Most gas passes on its own within a few hours, but you can speed things up with simple body positions, light movement, and a few changes to how you eat. The average person passes gas 14 to 23 times a day, so some is completely normal. When it becomes uncomfortable, trapped, or persistent, here’s what actually works.
Move Your Body First
A short walk is one of the fastest ways to get trapped gas moving. Physical activity stimulates your intestines to push contents (including gas) along more quickly. Research on colon transit times found that people with higher physical activity levels had significantly faster movement through the gut compared to sedentary individuals. You don’t need to run. Ten to fifteen minutes of walking after a meal is enough to make a noticeable difference.
Body Positions That Release Trapped Gas
Certain positions use gravity and gentle abdominal pressure to help gas bubbles find their way out. These work well when you feel bloated but can’t seem to pass gas naturally.
Knee-to-Chest Pose
Lie on your back, bend both knees, and pull your thighs toward your chest with your hands. Tuck your chin down. This compresses your abdomen and helps push gas through the intestines. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute, release, and repeat.
Child’s Pose
Kneel on the floor, then lean back so your hips rest on your heels. Stretch your arms out in front of you with your palms flat and let your forehead rest on the floor. Your torso pressing against your thighs creates gentle pressure on your abdomen that encourages gas to move.
Happy Baby Pose
Lie on your back, lift your knees to the sides of your body, and point the soles of your feet toward the ceiling. Grab your feet and gently pull them downward. Rocking side to side can add extra relief. This releases pressure in the lower back and groin, two areas where tension can keep gas trapped in the bowels.
Seated Forward Bend
Sit with your legs straight out in front of you and fold forward from the hips, reaching toward your toes. Keep your knees straight. The compression against your abdomen works similarly to the other poses. Even if you can’t reach your toes, the forward fold still applies enough pressure to help.
Over-the-Counter Options
Simethicone (sold as Gas-X, Phazyme, and store brands) works by breaking up clusters of gas bubbles in your stomach and intestines into smaller ones that are easier to pass. It doesn’t reduce the amount of gas your body produces, but it makes what’s already there less painful and easier to expel. The typical adult dose is 40 to 125 mg taken after meals and at bedtime, with a maximum of 500 mg in 24 hours.
Enzyme supplements designed to break down specific carbohydrates can also help. Products containing alpha-galactosidase (like Beano) break down the complex sugars in beans, lentils, and cruciferous vegetables before your gut bacteria can ferment them into gas. Lactase supplements do the same thing for dairy if you’re lactose intolerant. The key with both is timing: you need to take them with or just before the meal, not after gas has already formed.
Natural Remedies Worth Trying
Ginger has genuine evidence behind it. A natural compound in ginger root improves gastric motility, meaning food exits your stomach faster and spends less time sitting in your gut fermenting. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, eating ginger can cut down on fermentation, constipation, and other causes of bloating and intestinal gas. Fresh ginger sliced into hot water makes a simple tea, or you can chew on a small piece of candied ginger after meals.
Peppermint tea is another classic for a reason. It relaxes the smooth muscles of the digestive tract, which can ease cramping and help gas pass more freely. If you deal with acid reflux, though, that same muscle relaxation can make reflux worse, so ginger may be the better choice for you.
Warm water or warm compresses placed on your abdomen can also relax the intestinal muscles enough to provide some relief, especially when gas feels stuck in one spot.
Stop Swallowing Extra Air
A surprising amount of gas has nothing to do with food. It comes from swallowed air, a condition called aerophagia. Every time you swallow, a small amount of air goes down with it, but certain habits dramatically increase the volume. The Cleveland Clinic identifies these common culprits:
- Eating too fast or talking while eating
- Chewing gum or sucking on hard candy
- Drinking through straws
- Carbonated beverages (the bubbles are literally gas)
- Smoking
If your gas is mostly burping and upper abdominal bloating rather than flatulence, swallowed air is likely a major contributor. Slowing down at meals and cutting out gum or straws for a week is a simple experiment that often produces noticeable results.
Foods That Cause the Most Gas
Gas in the lower intestine comes from bacteria fermenting carbohydrates that your small intestine couldn’t fully absorb. Certain types of carbohydrates, grouped under the term FODMAPs, are the worst offenders because they ferment rapidly and draw water into the gut.
The major categories and where they hide:
- Beans, lentils, and chickpeas contain a sugar called GOS that humans can’t digest on their own. Gut bacteria feast on it and produce gas as a byproduct.
- Wheat, rye, onions, and garlic are high in fructans, another poorly absorbed carbohydrate.
- Dairy products cause gas in people who don’t produce enough lactase to break down lactose.
- Apples, pears, mangoes, and watermelon contain excess fructose or sorbitol, both of which ferment easily.
- Sugar-free gums and candies use sugar alcohols like sorbitol, xylitol, and erythritol, which are notorious gas producers.
- Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts contain both fructans and a type of fiber that bacteria love to ferment.
You don’t necessarily need to avoid all of these permanently. Portion size matters. A quarter cup of beans produces far less gas than a full cup. Cooking method matters too: soaking dried beans overnight and discarding the water removes some of the fermentable sugars. If you want a systematic approach, Monash University’s low-FODMAP diet involves removing high-FODMAP foods for a few weeks and then reintroducing them one category at a time to identify your personal triggers.
Probiotics for Ongoing Gas
If gas is a chronic problem rather than an occasional annoyance, probiotics may help rebalance the bacteria in your gut. A meta-analysis of 23 trials involving over 2,500 people with irritable bowel syndrome found that probiotics significantly improved bloating and flatulence compared to placebo. The number needed to treat was 7, meaning roughly one in seven people experienced meaningful improvement.
The challenge is that many different strains were studied across those trials, and no single “best” strain has been identified for gas specifically. Strains from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families have the most research behind them. Probiotics typically need four to six weeks of consistent use before you can judge whether they’re helping.
Signs Something More Is Going On
Occasional gas, even when it’s uncomfortable, is rarely a sign of anything serious. But gas that gets progressively worse, lasts more than a week, or comes with persistent pain deserves attention. The Cleveland Clinic flags these symptoms as reasons to get evaluated: unexplained weight loss, blood in your stool, anemia, fever, vomiting, or a significant change in bowel habits like new diarrhea or constipation. These can point to conditions like celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, or other issues where gas is a symptom rather than the whole problem.