Most stomach gas comes out on its own through burping or passing it through your digestive tract, but when it feels stuck, a few simple techniques can speed things along. The discomfort you’re feeling is usually caused by air you’ve swallowed or gas produced when bacteria in your gut break down food. Both are normal, and both are fixable.
Why Gas Gets Trapped
There are two main ways gas builds up in your stomach. The first is swallowed air, sometimes called aerophagia. Every time you chew, breathe, or talk, a small amount of air enters your stomach. That’s normal. But certain habits dramatically increase how much air you take in: eating too fast, talking while eating, chewing gum, sucking on hard candy, drinking through a straw, or sipping carbonated beverages. Smoking and using a CPAP machine for sleep apnea can also push extra air into your digestive tract. Stress and anxiety tend to make you swallow more frequently, compounding the problem.
The second source is fermentation. When your gut bacteria break down carbohydrates that your small intestine didn’t fully digest (beans, lentils, cruciferous vegetables, whole grains), they produce gas as a byproduct. This gas can accumulate in your stomach and intestines and cause bloating, cramping, or sharp pains until it finds a way out.
Physical Positions That Move Gas
Your body responds well to gravity and gentle pressure on the abdomen. Certain positions compress or stretch the digestive tract in ways that help trapped gas travel toward an exit. You don’t need a yoga mat or any experience. Just find a comfortable spot on the floor.
Wind-Relieving Pose
This one is named for exactly what it does. Lie on your back and bring your legs straight up to 90 degrees. Bend both knees and pull your thighs into your abdomen. Keep your knees and ankles together, wrap your arms around your legs, and clasp your hands. If you can, lift your neck and tuck your chin toward your chest or onto your knees. The compression against your belly creates gentle pressure that helps gas move through your intestines. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds, release, and repeat a few times.
Child’s Pose
Kneel on the floor, then slowly walk your hands out in front of you as you bend at the hips. Let your torso rest on your thighs and your forehead touch the floor. Allow your belly to fall heavy into your legs. That gentle, sustained pressure on your abdomen works similarly to the wind-relieving pose, massaging your internal organs and encouraging gas to pass. Stay here for five slow breaths or longer if it feels good.
Other Quick Moves
A simple walk around the block can be surprisingly effective. Movement stimulates your intestinal muscles to contract and push gas along. Lying on your left side also helps, because your stomach curves in a way that lets gas rise toward the opening to your esophagus, making it easier to burp. Gently rubbing your abdomen in a clockwise direction (following the path of your large intestine) can also nudge things along.
Over-the-Counter Options
If physical movement alone isn’t enough, a few products at the pharmacy can help, though their effectiveness varies.
Simethicone is the most widely available gas relief product, sold under brand names you’ll recognize on any drugstore shelf. It works by reducing the surface tension of gas bubbles in your stomach and intestines, causing small bubbles to merge into larger ones that are easier to burp up or pass. It’s not absorbed into your bloodstream, so side effects are rare. Standard adult doses range from 40 to 360 mg taken after meals, with a maximum of 500 mg per day. For many people, it takes the edge off quickly, though it works better on existing gas bubbles than on preventing new ones.
Digestive enzyme supplements take a different approach. Products containing alpha-galactosidase are designed to break down complex carbohydrates from beans and high-fiber foods before your gut bacteria get the chance to ferment them. A typical dose is about 450 galactosidase units per meal. Two small controlled trials found that taking the enzyme with a meal of beans did significantly reduce gas symptoms. That said, the overall body of evidence is limited, and larger studies haven’t been done. These supplements work best as a preventive measure, taken right before or with a gas-producing meal, not after the bloating has already started.
Activated charcoal is sometimes recommended for gas, but the evidence is mixed. While activated charcoal is proven effective in emergency rooms for absorbing toxins, its ability to relieve everyday gas and bloating hasn’t been consistently supported in studies. More importantly, charcoal binds to whatever is in your stomach, which means it can reduce the effectiveness of medications you’re taking and block absorption of nutrients. If you take any prescription drugs, this is one to skip or at least use with caution.
Habits That Prevent Gas From Building Up
Relieving gas in the moment is useful, but preventing it from accumulating in the first place saves you the discomfort. Most prevention comes down to how and what you eat.
Slow down at meals. Eating quickly increases the amount of air you swallow, and it also leads to eating more than you need, which compounds the bloating. Chewing each bite thoroughly gives your saliva time to start breaking down food and reduces the work your stomach and intestines have to do later. When digestion is sluggish because food wasn’t chewed well, bacteria have more material to ferment, and that means more gas.
Cut the habits that pump extra air into your stomach. Drinking through straws, chewing gum, and sipping carbonated drinks are the biggest offenders beyond eating speed. If you tend to eat while stressed or on the go, that combination of anxiety and rushing makes you swallow significantly more air than a calm, seated meal would.
Pay attention to which foods consistently give you trouble. Common culprits include beans, lentils, broccoli, cabbage, onions, dairy (if you’re lactose intolerant), and sugar-free products containing sugar alcohols like sorbitol. You don’t necessarily need to eliminate these foods entirely. Cooking beans thoroughly, introducing high-fiber foods gradually, and pairing them with a digestive enzyme supplement can all reduce the gas they produce.
When Gas Signals Something Bigger
Occasional gas is a normal part of digestion. Most people pass gas 13 to 21 times a day. But certain patterns deserve attention. If your bloating gets progressively worse over time, persists for more than a week, or comes with consistent pain, those are signs that something beyond normal digestion may be going on. Conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, celiac disease, and food intolerances can all produce chronic, excessive gas.
Watch for what doctors call alarm symptoms alongside your bloating: persistent diarrhea or constipation, nausea, vomiting, fever, blood in your stool, signs of anemia (unusual fatigue, pale skin), or unintentional weight loss. Any of these paired with ongoing gas and bloating warrants a conversation with a healthcare provider who can look for underlying causes rather than just treating the symptoms.