Can bloating be prevented?

Bloating can be prevented, if you are aware of the behaviors that impact you. Watch integrative gastroenterologist Robynne Chutkan, MD, share her favorite natural bloat-busters, and explain why proper hydration and exercise are also important.

Transcript

00:00

Your intestinal tract is 30 feet long. That's a lot of highway that the products of digestion have to travel down before they come out the other end.

00:07

Drinking lots of water helps to push everything through in a timely fashion. [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:22

Bloating can be prevented, and I want you to remember that bloating is often your digestive tract's way of getting your attention, of saying to you you're

00:30

doing something I don't like. It might be the food that you're eating. It might be eating too late. It might be eating too much.

00:36

So it's always a good idea to pay attention and examine your habits and see if there's something that you can change. I have a couple suggestions, what I call my chewable bloat

00:45

busters. Ginger chews are a great example. Ginger chews as well as fennel seeds, a pinch of fennel seeds before your meal.

00:53

Both of these natural solutions help to melt the gas bubbles. So two simple things that can really help bloating a lot, exercise and drinking enough water.

01:02

Your intestinal tract is 30 feet long that's a lot of highway that the products of digestion have to travel down before they

01:08

come out the other end. Drinking lots of water helps to push everything through in a timely fashion. Exercise is another great bloat buster.

01:17

Exercise stimulates the gastrointestinal tract, which is actually one long muscular structure. If you're not moving, neither are your bowels,