If you’ve ever suffered from bloating after a big meal, you’ll know how uncomfortable and unpleasant it is. Bloating happens when the gut stores up excess gas, produced by bacteria. It can affect anyone, but it needn’t make you change your plans or affect every day activities. Take a look at our top tips to support gut health and digestive comfort.

1. Trial avoiding vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, onions and leeks for a week.
2. Cut back on pulses like dry roasted peanuts, beans and lentils for a week.
3. Take a probiotic for four weeks: put some lactobacilli and bifidobacteria in your gut.
4. Avoid sweeteners like glycerol, sorbitol, mannitol or xylitol as gut bacteria love to munch on them!
5. Slow down and avoid swallowing air! Take at least 15 minutes to eat a meal.
6. Get tested for vitamin D3 deficiency.
7. Drink green tea or peppermint tea. Green tea may maintain healthy gut flora.
8. Try lactose-free milk and dairy products for 2-4 weeks: large doses of lactose may cause wind and bloating in a small amount of the population. 
9. Add curcumin to your diet: it’s known to contribute to digestive comfort.

• Don’t go too long between meals or chew chewing gum: an empty stomach produces more gas.

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash