ArticlesTopic 04

Bloating & Digestion

The belly that grows all day, gas you’re hiding, constipation, and what’s really behind it.

234 articles

Bloating & DigestionEvidence check
Gas and Bloating Getting You Down? What a Study of 936 Adults Found
Gas, bloating, rumbling and burping are almost universal. In a representative French survey of 936 adults, only 7% reported no gas symptoms at all, and nearly 30% said the symptoms had a big impact on their quality of life. Women and younger adults were more bothered, and people who ate more fruit and vegetables and less sugar reported fewer symptoms. Here is what that means and practical ways to cope.
October 20262 min read
Bloating & DigestionEvidence check
Gluten Sensitivity Without Celiac: Is It the Gluten or the Wheat?
Many people feel better off wheat without having celiac disease. In blinded trials, where people didn't know what they were eating, gluten often caused no more symptoms than a placebo. In a 2018 trial of 59 people, fructans, a carbohydrate in wheat, caused the most bloating. Across 10 trials, only 16% showed symptoms specific to gluten. Here is what that means and the order to test things in.
October 20262 min read
Bloating & DigestionGuide
IBS With Diarrhea: Prescription Options and the Gallbladder Warning to Know
For IBS with diarrhea, a 2022 gastroenterology guideline gave conditional support to several prescriptions, including rifaximin, eluxadoline, alosetron, loperamide and low-dose tricyclic antidepressants, and advised against SSRIs. If you've had your gallbladder removed, one of those options is off the table.
October 20262 min read
Bloating & DigestionEvidence check
IBS: Hypnotherapy or a Low-FODMAP Diet? What Trials Show
The low-FODMAP diet is the best-known diet for IBS, but it's restrictive. In an Australian trial of 74 people, gut-directed hypnotherapy relieved gut symptoms as well as the diet, with about 71 to 72% improving in each group, and only hypnotherapy eased anxiety and low mood. A Dutch trial of 354 people found group hypnotherapy worked about as well as one-to-one sessions. Here is what the studies show.
October 20262 min read
Bloating & DigestionChecklist
Taking Ibuprofen or Naproxen After 60? The Stomach-Bleeding Warning on the Label
Over-the-counter NSAID pain relievers such as ibuprofen carry a stomach-bleeding warning that lists being 60 or older as a risk factor. Blood thinners, steroids, a past ulcer, daily drinking and taking more or longer than directed raise the risk too. Here is the label's checklist and the warning signs to know.
October 20262 min read
Bloating & DigestionWhat to expect
Indigestion at 60 or Older? Why Guidelines Suggest a Scope First
Upper-belly pain, burning or feeling full too fast is usually harmless, but the age you start having it changes the advice. A joint U.S. and Canadian gastroenterology guideline suggests an upper endoscopy for people 60 and older with indigestion, and an H. pylori test, then acid reducers, for younger people. Here is the step-by-step path.
October 20262 min read
Bloating & DigestionEvidence check
Look Pregnant After Eating? Belly Distension and Biofeedback
For some women, the belly swells visibly after meals even though scans show little extra gas. Lab studies traced it to a reflex: the diaphragm pushes down and the belly wall relaxes. In two small trials, women taught to reverse that reflex with live muscle readings cut their distension scores by 56% and 66%. Here is what the reflex is, what the trials did, and what to ask for.
October 20262 min read
Bloating & DigestionChecklist
New Bloating After 50: When It's Your Gut and When to Get a Pelvic Check
Most bloating comes from digestion. But a study that built an ovarian cancer 'symptom index' found that new bloating, belly or pelvic pain, or feeling full quickly, happening more than 12 days a month and starting within the past year, deserved a closer look. Here is how to tell the patterns apart and what to track.
October 20262 min read
Bloating & DigestionThe short version
PEG Laxatives and Starch-Based Thickeners: Check Before Mixing
This combination can undo thickening intended for swallowing difficulties.
October 20262 min read
Bloating & DigestionQ&A
Positive Celiac Genetic Test? What DQ2 and DQ8 Can Tell You
A genetic risk result does not show whether you have celiac disease. Check which variants were tested before interpreting it.
October 20262 min read
Bloating & DigestionEvidence check
Smelly Gas: Do Charcoal Underwear, Pads or Pills Work?
The smell of gas comes mostly from tiny amounts of sulfur gases, not the bulk of it. In lab tests with sealed pantaloons, briefs made from activated carbon fabric caught virtually all the smelly gas, pads caught 55% to 77%, and most seat cushions about 20%. Charcoal swallowed as pills made no difference. Here is what the tests found, what drives the smell, and when to get checked.
October 20262 min read
Bloating & DigestionExplainer
Pressing on Your Vagina to Poop: What Splinting Means and What Helps
Some women can only finish a bowel movement by pressing on the back wall of the vagina or the skin in front of the anus. Doctors call it splinting, and it's on the official checklist for constipation. It often points to a rectocele or to muscles that won't relax, and both have treatments. Here is what the research shows.
October 20263 min read

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