Passing gas between 14 and 23 times a day is completely normal. If you’re consistently above that range, or the gas comes with pain, bloating, or changes in your bowel habits, a few targeted changes can make a real difference. The fix usually comes down to identifying what’s producing the gas in the first place, whether that’s something you’re eating, air you’re swallowing, or how your gut bacteria are processing food.
Know What’s Producing the Gas
Most intestinal gas comes from bacteria in your colon fermenting carbohydrates that your small intestine didn’t fully absorb. That fermentation produces hydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide. The more undigested material that reaches your colon, the more gas you get.
Certain foods are particularly potent. Beans contain a sugar called stachyose that gut bacteria ferment aggressively, producing large volumes of hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Vegetables high in a similar sugar called raffinose (cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus) do the same. Whole grains and high-fiber foods can also increase gas, especially when you add them to your diet quickly.
Then there are the sugars that some people simply can’t digest well. Lactose in dairy is the classic example. Fructose, found in fruit and many sweetened foods, and sugar alcohols like sorbitol and mannitol (common in sugar-free gum and candy) can also pass unabsorbed into the colon and feed bacteria there. If your gas worsened after increasing your intake of any of these, that’s a strong clue.
Adjust Your Diet Strategically
Rather than eliminating everything at once, try removing one category of likely triggers for a few days and see what happens. Start with the foods you eat most often from the list above. If dairy is a daily habit, cut it for a week. If you recently ramped up fiber intake, scale back and increase more gradually, giving your gut bacteria time to adjust.
A low-FODMAP approach, which temporarily restricts fermentable carbohydrates like lactose, fructose, and certain fibers, is one of the more structured ways to identify your personal triggers. The idea is to strip these foods out for two to six weeks, then reintroduce them one at a time so you can pinpoint exactly which ones cause problems. Many people find that only one or two categories bother them, not all of them.
Reduce Swallowed Air
Not all gas comes from fermentation. A significant portion is simply air you swallow, which either comes back up as a belch or travels through your digestive tract. People who already have gastrointestinal symptoms tend to swallow more air than average, and certain habits make it worse.
Chewing gum is a well-documented trigger. Research measuring air swallowing in real time found that gum chewing significantly increased the number of air swallows, particularly in people already prone to digestive symptoms. Drinking through straws had a similar effect in that group, increasing air intake during swallowing. Eating quickly, talking while eating, and drinking carbonated beverages all add to the volume of air entering your stomach. Slowing down at meals and skipping the gum are simple fixes worth trying first.
Try Over-the-Counter Options
Two types of OTC products target gas through completely different mechanisms, so choosing the right one depends on your situation.
Products containing simethicone (sold as Gas-X and similar brands) work as anti-foaming agents. They break up gas bubbles already trapped in your digestive tract, making them easier to pass. These work best for gas that’s already there and causing discomfort.
Products containing alpha-galactosidase (sold as Beano) take a preventive approach. They supply an enzyme that helps break down the complex sugars in beans, vegetables, and grains before they reach your colon, reducing the amount of material available for bacteria to ferment. You take these with or just before a meal. They won’t help with gas from dairy (you’d need a lactase supplement for that) or gas that’s already formed.
What works varies from person to person. If one doesn’t help, the other might.
Activated Charcoal
Activated charcoal is regular charcoal heated to create a more porous structure. Those extra tiny spaces trap gas molecules, which can reduce bloating. The research is limited but promising, and some studies have found that charcoal combined with simethicone is more effective than either one alone. It’s available over the counter, though it can interfere with the absorption of certain medications, so spacing it apart from other pills is important.
Consider Probiotics
Probiotics can help, but the evidence is mixed and strain-specific. A randomized controlled trial found that a multi-strain probiotic supplement (containing a broad mix of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species) significantly reduced bloating and gas scores compared to placebo. However, trials of single-strain and two-strain probiotics failed to show the same benefit. The takeaway: a diverse, multi-strain product is more likely to help than one with a single species, though results still vary between individuals. Give any probiotic at least three to four weeks before deciding if it’s working.
Use Movement to Get Gas Moving
Light physical activity, even a short walk after a meal, helps move intestinal gas through your digestive tract and reduces bloating. If you’re looking for more targeted relief, certain body positions and movements are particularly effective.
Lying on your left side can help release trapped gas, likely because of the anatomy of your colon. The wind-relieving pose (lying on your back and pulling your knees to your chest) puts gentle pressure on your abdomen and does exactly what its name suggests. Twisting movements compress the abdomen and push gas along. Child’s pose, where you kneel and fold forward with your arms extended, places similar pressure on your belly. Even a simple squat can help. These aren’t just folk remedies. The mechanical compression and changes in abdominal pressure genuinely help gas transit through your intestines.
When Gas Signals Something Else
Excessive gas on its own is rarely a sign of something serious, but it can occasionally point to an underlying condition worth investigating. Carbohydrate enzyme deficiencies (like lactose intolerance) are common and can be identified through dietary restriction or breath testing. Celiac disease can cause gas and bloating as well, and a blood test can screen for it. In some cases, an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine (rather than the colon, where they belong) causes excessive fermentation and gas.
Pay attention if your gas comes with progressively worsening symptoms, persistent pain, unintentional weight loss, fever, bleeding, nausea and vomiting, or if it persists for more than a week despite dietary changes. These are signs that something beyond normal digestive variation may be going on and that testing could be worthwhile.