Health
Here’s why you’re bloated — and what to do about the common digestive condition
Most people experience periods of bloating, which involves a tight, full feeling in the stomach that’s often combined with gas.
Although it’s very common and generally not serious, the condition can cause extensive discomfort.
Fox News Digital spoke with two gastroenterologists for more information about how to manage or prevent bloating symptoms so you can better digest the situation next time it happens to you.
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Here are details.
What exactly is bloating?
Tightness in the gut and feeling overly full are usually the first signs of bloating.
“Bloating refers to a person’s sensation of abdominal fullness,” said Leila Kia, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and a spokesperson for the American Gastroenterological Association.
Tightness in the gut and feeling overly full are usually the first signs of bloating. (iStock)
“This sometimes occurs when excess air is trapped in the digestive tract, causing discomfort — though more commonly, it is due to increased awareness of normal amounts of gas,” she told Fox News Digital.
What causes bloating?
There are many different causes of bloating, including these common triggers.
Gas-producing foods
Certain foods, such as beans, lentils, cruciferous vegetables and carbonated beverages, can produce gas during digestion.
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This happens either by the fermentation of gut bacteria or by fluid being drawn into the digestive tract, said Kyle Staller, M.D., director of the GI motility laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in the Boston metro area.
Lactose intolerance
Individuals diagnosed with lactose intolerance often experience bloating, gas and diarrhea after consuming dairy products, said Staller, who is also a spokesperson for the American Gastroenterological Association.
“Lactase supplements can help break down lactose, reducing these symptoms,” he said.
Certain medical conditions, such as celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disease, can lead to secondary lactose intolerance.
Menstrual cycles
During women’s menstrual cycles, hormone levels — particularly estrogen and progesterone — fluctuate to regulate the process, Staller said.
During women’s menstrual cycles, hormone levels — particularly estrogen and progesterone — fluctuate to regulate the process, a GI doctor said. (iStock)
“In the days leading up to menstruation, the body retains more water, and this can contribute to bloating,” the doctor said.
Overeating or sluggish bowel movements
When someone overeats, the digestive system is tasked with handling a larger amount of food than it’s accustomed to processing.
“Imagine your digestive system as a team of workers in a factory — they are responsible for breaking down the food you eat into smaller particles, absorbing nutrients and eliminating waste,” Staller said.
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“When you eat more than your body needs, it’s like sending an overwhelming amount of work to the digestive team,” he went on.
“As a result of this excess workload, the digestive process may slow down because there’s so much food to break down, which can lead to a backlog in the digestive system.”
“When you eat more than your body needs, it’s like sending an overwhelming amount of work to the digestive team.”
As the digestive system works harder to break down the surplus food, more gas is produced as a natural byproduct.
This excess gas can accumulate in the stomach and intestines, the doctor said.
An enlarged stomach can also put pressure on neighboring organs and structures, leading to a feeling of fullness and bloating. Constipation can also happen as a result, according to the expert.
How to reduce bloating
Lifestyle changes can help to prevent bloating from happening in the first place.
Diet modification can be effective, Staller said. He recommended identifying and limiting the foods that tend to cause gas and bloating.
As mentioned earlier, some common culprits include beans, certain vegetables, carbonated drinks and artificial sweeteners.
An enlarged stomach can also put pressure on neighboring organs and structures, leading to a feeling of fullness and bloating. (iStock)
Eating smaller, more frequent meals — and chewing food thoroughly, to reduce the amount of swallowed air — can also be helpful, according to the doctor.
Staller also recommended drinking plenty of water to help maintain regular bowel movements and prevent constipation, which can contribute to bloating.
Regular exercise can also promote healthy digestion and help alleviate bloating.
Treatments for bloating
Some over-the-counter remedies may help alleviate symptoms.
Anti-gas medications may provide relief by breaking down gas bubbles in the digestive tract, although evidence of their effectiveness is rather limited, noted Staller.
If an underlying medical condition, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), is causing bloating, a health care professional may prescribe medications to manage symptoms.
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Fiber supplements may also be helpful, although Staller noted that “not all fiber is created equal.”
He said, “I generally recommend soluble fiber as the best for IBS, which is one of the more common causes of bloating. Soluble fiber — found in foods like oats, beans and fruits — can be beneficial for bloating.”
Over-the-counter anti-gas medications may provide relief by breaking down gas bubbles in the digestive tract, although evidence of their effectiveness is rather limited, a doctor said. (iStock)
Although fiber can help bloating, it can also cause the condition, the doctor warned.
It’s advisable to introduce fiber supplements gradually to allow the digestive system to adjust.
“Starting with a low dose and increasing it over time can help minimize potential side effects like gas and bloating,” said Staller.
What if lifestyle changes don’t help?
Although bloating is common and typically harmless, Kia from Northwestern cautioned that if symptoms don’t improve with dietary and lifestyle changes, or if there are other associated symptoms, it’s important to consult a physician.
“If a person has persistent bloating that does not improve with lifestyle or diet interventions, one may want to consider other causes,” Kia told Fox News Digital.
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“Bloating can be due to digestive disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, or inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease),” she said.
“It can also be seen in chronic constipation, intestinal blockage, bacterial overgrowth or cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.”
Diet modification can be effective in preventing bloating, a GI doctor said. (iStock)
These conditions require specific treatments aimed at treating the underlying problem, the doctor said.
“Bloating typically improves when the underlying cause is addressed.”
It’s also important to consult a physician if bloating persists or is associated with pain, bloody stools or weight loss, she emphasized.
“Your doctor may want to order tests to determine the cause,” Kia said. “Some of these tests may include scans of the abdomen, a colonoscopy, an upper endoscopy, or blood and stool tests.”
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Feeling lonely may take a toll on older adults’ memory — but it may not speed up cognitive decline, according to a new study.
Researchers from Colombia, Spain and Sweden analyzed data from more than 10,000 adults ages 65 to 94 across 12 European countries and found those who reported higher levels of loneliness did worse on memory tests at the start of the study, according to research published this month in the journal Aging & Mental Health.
Over a seven-year period, however, memory decline occurred at a similar rate regardless of how lonely participants felt.
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“The finding that loneliness significantly impacted memory, but not the speed of decline in memory over time was a surprising outcome,” lead author Dr. Luis Carlos Venegas-Sanabria of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Universidad del Rosario said in a statement.
Loneliness may be linked to memory performance in older adults, a new study suggests. (iStock)
“It suggests that loneliness may play a more prominent role in the initial state of memory than in its progressive decline,” Venegas-Sanabria said, adding that the findings highlight the importance of addressing loneliness as a factor in cognitive performance.
The findings add to debate about whether loneliness contributes to dementia risk. While loneliness and social isolation are often considered risk factors for cognitive decline, research results have been mixed.
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The study looked at data from the long-running Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), which tracked 10,217 older adults between 2012 and 2019. Participants were asked to recall words immediately and after a delay to measure memory performance.
Social isolation and loneliness could play a surprising role in cognitive health among seniors. (iStock)
Loneliness was assessed using three questions about how often participants felt isolated, left out or lacking companionship.
About 8% of participants reported high levels of loneliness at the outset. That group tended to be older, more likely to be female and more likely to have conditions such as depression.
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Researchers found that those with higher loneliness had lower scores on both immediate and delayed memory tests at baseline. Still, all groups — regardless of loneliness level — experienced similar declines in memory over time.
The results suggest loneliness may not directly accelerate the progression of memory loss, though it remains linked to poorer cognitive performance overall.
Researchers look at a brain scan at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
Experts warn, however, that the findings should not be interpreted to mean loneliness is harmless.
“The finding that lonely older adults start with worse memory but don’t decline faster is actually the most interesting part of the paper, and I think it’s easy to misread,” said Jordan Weiss, Ph.D., a scientific advisor and aging expert at Assisted Living Magazine and a professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
“It likely means loneliness does its damage earlier in life, well before people show up in a study like this at 65-plus,” Weiss told Fox News Digital.
By older age, long-term social patterns may already be established, making it harder to detect when the effects of loneliness first took hold, an aging expert says. (iStock)
He suggested that by older age, long-term social patterns may already be established, making it harder to detect when the effects of loneliness first took hold.
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“By the time you’re measuring someone in their late 60s, decades of social connection patterns are already baked in,” he said.
Weiss, who was not involved in the research, added that loneliness may coincide with other health conditions, and noted that participants who felt more isolated also had higher rates of depression, high-blood pressure and diabetes. The link, he said, may reflect a cluster of health risks rather than a direct cause.
“While they can go hand-in-hand, it’s not clear that loneliness contributes to dementia,” a psychotherapist says. (iStock)
Amy Morin, a Florida-based psychotherapist and author, said the findings reflect a broader pattern in research on loneliness and brain health, and that the relationship may be more complex than it appears.
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“The evidence shows there’s a link between loneliness and cognitive decline but there’s no direct evidence of a cause and effect relationship,” she said. “So while they can go hand-in-hand, it’s not clear that loneliness contributes to dementia.”
Morin added that loneliness, which can fluctuate, may not be the root of the problem, but rather a symptom of other underlying mental or physical health issues.
Researchers suggested screening for loneliness be incorporated into routine cognitive assessments as one way to support healthy aging. (iStock)
She said staying socially and mentally engaged is crucial for overall brain health.
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“It’s important to be proactive about social activities,” Morin said. “Joining a book club, having coffee with a friend, or attending faith-based services can be a powerful way to maintain connections in older age.”
The researchers also suggested screening for loneliness be incorporated into routine cognitive assessments as one way to support healthy aging.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for comment.
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Research continues to uncover new details on how fasting may help extend life.
A new study published in the journal Nature Communications investigated how intermittent fasting can boost longevity in small worms often used in aging research.
Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas compared worms that were fed normally to those that underwent a 24-hour fast in early adulthood and were then fed again, according to a press release.
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The scientists measured a variety of factors, including stored fat, gene activity related to fat metabolism and lifespan.
The results showed that the life-boosting benefit did not depend on the fasting itself but on the body’s behavior after eating again.
Experts say sustainability is key when choosing a long-term weight-loss strategy. (iStock)
Study lead Peter Douglas, associate professor of molecular biology and a member of the Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine at UT Southwestern, suggested that these discoveries “shift the focus toward a neglected side of the metabolic coin – the re-feeding phase.”
“Our data suggest that the health-promoting effects of intermittent fasting are not merely a product of the fast itself, but are dependent on how the metabolic machinery recalibrates during the subsequent transition back to a fed state,” he said.
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“Our findings bridge a gap between lipid metabolism and aging research,” he added. “By targeting aging, the single greatest risk factor for human disease, we move beyond treating isolated conditions toward a preventive model of medicine that enhances quality of life for all individuals.”
Lauri Wright, director of nutrition programs at the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health, called this a “high-quality” study that adds an “important nuance to how we think about fasting and longevity.”
Intermittent fasting typically involves limiting meals to an eight-hour daily window or fasting every other day. (iStock)
The benefits of the refeeding phase after fasting were “especially interesting,” Wright, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
“The researchers showed that longevity was linked to the body’s ability to turn off fat breakdown after fasting, allowing cells to restore energy balance,” she reiterated.
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“From a scientific standpoint, that’s a meaningful shift because it suggests fasting is not just about burning fat, but about metabolic flexibility.”
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Fasting may support longevity through triggering metabolic switching, enhancing cellular repair and stress resistance and improving markers like insulin sensitivity, research shows.
Limitations and cautions
Although this study provides “important insight” on the power of refeeding, Wright noted that the findings should be approached with caution, as the study was done on worms and cannot always be translated to humans.
“Additionally, it explains how a process might work in a controlled lab condition rather than real-world eating behaviors,” she added as a limitation. “Finally, the study is short-term and doesn’t give us the long-term translation on lifespan outcomes.”
The review found intermittent fasting was barely more effective than doing nothing, according to the study authors. (iStock)
Wright cautioned that fasting is “not a magic solution for longevity, and how you eat overall matters more than when you eat.”
“I advise, first and foremost, to focus on diet quality, including a variety of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats and minimally processed foods,” she said.
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For those who are considering fasting, it’s better to stick with a moderate plan — like a 12- to 14-hour overnight fast — rather than going to extremes, Wright said. After fasting, she recommends focusing on well-balanced meals.
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Several groups of people should be cautioned against fasting, according to Wright, including those with diabetes who are on insulin or hypoglycemic medications, those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, anyone with a history of eating disorders and older adults at risk of malnutrition.
Anyone considering intermittent fasting should consult with a doctor before starting.
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