Most stomach gas resolves with simple changes to how you eat, what you eat, and how you move. Healthy adults pass gas 14 to 23 times a day, so some gas is completely normal. The discomfort you’re feeling, that tight, bloated pressure in your abdomen, usually comes from trapped gas that hasn’t moved through your digestive tract efficiently. Here’s what actually works to get relief.
Move Your Body to Move the Gas
Physical movement is one of the fastest ways to relieve gas that’s already trapped. A short walk, even five to ten minutes, helps relax the muscles around your abdomen and encourages gas to pass through your digestive tract naturally. If walking isn’t enough, a few specific positions can apply gentle pressure to your belly and speed things along.
The knee-to-chest pose is a go-to for a reason. Lie on your back, bring both knees up to a 90-degree angle, grab the front of each knee, and pull your thighs toward your chest while tucking your chin down. This compresses your abdomen and helps release trapped air. You can also try the happy baby pose: lie on your back, lift your knees to the sides of your body, and gently pull your feet downward with your hands. Rocking side to side in this position can provide additional relief.
Child’s pose works well too. Kneel on the floor, then lean back so your hips rest on your heels while stretching your arms forward along the ground. Your torso rests on your thighs, creating gentle abdominal pressure. A seated forward bend, where you sit with legs straight and fold your chest toward your knees, uses the same principle. You can also try massaging your abdomen in a circular motion from right to left, following the natural path of your digestive tract.
Change How You Eat
A surprising amount of stomach gas comes from swallowed air rather than food digestion. Eating too fast, talking during meals, chewing gum, sucking on hard candy, drinking through a straw, and sipping carbonated beverages all cause you to swallow excess air. This condition, called aerophagia, is one of the most common and most fixable causes of gas and bloating.
The fix is straightforward: chew your food slowly and make sure you’ve swallowed one bite before taking the next. Take sips from a glass instead of using a straw. Save conversation for after the meal rather than during it. Cut back on carbonated drinks, and if you smoke, that’s another source of swallowed air worth addressing.
Foods That Cause the Most Gas
Certain carbohydrates ferment in your large intestine because your body can’t fully absorb them higher up in the digestive tract. Bacteria break them down and produce gas as a byproduct. The biggest culprits fall into a group called FODMAPs, and knowing which foods contain the most can help you identify your triggers.
Legumes and pulses like red kidney beans, split peas, and baked beans are among the worst offenders. Vegetables rich in fermentable fibers include garlic, onion, leeks, artichokes, mushrooms, and celery. For fruit, apples, pears, cherries, mangoes, watermelon, peaches, and dried fruit tend to produce the most gas because of their fructose and sorbitol content. Apples and pears are a double hit since they contain both.
Grain-based foods made from wheat and rye, including wholemeal bread, wheat pasta, rye crispbread, and wheat-based muesli, are common triggers. Even some nuts contribute: cashews and pistachios are notably high in the types of carbohydrates that ferment easily.
You don’t necessarily need to eliminate all of these foods permanently. Try reducing portions of the most likely culprits for a week or two and see if your symptoms improve. Many people find that a few specific foods are responsible for most of their discomfort.
Over-the-Counter Options That Help
Simethicone is the most widely available gas relief medication. It works by breaking up gas bubbles in your digestive tract so they’re easier to pass. The typical adult dose is 40 to 125 mg taken four times a day, after meals and at bedtime, with a maximum of 500 mg in 24 hours. It’s available as capsules, chewable tablets, and liquid suspension. Simethicone treats gas you already have rather than preventing it.
If your gas comes specifically from beans, root vegetables, or high-fiber foods, an enzyme supplement containing alpha-galactosidase (sold as Beano) can help. It breaks down the non-absorbable fibers in those foods before they reach your large intestine and start fermenting. You take it with your first bite of the problem food, not after the gas has already formed.
For dairy-related gas, a lactase enzyme supplement taken before eating dairy can prevent the bloating and cramping that come with lactose intolerance. And if bloating is your main complaint, enteric-coated peppermint oil capsules relax the smooth muscle in your bowel, easing cramps, bloating, and gas. The enteric coating is important because it prevents the peppermint oil from releasing in your stomach, where it can cause heartburn, and delivers it to your intestines where it’s needed.
Long-Term Prevention Strategies
If gas is a recurring problem, keeping a simple food diary for one to two weeks can reveal patterns you wouldn’t notice otherwise. Write down what you eat and when your symptoms are worst. You may find that a single food group, like wheat or dairy, is driving most of your discomfort.
Gradually increasing your fiber intake rather than jumping to a high-fiber diet all at once gives your gut bacteria time to adapt and produces less gas in the transition. Drinking plenty of water alongside fiber helps it move through your system more smoothly. Eating smaller, more frequent meals instead of large ones reduces the amount of food fermenting in your gut at any given time.
When Gas Signals Something Else
Passing gas more than 23 times a day, or dealing with bloating that persists for more than a week, may point to an underlying digestive condition like irritable bowel syndrome, lactose intolerance, or celiac disease. Pay attention to accompanying symptoms: diarrhea or constipation that doesn’t resolve, nausea, vomiting, fever, blood in your stool, unintentional weight loss, or anemia are all signals that something beyond normal gas production is going on.
Bloating that gets progressively worse over time, is persistently painful, or comes with any of those additional symptoms warrants medical evaluation to rule out conditions that need specific treatment.