Bloating remedies: The best drink to quickly relieve a bloated stomach

Easy Ways to Live Well: Steph McGovern discusses bloating

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Considered a herbal remedy, tea could help relieve a bloated stomach – but according to scientists, it has to be peppermint tea. Here is the research on the aromatic herb. A research team from the Human Nutrition Research Centre on Ageing at Tufts University explored the health benefits of peppermint tea. Shown to have anti-microbial and anti-viral compounds, peppermint also has “strong antioxidant, anti-tumour, and anti-allergic potential”.

Based on animal studies, peppermint relaxed gastrointestinal tissue and had “analgesic effects on the central and peripheral nervous system”.

This suggests that peppermint could help prevent the muscles from contracting, which could help relieve spasms in the gut.

People who may experience more bloating than others are those who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

One research paper, printed by the University of South Alabama, found that peppermint oil capsules reduced IBS symptoms by 40 percent after four weeks of daily consumption.

Meanwhile, the placebo group – who didn’t consume peppermint – only had a 24.3 percent reduction in symptoms.

The researchers considered peppermint to be “an effective treatment capable of providing rapid relief of IBS symptoms”.

IBS

One of the main symptoms of IBS is bloating, confirmed the NHS, who listed other signs of the condition.

Stomach cramps are also likely after eating food, but can be felt less sharply after going to the toilet.

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However, when a person with IBS is on the toilet, they may face some difficulty.

It’s commonplace for people with IBS to experience constipation, which is when you strain to release yourself and feel like you can’t empty your bowels properly.

On the other hand, IBS sufferers can also experience bouts of diarrhoea, which is another way of saying “watery poo”.

Sometimes the urge to release yourself can arise out of seemingly nowhere.

Other signs of IBS include:

• Farting (flatulence)
• Passing mucus from your bottom
• Tiredness and a lack of energy
• Feeling sick (nausea)
• Backache
• Problems peeing, like needing to pee often, sudden urges to pee, and feeling like you cannot fully empty your bladder
• Not always being able to control when you poo (bowel incontinence).
• Another gastrointestinal disorder that can lead to bloating is ulcerative colitis.

Ulcerative colitis (UC)

This long-term condition is descriptive of an inflamed colon (i.e. large bowel) and rectum.

Small ulcers can develop along the colon’s lining, which can bleed and produce pus.

The main symptoms of UC are:

• Recurring diarrhoea, which may contain blood, mucus or pus
• Tummy pain
• Needing to empty your bowels frequently.

Other symptoms can include fatigue, loss of appetite and weight loss.

The severity of the condition will depend on how much of the colon and rectum are inflamed.

If you’re concerned with how often you’re feeling bloated, you can discuss your symptoms with your doctor.

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