Many people experience bloating immediately after eating. We explain what you can do to avoid gas after eating.

Avoid post-meal bloating

Gas can appear immediately after eating and last for a few hours. They are often accompanied by feelings of fullness, belching and a bloated stomach. They are usually a sign that important rules in life and nutrition are being disregarded. If you take these into account from now on, flatulence after meals can often be avoided or eliminated with simple measures.

How to prevent post-meal bloating

With the following tips, you will be able to soothe your digestive system so that flatulence does not arise after eating in the first place. Most of the tips are free but may take some time or some adjustment, but it’s definitely worth it, as you can get rid of gas and other digestive problems without medication.

1. Less bloating when you eat slowly

Eating very slowly and chewing thoroughly is often enough. Only when a bite is chewed to a pulp do you swallow it. In this way, you make your food very easy to digest and you are less likely to have indigestion problems.

The F. X. Mayr cure, also known as the milk and bread cure, shows how important and how effective this point is. It is named after its inventor, the spa doctor Franz Xaver Mayr (1875 – 1965), who was not only able to cure digestive problems with his cure but also many other health problems – even though the food used is not exactly the healthiest (white flour rolls with Milk).

Mayr recognized early on that a diseased intestine can lead to all kinds of diseases. He, therefore, concentrated on cleaning up the intestines of his patients. During the Mayr cure, there is only a stale white flour roll with a glass of milk eaten twice a day. The bun is eaten extremely slowly. Each bite is chewed 50 times and only then swallowed with a teaspoon of milk. In the evening there is only tea. The success of the cure shows firstly how healing it is to eat little, secondly how important it is to chew thoroughly and thirdly how unimportant it is WHAT you eat in these circumstances.

So if you suffer from post-meal gas and are a fast eater, change that! It is enormously worth it!

2. Don’t drink with food

If you drink regularly with meals, but at the same time often suffer from bloating after meals, try not drinking with meals. Although it is repeatedly claimed that one can drink something with food without any problems because it does not impair digestion, experience has shown that this does not apply to everyone.

You should not drink anything, especially if you are eating a meal that is rich in water (soups, salads, vegetables). It is better to drink a large glass of water half an hour before eating. This way your body has enough liquid to produce digestive juices. After eating, wait an hour before you drink something again – in small sips.

3. No salty or very dry dishes

If you suddenly become very thirsty while eating, you can of course also have a drink with meals. However, this is usually only the case if the food is too salty, too spicy or too dry. Avoid meals with these characteristics. However, if you eat an unusually dry meal (bread, crackers, pastries), eat it very slowly (see 1.).

4. No carbonated drinks

In any case, if you are prone to bloating, you should avoid carbonated drinks. With these, you swallow a lot of air, which in the best case is expelled by belching, but can also lead to flatulence. You should also avoid sugary drinks, alcohol (beer, wine, etc.) or juices. It is best to only drink non-carbonated water or herbal tea (preferably a gastrointestinal tea). Especially if you are used to drinking with meals, you should only choose the last two drinks or ginger water or ginger tea:

5. Ginger water relieves bloating

Ginger is a very effective home remedy for indigestion. It relieves bloating and reduces gas build-up in the intestines. The fastest way to prepare it is as follows: Put a piece of ginger in a blender with hot water. After two minutes of mixing, you can sip the warm ginger water. If you don’t like the ginger fibres, you can of course pour the ginger water through a fine sieve.

6. Sugar substitutes lead to severe flatulence

Sugar substitutes such as sorbitol, xylitol or maltitol lead to severe flatulence in many people. Make sure your meals do not contain any of these substances if you are prone to bloating.

7. No chewing gum

Sugar substitutes can also be found in chewing gum. Anyone who is sensitive to these substances but chews sweetened chewing gum after every meal can experience flatulence. When chewing gum, air is often swallowed as well, so this alone can contribute to flatulence.

8. Bitter substances before meals help against flatulence

Especially if you notice flatulence after fatty meals, bitter substances can help to avoid this flatulence. Consume the bitter substances a few minutes (5 – 15 minutes) before a meal. This stimulates the flow of bile and the formation of digestive juices, which leads to improved digestion and prevents flatulence. Of course, you should avoid unhealthy, extremely high-fat meals altogether, e.g.  very fatty meat, creamy desserts, cakes or similar.

Bitter substances are available in the form of alcohol-free herbal bitters (e.g. Swedish bitters). Barley grass powder and dandelion leaf powder are also very good sources of bitter substances.

9. Pay attention to intolerances

If, despite your best efforts, you experience severe flatulence after eating, get tested for food intolerance and food allergies, or try avoiding suspicious foods for a few days. If you have lactose intolerance (milk sugar intolerance), you would quickly feel better if you avoid dairy products.

In the case of fructose intolerance, flatulence will subside if fructose-rich foods are removed from the menu. Other intolerances include sorbitol intolerance, histamine intolerance and gluten intolerance. If the latter, try a gluten-free diet for a few weeks.

10. Brassicas and legumes

Many people already know that they develop particularly strong flatulence after certain foods, e.g. after cabbage vegetables or legumes. On the one hand, this can indicate that you generally eat too quickly, because difficult-to-digest foods in particular have to be chewed carefully and would then also be well tolerated. On the other hand, you may eat these foods too infrequently, preventing your digestive system from getting used to them.

11. Bloating caused by incorrect preparation

In the case of legumes, incorrect preparation can also be the reason for intolerance to this food group. Legumes must always be soaked overnight. The next day, drain off the soaking water and boil them in freshwater as usual. In this way, a large part of the flatulence-promoting ingredients are removed.

12. Not talking while eating

This tip reminds some of their childhood. When it was often said: You don’t speak with your mouth full. Apart from the aesthetic aspect, this educational measure could also have a health background. Because if you talk a lot while eating, you also swallow a lot of air, which can then lead to flatulence in those who tend to do so. So eat in peace and consciously enjoy every bite of your delicious meal.

13. Treat heartburn

If you suffer from heartburn, do everything you can to contain it. Because those who have heartburn are often also prone to flatulence. If the heartburn is treated successfully, the flatulence usually disappears as well.

In practice, the respective measures often overlap. Because if you eat slowly and chew thoroughly, if you don’t drink anything with your meal, if you avoid alcohol and carbonated drinks and consciously put your meals together, you will not only have less flatulence, but you will also suffer less often from heartburn.

14. Take fibre separately

If you want to increase your dietary fibre intake or are in the process of doing intestinal cleansing with psyllium husk, flaxseed, coconut flour or similar, then make sure to take the dietary fibre 1 hour before meals or 2 hours after a light meal – with lots of water. So do not take the fibre with food. This could cause bloating.

15. Exercise after eating

As the saying goes, after eating you should rest or take 1000 steps. The former does not mean that you should lie down for an hour, but rather that after eating (if possible) you do not immediately dive back into the stresses of everyday life. So even if you want to take 1000 steps after eating, then do so with prudence, breathe calmly and consciously and relax in a targeted manner. Exercise is one of the cornerstones of your health.

Flatulence after eating can be avoided

If you try the above tips on yourself, you will quickly notice that flatulence after eating is less and less frequent and you will also feel much better and fitter overall.

If your bloating is accompanied by abdominal pain, nausea, chronic constipation or diarrhea, or even unexplained weight loss, see your doctor for a check-up.

Of course, having a colonic can also help, by removing putrefied waste and microbes that contribute to flatulence.