Peppermint oil in enteric-coated capsules is the supplement with the strongest evidence for reducing bloating, and it’s the only one recommended by the American College of Gastroenterology for relief of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. That said, bloating has many causes, and different supplements work through different mechanisms. The best choice depends on what’s driving your symptoms.
Peppermint Oil: The Strongest Evidence
Peppermint oil works by relaxing the smooth muscle lining your digestive tract. When those muscles are contracting too forcefully or irregularly, gas gets trapped and your abdomen distends. By calming those contractions, peppermint oil helps gas move through more easily and reduces the cramping sensation that often accompanies bloating.
The standard dose is one enteric-coated capsule three times a day. If that doesn’t help, you can increase to two capsules three times a day. The enteric coating matters: it prevents the capsule from dissolving in your stomach, which would relax the valve between your esophagus and stomach and potentially cause heartburn. Instead, the oil releases in your intestines where it’s needed.
In a clinical trial comparing peppermint oil to simethicone (the active ingredient in Gas-X), both worked equally well during the first two weeks. By the fourth week, however, the peppermint oil group had significantly greater reduction in flatulence. This suggests peppermint oil may offer better long-term relief if bloating is a recurring problem, while simethicone remains a reasonable option for occasional, immediate relief.
One important caveat: if you have acid reflux, peppermint oil can make it worse, even in enteric-coated form. Possible side effects include heartburn, nausea, abdominal pain, and dry mouth. If reflux is already part of your picture, you’ll want to consider alternatives.
Artichoke Leaf Extract for Upper Digestive Bloating
Artichoke leaf extract is worth knowing about if your bloating comes with other symptoms of indigestion like fullness after eating, nausea, or upper abdominal discomfort. In a clinical trial of people with both IBS and indigestion symptoms, artichoke leaf extract reduced overall digestive symptom scores by 41% and improved quality of life by 20%. IBS incidence in the group dropped by over 26%.
Artichoke extract stimulates bile production, which helps your body break down fats more efficiently. If your bloating tends to worsen after fatty meals, this mechanism is particularly relevant. Some products combine artichoke extract with other digestive bitters or with peppermint, and there’s some evidence that peppermint paired with caraway oil may also help with indigestion-related bloating.
Probiotics: Helpful but Less Predictable
Probiotics are the most popular supplement people try for bloating, but the evidence is more complicated than marketing suggests. The American College of Gastroenterology actually recommends against using probiotics for overall IBS symptoms, citing very low quality evidence. That doesn’t mean they’re useless for bloating specifically, but the results are modest and highly strain-dependent.
One strain with direct evidence for bloating is Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 (sold under the brand Alflorex or Align in some markets). A meta-analysis found it produced a small but statistically significant improvement in bloating after four to eight weeks of use. Composite probiotics containing multiple strains showed a similar effect. The key word here is “small.” If your bloating is severe, probiotics alone are unlikely to resolve it.
The timeline for probiotics is also longer than most people expect. While some digestive benefits can appear within days, bloating relief from probiotics typically takes four weeks or more of consistent daily use. Many people give up after a week or two, well before the supplement has had a chance to shift their gut environment. If you decide to try a probiotic, commit to at least a full month before judging whether it’s working.
How to Choose Based on Your Symptoms
The pattern of your bloating points toward the right supplement. If your bloating comes with cramping and gas that feels trapped, peppermint oil targets that mechanism directly. If bloating hits after meals, especially rich or fatty ones, and you feel uncomfortably full, artichoke leaf extract addresses the digestive slowdown behind those symptoms. If your bloating is mild, chronic, and seems connected to an overall “off” gut (irregular bowel habits, sensitivity to many foods), a targeted probiotic strain like B. infantis 35624 is a reasonable longer-term experiment.
You can also combine approaches. Peppermint oil and probiotics work through entirely different pathways, so taking both is safe for most people. Starting with one supplement at a time makes it easier to tell what’s actually helping.
What Supplements Won’t Fix
Supplements work best for functional bloating, the kind where tests come back normal but your belly still balloons. They’re less likely to help if bloating is caused by something structural or dietary that hasn’t been addressed. Common culprits include lactose or fructose intolerance, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), celiac disease, or simply eating too quickly and swallowing excess air.
If your bloating started suddenly, keeps getting worse, or comes with unintentional weight loss, changes in stool color, or persistent pain, those patterns suggest something beyond what a supplement can manage. Chronic bloating that doesn’t respond to dietary changes or two to three months of supplementation is also worth investigating further, since identifying the root cause will always outperform treating the symptom.