No matter the cause, bloating is a bummer. Struggling to button a pair of pants that fit easily days earlier is never fun. Fortunately, there are plenty of strategies for banishing gas and bloating fast. One of the most powerful ones is to fill your plate with the best foods for a flat belly while limiting your intake of foods that make bloating worse.
Meet the experts: Joanne Slavin, Ph.D., R.D., a professor of food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota; Amy Shapiro, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., the founder and director of Real Nutrition in New York City; Leslie Bonci, R.D., M.P.H., the owner of Active Eating Advice; Frances Largeman-Roth, R.D.N., a nutrition expert and author of Eating in Color.
Here, dietitians share the foods you should be loading up on and those you should be replacing in order to reduce bloating and help you feel more comfortable in your favorite clothes.
Foods and drinks to add to your diet to help get rid of bloating
Two kinds of fiber
Constipation distends your belly, but one easy way to get rid of it is by starting each morning with a breakfast that contains both gel-like soluble and bulky insoluble fiber. The two types work together to pull water into your colon and speed up elimination, explained Joanne Slavin, Ph.D., R.D., a professor of food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota. This should get your digestive system moving within a day or so and keep it that way to help you look and feel less bloated.
Do this: You’ll find both types of fiber in oatmeal. No time to cook a batch before heading out the door? Try these delicious overnight oats recipes.
Potassium-rich foods
High-potassium fare helps your body get rid of excess water weight, minimizing your middle. The extra fluid is typically present because the two main minerals that control the amount of water in your body—potassium and sodium—have gotten out of balance. When your sodium level is too high, your tissues hold on to more fluid.
You can restore your sodium-potassium equilibrium by upping your potassium intake to an optimal 2,600 milligrams (mg) per day for women or 3,400 mg per day for men, per the National Institutes of Health (NIH). One thing to keep in mind: High-potassium foods are a safe source of the mineral, but supplements are not. They can cause potassium to build up in your body and potentially lead to abnormal heart rhythms and even heart attack, especially in people with kidney or heart problems, said Leslie Bonci, R.D., M.P.H., the owner of Active Eating Advice.
Do this: Make an effort to load up on potassium-rich fruits and veggies, along with lentils, milk, and orange juice. As you rebalance your system, you’ll flush out the extra sodium along with the water. Presto! Less puffiness.
Peppermint tea
Sip the herbal brew when a big meal leaves your belly feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. Peppermint helps speed digestion thanks to compounds that promote muscle contractions in the gut, according to research. “I use it all the time to ease indigestion and gas,” said Frances Largeman-Roth, R.D.N., a nutrition expert and author of Eating in Color.
Do this: Use store-bought peppermint tea bags, or steep fresh mint leaves in hot water for five minutes.
More fluids
Staying well hydrated helps flatten your tummy in a number of ways, said Bonci. For example, when there’s enough fluid present in your system, dual-fiber foods like oats are better able to pull liquid into your lower intestine and ease constipation. “Women who don’t drink sufficient fluids can get that blown-up belly feeling, despite all their other efforts to get rid of it,” warned Bonci.
How much fluid do you need? Per the Mayo Clinic, adults need between 11.5 and 15.5 cups of total fluid each day. That includes water, milk, coffee, tea, and high-water fruits and vegetables, which typically account for about 20% of your daily fluid needs.
Do this: Tap water is an excellent option because it has no calories, salt, sugar, or additives. And it’s free! If you’re not a fan of the taste, jazz things up by infusing it with fresh fruit.
Greek yogurt
An imbalance of bacteria in your gut can cause your digestive system to slow down—leaving you backed up and bloated, according to research. Yogurt is a probiotic food that can help improve digestion and tame symptoms like bloating.
Do this: Eat four ounces of plain yogurt containing live, active cultures daily. If you’re bored with the usual yogurt and fruit combo, shake things up by adding it to homemade salad dressings, using it to prepare a meat marinade, or swapping it in baked goods recipes for sour cream.
Protein
Protein can help you steer clear of bloat-inducing snack foods like sugary cookies or salty chips. “Eating protein at meals and snacks helps people feel fuller longer, so they’re less likely to reach for something unhealthy,” said Largeman-Roth.
Do this: Pairing your protein source with fiber-rich foods will keep you full even longer. Try starting your day with a high-protein breakfast and ending it with a high-protein, low-carb meal to keep bloating at bay.
Spices like ginger and fennel seed
Both ginger and fennel seed contain compounds that stimulate digestion and relieve gas to help your belly flatten out, Shapiro said. Relying on spices for flavor helps you cut back on the salt, which can also reduce bloating.
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Do this: Steep fennel seeds or fresh grated ginger in hot water to make a bloat-banishing tea.
Foods and drinks to avoid to banish bloating
Refined carbs
Loading up on white bread, pasta, or sugary baked goods is a surefire path to bloatsville. Why? “The body breaks refined carbs down into glucose, or sugar, very quickly,” explained Amy Shapiro, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., the founder and director of Real Nutrition in New York City. Some of that glucose gets used as energy, but whatever you don’t need right away gets stored in the muscles and liver for later. The problem? “When we store glucose, we store each molecule along with two molecules of water,” Shapiro said. That’s a recipe for water retention, which can leave you feeling puffy.
Do this instead: Swap refined carbs for complex ones, like whole grains or sweet potatoes. They’re higher in fiber and don’t prompt the body to store as much water, so they’re less likely to cause bloat, Shapiro explained. If you’re used to making white rice or pasta because they’re fast, try a quick-cooking whole grain like quinoa. These one-pot quinoa recipes will have dinner on the table in just 30 minutes.
Sodium
Sodium makes you retain water, puffing out your belly. And most of us eat more than twice as much as we should—topping 3,300 mg a day, rather than the recommended 2,300 mg, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Do this instead: Pay attention to the sodium count in packaged foods. They account for around 70% of the sodium in our diets, the CDC reports—far more than the salt you shake onto your food.
Alcohol
Consider taking a break from the booze if bloating is an issue. “Alcohol is an inflammatory agent, and it can cause gas,” Shapiro explained. It’s also super dehydrating, which prompts the body to hold on to as much water as possible. “That can lead to visible bloat,” she added.
Do this instead: Avoid alcohol altogether if you need to de-puff fast. And next time around? Enjoy a lower-sugar option like a glass of wine, tequila with a squeeze of lime, or another low-calorie alcoholic drink. Down a glass of water before and after your drink to stay hydrated, too, Shapiro recommended.
Candy and bubbly drinks
Once air from any source reaches your digestive system, you experience it as gas and a distended belly. Eating or drinking quickly, sipping through a straw, sucking on hard candy, and chewing gum can make you swallow air. The bubbles in carbonated drinks can puff you out, too.
Do this instead: “When eating, chew slowly with your mouth closed,” said Bonci. Trade carbonated drinks for flat ones like water or unsweetened iced tea, and lose the gum and candies.
Raw produce
Fresh fruits and vegetables are healthy, but they’re also high-volume foods that take up room in your stomach. That can make your belly look like it’s sticking out more.
Do this instead: Spread your fresh produce consumption over the day, so at any sitting you’re not eating more than one-third of the recommended daily total of 4 1/2 cups. You can also shrink produce by cooking it, creating a more compact serving, Bonci said.
Sugary coffee drinks
That saccharine latte might give you a boost, but it’s not doing your belly any favors. “Some coffee drinks can be sweetened with high fructose corn syrup or agave nectar, which both contain fructose,” Largeman-Roth said. Large amounts of fructose can be tough to digest, resulting in gas and bloating.
Do this instead: Trade the fancy drink for a simple, sugar-free pick-me-up like green tea, Largeman-Roth recommended.
Sugar alcohols
We don’t completely digest these low-cal sweeteners, which are often found in flavored waters and low-carb, diabetic, and sugar-free foods. As a result, bacteria in the large intestine ferment them, causing gas, bloating, and even diarrhea, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Do this instead: Check food labels for commonly used sugar alcohols like sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, and lactitol. If you choose to use a sweetener, stick with small amounts of natural ones instead, like honey, maple syrup, molasses, and coconut sugar.
This article was originally published in 2019 and has since been updated.
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