Not all bloating is the same—well, the feelings of fullness and discomfort are there, but the causes vary. So how can you get rid of it? You've got to do some detective work.
"Bloating by itself gets us nowhere in terms of trying to figure out diagnostically where it is originating. So we are trained to listen for the second symptom," says Kunkel. "You look internally and say, 'You know what? I'm getting bloated. Am I feeling anything else?' And just dwell on that question, like, 'Am I feeling nauseous? When was the last time I had a bowel movement?' Or, 'My bloating seems to occur after I'm eating that bagel,' or 'I'm bloated, and I'm also having diarrhea.' So, really just focus on if there is anything else."
Kunkel says that a second symptom can be a variety of things, including constipation, gluten intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, and some medical issues. You might want to work with your doctor to figure out the cause and check if it's not a sign of a serious condition—but once you answer the question, you can begin to fix the problem and say goodbye to the dreaded bloat with some remedies.
Take a look at some of those remedies to beat belly bloat below and in which scenarios they may work.