Supplements for bloating: which have evidence, and which habits come first

Key facts

• To reduce gas symptoms, doctors may recommend eating slowly, eating smaller and more frequent meals, and limiting gum, hard candy, fizzy drinks and drinking with a straw. [NIDDK]
• "For safety reasons, talk with your doctor before using supplements, probiotics, or any complementary or alternative medicines or medical practices." [NIDDK]
• Research on peppermint oil has focused mainly on a diagnosed bowel condition; taken by mouth, it can cause heartburn, nausea, abdominal pain and dry mouth. [NCCIH]
• In 24 healthy volunteers, 1,200 mg of ginger cut the stomach's half-emptying time to 13.1 minutes, against 26.7 on placebo, with no significant difference in any gut symptom. [PubMed 18403946]
• Magnesium is a primary ingredient in some laxatives; for adults, the upper limit from supplements and medicines is 350 mg a day. [NIH Office of Dietary Supplements]
• In a 6-week trial of 76 healthy adults, more people improved on a combined bloating, burping and flatulence score with BS50 at 2 billion CFU a day than with a placebo (47.4% vs 22.2%). [Garvey et al., Gut Microbes, 2022]

Which habits come first for bloating? What NIDDK lists

The ones that cut down swallowed air and big loads of gas-forming food. NIDDK, part of the National Institutes of Health, says that "Your doctor may suggest changing your eating and drinking habits to reduce gas symptoms," and lists these.

1. Eat slowly, and sit down to eat. NIDDK: eat slowly and, when possible, sit down instead of eating on the run.
2. Have smaller meals, more often. Smaller, more frequent meals in place of larger ones, per NIDDK; the NHS adds not to eat large meals late at night.
3. Swallow less air. Limit gum, hard candy, fizzy drinks and straws, and avoid talking while you eat or drink (NIDDK). The NHS adds chewing with your mouth closed.
4. Notice the gas-forming foods. NIDDK's list includes apples, peaches and pears, fruit juices, broccoli, cauliflower and kale, beans, peas and lentils, milk products, whole wheat, and sweeteners ending in "-ol" such as sorbitol and xylitol. NIDDK also suggests talking with your doctor about your diet; your doctor may ask you to keep a diary of food and symptoms.
5. Move, and drink water. The NHS lists regular exercise and drinking plenty of water among its ways to reduce bloating.

"For safety reasons, talk with your doctor before using supplements, probiotics, or any complementary or alternative medicines or medical practices."

NIDDK, Treatment for Gas in the Digestive Tract

Habits come first because they act on the usual sources. NIDDK says gas normally enters the digestive tract when you swallow air and when bacteria in the large intestine break down undigested carbohydrates. If extra gas began when you started a new probiotic, see gas in the first weeks of a probiotic. For gas that is already trapped and hurting, the quick steps are in how to get rid of trapped gas.

Does peppermint oil help bloating?

We could not answer that for people without a digestive diagnosis. NCCIH says a small amount of research has been done on peppermint oil, mostly in one diagnosed bowel condition, and this page does not cover studies in people with a digestive condition.

What NCCIH says about safety applies to anyone. Peppermint oil appears to be safe when taken by mouth in the doses commonly used, and possible side effects include heartburn, nausea, abdominal pain and dry mouth. Capsules are often enteric-coated to reduce the chance of heartburn. On pregnancy and breastfeeding, NCCIH says little is known about whether peppermint taken by mouth in medicinal amounts is safe.

Does ginger help with bloating?

The one trial we found in healthy adults measured how fast the stomach emptied; the gut symptoms it scored did not differ.

Wu and colleagues (Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2008) tested 24 healthy volunteers twice, in random order and double-blind: three ginger capsules, 1,200 mg in total, or a placebo, an hour before 500 ml of low-nutrient soup. With ginger, the stomach's half-emptying time was 13.1 minutes, against 26.7 minutes on placebo, and the stomach contracted more often. The volunteers also scored their gut sensations, and "there was no significant difference in any gastrointestinal symptoms."

The authors wrote that the effects "could potentially be beneficial in symptomatic patient groups," which the trial did not test. NCCIH lists ginger's possible side effects as abdominal discomfort, heartburn, diarrhea, and mouth and throat irritation, and says that if you are considering ginger while pregnant, you should consult your health care provider.

Do magnesium supplements help with bloating?

No source we checked tested them for bloating. What NIH's Office of Dietary Supplements does say is that magnesium is a primary ingredient in some laxatives, and that its laxative effect comes partly from the osmotic activity of unabsorbed magnesium salts in the intestine and colon.

That is why the cautions center on the dose. NIH says high doses of magnesium from supplements or medicines often result in diarrhea that can come with nausea and abdominal cramping. For adults, its upper limit for magnesium from supplements and medicines is 350 mg a day, and supplements should not go above it unless a health care provider recommends it. The risk of too much magnesium rises with impaired kidney function or kidney failure, and NIH notes that antibiotics might not be absorbed if taken too soon before or after a magnesium supplement.

When bloating comes with constipation, the AGA's 2023 update says medicines used for constipation should be considered. It names no mineral or product. In our sample of public posts, magnesium came up in 14, nine of them tagged as constipation posts and none as bloating posts. Loose stools after starting a probiotic, and when to call a doctor, are covered in can probiotics cause diarrhea or loose stools?, and harder stools in can probiotics cause constipation?

What about probiotics for bloating?

Choose one whose strain was studied for bloating, and take it at the daily amount its trial used. In a 6-week trial of 76 healthy adults, more people improved on a combined bloating, burping and flatulence score with BS50 at 2 billion CFU a day than with a placebo (47.4% vs 22.2%). The strains that were tested, the trial results and how long they ran are in what is the best probiotic for bloating?

If gas from a new probiotic starts to smell stronger, see smelly gas from probiotics.