Gut Health Focus
Abdominal Distension: What to Do to Relieve Bloating and Improve Digestion
Bruna Barbosa
October 27, 2025
3 min read
20 views
Do you suffer from frequent bloating? See what I would do! Abdominal bloating is a symptom...
Frequent abdominal pain? Here's what I would do!
Abdominal bloating is a very common symptom among my patients and can be a sign that something is wrong with your gut. Besides physical discomfort, this bloating can affect your self-esteem, well-being, and even your daily life. Many patients report that their belly swells so much that they look pregnant, even when they're eating little. This causes embarrassment, difficulty wearing fitted clothes, and even social avoidance.
1️⃣ Dietary Adjustments 🍴
If I were experiencing recurring episodes of abdominal bloating, the first thing I would do would be to adjust my diet. Eliminating ultra-processed foods, rich in sugars, refined vegetable oils, and chemical additives would be the first step. These ingredients are highly inflammatory and ferment in the intestine, contributing to gas accumulation and increased bloating. This fermentation causes discomfort, poor digestion, and overloads the liver and intestinal microbiota.
2️⃣ Use of Natural Seasonings 🌿
Another essential change would be to invest in natural seasonings such as rosemary, oregano, basil, saffron, parsley, and thyme. Besides being tasty, these seasonings have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and digestive properties, which help regulate the microbiota, improve digestion, and reduce bloating. These phytonutrients also stimulate the production of bile and natural digestive enzymes.
3️⃣ Digestive Teas 🍵
I would also include digestive teas such as rosemary, ginger, espinheira-santa, and guaçatonga in my daily routine, consumed about 15 minutes before main meals. These teas help produce digestive juices, promote nutrient absorption, and improve gastric emptying, in addition to regulating gastric pH. They are a simple and effective alternative for relieving symptoms in just a few days.
Practical tip: Establish a dinner routine by 7 p.m. to ensure more efficient digestion before bed. Sleeping right after eating disrupts the digestive process, promotes fermentation, and can contribute to reflux and discomfort when lying down. Poor nocturnal digestion is directly associated with bloating and morning gas.
4️⃣ Stress Management 🧘♀️
Stress management also cannot be ignored. Activities such as walking, meditation, yoga, therapy, reading, or even nature walks help regulate the gut-brain axis. Constant stress alters gastric acid production, compromises the integrity of the intestinal mucosa, and directly impacts the microbiota, favoring conditions such as dysbiosis, hypochlorhydria, and even inflammatory bowel diseases.
Practical tip: Seek a specialized nutritionist to investigate the real cause of the bloating. It can be related to hypochlorhydria (low gastric acid production), food intolerances, poor digestion of FODMAPs, or even conditions such as SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), SIFO (fungal overgrowth), and intestinal dysbiosis. Treating these causes is essential for complete symptom improvement and preventing the problem from recurring.
Conclusion
Abdominal bloating is a symptom that can be alleviated with dietary changes, the use of natural spices, digestive teas, stress management, and seeking professional help. It's important to understand the underlying causes and treat the problem holistically to achieve lasting results.
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Bruna Barbosa
Nutricionista – CRN-DF 16963, District Federal, Brazil
Specialist in digestive health, functional nutrition, and phytotherapy. Helping patients overcome chronic digestive conditions through personalized protocols and the Renova Digest method.
For more information about personalized consultations and the Renova Digest program, visit: https://nutribrunabarbosa.com.br
Abdominal bloating is a very common symptom among my patients and can be a sign that something is wrong with your gut. Besides physical discomfort, this bloating can affect your self-esteem, well-being, and even your daily life. Many patients report that their belly swells so much that they look pregnant, even when they're eating little. This causes embarrassment, difficulty wearing fitted clothes, and even social avoidance.
1️⃣ Dietary Adjustments 🍴
If I were experiencing recurring episodes of abdominal bloating, the first thing I would do would be to adjust my diet. Eliminating ultra-processed foods, rich in sugars, refined vegetable oils, and chemical additives would be the first step. These ingredients are highly inflammatory and ferment in the intestine, contributing to gas accumulation and increased bloating. This fermentation causes discomfort, poor digestion, and overloads the liver and intestinal microbiota.
2️⃣ Use of Natural Seasonings 🌿
Another essential change would be to invest in natural seasonings such as rosemary, oregano, basil, saffron, parsley, and thyme. Besides being tasty, these seasonings have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and digestive properties, which help regulate the microbiota, improve digestion, and reduce bloating. These phytonutrients also stimulate the production of bile and natural digestive enzymes.
3️⃣ Digestive Teas 🍵
I would also include digestive teas such as rosemary, ginger, espinheira-santa, and guaçatonga in my daily routine, consumed about 15 minutes before main meals. These teas help produce digestive juices, promote nutrient absorption, and improve gastric emptying, in addition to regulating gastric pH. They are a simple and effective alternative for relieving symptoms in just a few days.
Practical tip: Establish a dinner routine by 7 p.m. to ensure more efficient digestion before bed. Sleeping right after eating disrupts the digestive process, promotes fermentation, and can contribute to reflux and discomfort when lying down. Poor nocturnal digestion is directly associated with bloating and morning gas.
4️⃣ Stress Management 🧘♀️
Stress management also cannot be ignored. Activities such as walking, meditation, yoga, therapy, reading, or even nature walks help regulate the gut-brain axis. Constant stress alters gastric acid production, compromises the integrity of the intestinal mucosa, and directly impacts the microbiota, favoring conditions such as dysbiosis, hypochlorhydria, and even inflammatory bowel diseases.
Practical tip: Seek a specialized nutritionist to investigate the real cause of the bloating. It can be related to hypochlorhydria (low gastric acid production), food intolerances, poor digestion of FODMAPs, or even conditions such as SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), SIFO (fungal overgrowth), and intestinal dysbiosis. Treating these causes is essential for complete symptom improvement and preventing the problem from recurring.
Conclusion
Abdominal bloating is a symptom that can be alleviated with dietary changes, the use of natural spices, digestive teas, stress management, and seeking professional help. It's important to understand the underlying causes and treat the problem holistically to achieve lasting results.
---
Bruna Barbosa
Nutricionista – CRN-DF 16963, District Federal, Brazil
Specialist in digestive health, functional nutrition, and phytotherapy. Helping patients overcome chronic digestive conditions through personalized protocols and the Renova Digest method.
For more information about personalized consultations and the Renova Digest program, visit: https://nutribrunabarbosa.com.br
