Several options can help you get rid of bloating, ranging from over-the-counter products that break up gas to dietary changes that prevent it from forming in the first place. The right choice depends on what’s causing your bloating, whether that’s trapped gas, slow digestion, or certain foods your gut struggles to break down.
Simethicone for Trapped Gas
Simethicone is the most widely available over-the-counter option for gas-related bloating. You’ll find it sold as Gas-X, Mylicon, and various store brands. It works as a surfactant, meaning it lowers the surface tension of gas bubbles in your digestive tract so they merge together into larger bubbles. Those larger bubbles are much easier for your body to expel through belching or flatulence. It doesn’t reduce how much gas your gut produces; it just helps move out what’s already there.
The standard adult dose is 40 to 125 mg taken up to four times daily, usually after meals and at bedtime, with a maximum of 500 mg per day. Because simethicone isn’t absorbed into your bloodstream, side effects are rare. It’s a good first option when you feel bloated right now and want quick physical relief, but it won’t do much for bloating caused by constipation or food intolerances.
Enzyme Supplements for Food-Related Bloating
If beans, lentils, broccoli, or other high-fiber foods reliably make you bloat, an enzyme called alpha-galactosidase (sold as Beano) can help. Your small intestine lacks the enzyme needed to break down certain complex sugars, specifically those with alpha-1,6-linked galactose bonds found in legumes and cruciferous vegetables. When those sugars pass undigested into your colon, bacteria ferment them and produce gas. Alpha-galactosidase breaks these sugars apart before they reach your colon, so there’s less fermentation and less bloating.
Timing matters with enzyme supplements. You need to take them with your first bite of the problem food, not after symptoms start. If dairy is your trigger rather than beans, a lactase supplement works the same way but targets the milk sugar lactose instead.
Peppermint Oil for Cramping and Pressure
When bloating comes with a tight, crampy feeling, enteric-coated peppermint oil capsules can help. Peppermint oil relaxes the smooth muscle lining your intestines by blocking calcium channels in the muscle cells. This reduces spasms that can trap gas in pockets along your digestive tract, letting it move through more freely. Clinical trials have used doses ranging from 180 to 450 mg per day, typically split into two or three doses taken before meals.
The enteric coating is important. Without it, the peppermint oil dissolves in your stomach and can cause heartburn or make acid reflux worse. Enteric-coated capsules pass through the stomach intact and release in the intestines where you actually want the relaxation effect. This form has been studied most extensively in people with irritable bowel syndrome, but the muscle-relaxing mechanism applies to bloating from other causes too.
Ginger for Slow Digestion
If your bloating tends to hit after meals and feels like food is just sitting in your stomach, ginger may help by speeding up gastric emptying. In a study of healthy volunteers, 1,200 mg of ginger capsules cut the time it took the stomach to empty by half, from roughly 27 minutes down to 13 minutes. Ginger also increased the rate of stomach contractions that push food into the small intestine.
You can take ginger as capsules, brew fresh ginger root into tea, or chew on candied ginger. Capsules offer more consistent dosing, but any form delivers the active compounds. Taking ginger about an hour before a large meal gives it time to start working before food arrives.
Probiotics for Recurring Bloating
Probiotics won’t fix bloating overnight, but specific strains can reduce how often it happens over weeks of use. A systematic review identified several strains effective for bloating, with two standouts showing meaningful results: Bacillus coagulans Unique IS2 and Lactobacillus plantarum 331261 both produced significant reductions in bloating scores compared to placebo. Not all probiotic products contain these strains, so check labels rather than grabbing any bottle off the shelf.
Probiotics work by shifting the balance of bacteria in your gut toward species that produce less gas during fermentation. This is a gradual process. Expect to take them daily for at least three to four weeks before judging whether they’re helping.
Dietary Changes That Reduce Bloating
Sometimes the most effective approach isn’t adding something but removing the foods that trigger bloating in the first place. A low FODMAP diet temporarily eliminates groups of fermentable carbohydrates, including certain fruits, wheat, garlic, onions, and dairy, to see if symptoms improve. The strict elimination phase is designed to last just two to six weeks, not forever. After that, you reintroduce foods one category at a time to identify your specific triggers.
Beyond FODMAPs, a few simple habits make a noticeable difference. Eating more slowly reduces the amount of air you swallow with each bite. Cutting back on carbonated drinks eliminates another source of gas. And staying well hydrated helps prevent constipation, which is one of the most common causes of persistent bloating. When stool moves slowly through the colon, bacteria have more time to ferment whatever reaches them, producing more gas in a system that’s already backed up.
Magnesium Citrate for Constipation-Related Bloating
If your bloating is paired with infrequent or hard-to-pass stools, the problem may be constipation rather than excess gas. Magnesium citrate draws water into the intestines, softening stool and stimulating bowel movements. It comes as a liquid or a powder you mix into water. Relief typically comes within a few hours for the liquid form.
This is better suited as an occasional tool than a daily habit. If constipation is chronic, increasing fiber intake gradually, drinking more water, and staying physically active address the underlying issue rather than just treating each episode. Fiber supplements like psyllium husk can also help keep things moving, though they sometimes increase gas temporarily as your gut adjusts over the first week or two.
Signs Your Bloating Needs Medical Attention
Most bloating is uncomfortable but harmless. However, certain patterns warrant a conversation with your doctor: bloating that gets progressively worse over days or weeks, lasts longer than a week without improvement, or comes with persistent pain. Alarm symptoms like unintentional weight loss, fever, vomiting, blood in your stool, or signs of anemia suggest something beyond simple digestive discomfort and should be evaluated promptly.