance in which the intestines aren't able to digest and absorb certain components of food
To reduce bloating, it may help to avoid or reduce the amount of gas-producing foods you eat. Many carbohydrates cause gas, and the following items are common culprits:
- Baked beans
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carbonated drinks
- Cauliflower
- Chewing gum
- Fruits such as apples, peaches and pears
- Hard candy
- Lettuce
Belching: Getting rid of excess air
Belching or burping is your body's way of expelling excess air from your stomach. You may swallow excess air if you eat or drink too fast, talk while you eat, drink carbonated beverages or drink through a straw.
Acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can have the same effect. If stomach acid backs up into your esophagus, you may swallow repeatedly to clear the material. This can lead to swallowing more air and further belching.
Some people swallow air as a nervous habit — even when they're not eating or drinking. In other cases, chronic belching is related to inflammation of the stomach lining (gastritis), peptic ulcer disease or delayed stomach emptying (gastroparesis).
You can reduce belching if you:
- Eat and drink slowly. Taking your time can help you swallow less air. Also, avoid drinking through a straw.
- Avoid carbonated drinks and beer. They release carbon dioxide gas.
- Skip the gum and hard candy. When you chew gum or suck on hard candy, you swallow more often than normal. Part of what you're swallowing is air.
- Don't smoke. When you inhale smoke, you also inhale and swallow air.
- Check your dentures. Poorly fitting dentures can cause you to swallow excess air when you eat and drink.
- Treat heartburn. For occasional, mild heartburn, over-the-counter antacids or other remedies may be helpful. GERD may require prescription-strength medication or other treatments.
(1 of 2)
- Abraczinskas D, et al. Intestinal gas and bloating. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 5, 2009.
- Gas in the digestive tract. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/gas. Accessed March 5, 2009.
- Living with gas in the digestive tract. American Gastroenterological Association. http://www.gastro.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5681. Accessed March 5, 2009.
- Tuteja AK, et al. Abdominal bloating in employed adults: Prevalence, risk factors, and association with other bowel disorders. American Journal of Gastroenterology. 2008;103:1241.
- Picco MF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla. March 19, 2009.
