Common Foods That Cause Bloating

Bloating is that sense of fullness with a swollen abdomen, often due to trapped gas and fluid in the intestines. One significant cause of bloating is bacteria fermenting undigested carbohydrates, like fiber and FODMAPs. Slow motility can increase bloating, and bloating can cause slow motility. Foods like beans, onions, garlic, dairy, carbonated drinks, and high sugar snacks commonly trigger bloating, especially when your gut is already sensitive. Some foods may cause significant symptoms in some people but not others. Keep track of what foods cause unpleasant symptoms for you, and either avoid them temporarily or enjoy them in smaller quantities.

Why Some Foods Trigger Bloating

Your digestive system breaks food down through chewing, stomach acid, digestive enzymes, bile acids, and the gut bacteria found in the colon (your microbiome). When you don’t chew your food thoroughly or have a functional gut disorder (a chronic digestive condition where the gut doesn’t work properly), your body does not produce enough stomach acid, digestive enzymes, and/or bile acids to aid in digestion. Larger poorly digested food particles can be fermented as they move through the small intestine, often allowing for the overgrowth of bacteria that don’t belong there (this is called SIBO - Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth). When the larger food particles enter your large intestine, trillions of bacteria ferment the large food particles, producing excess gas. Additionally, the presence of large food particles in the large intestine causes water to be pulled into the intestine through a process called osmosis. This combination of excess gas and water in the intestines leads to pressure and that swollen feeling in your abdomen called bloating.

The Most Common Foods That Cause Bloating

While every microbiome is unique, there are some foods that tend to cause more bloating than other foods in most people. Some foods, like complex carbohydrates that contain fiber, cannot be broken down by the digestive system. They remain more intact as they reach the colon, leading to fermentation and gas production. Additionally, there is a group of sugars known as FODMAPs (Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols) that are poorly broken down and absorbed in the small intestine, leading to fermentation and gas production in the large intestine. The following foods are high in fiber and/or FODMAPs and may temporarily need to be avoided or enjoyed in smaller portions to reduce bloating symptoms. Let’s dive in and learn more about these foods.

Beans and Lentils

Beans and lentils are in a FODMAP category called galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), and they are malabsorbed and fermented by everyone. While some people can experience significant discomfort, pain, gas, and bloating when eating these foods, including small amounts of GOS-containing foods in your diet can benefit your “good” gut bacteria and your health.

Tips for including beans and lentils in your diet:

• Soaking and rinsing beans before cooking can reduce their bloating effects.

• Try to include a small portion of soaked and cooked beans in salads, soups, and chilis for maximal benefit and reduced side effects.

• Try taking the alpha-galactosidase enzyme (found in over-the-counter products like Beano) to aid your body in the digestion of beans and legumes.

Onions, Shallots, and Garlic

Onions, shallots, and garlic are part of a FODMAP category called fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS). Similar to beans and lentils, FOS-containing foods are malabsorbed and fermented by everyone; however, including tolerable amounts in your diet can benefit your “good” bacteria and your health.

Tips for including onions, shallots, and garlic in your diet:

• Use the greener parts of scallions and chives to get the benefits of fructans with reduced risk of gas and bloating.

• Try avocado and olive oils infused with garlic to enjoy the delicious flavor of garlic without the negative digestive side effects.

Cruciferous Vegetables

While cruciferous vegetables are high in gut and heart-healthy fiber and nutrients, cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage often cause gas because they contain indigestible sugars, sulfur compounds, and fibers that are fermented by the bacteria in the large intestine. Try these ideas to reduce any discomfort from the digestion process.

Tips for including cruciferous vegetables in your diet:

• Cook cruciferous vegetables to help break down the sugars and fibers, making them more digestible.

• Start with a small serving of cruciferous vegetables and increase your serving size over time.

• Chop cruciferous vegetables and let them sit for a short while to help break down the fiber before cooking

• Try a digestive enzyme like Fodzyme or Fodmate to help your gut digest cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage.

Dairy Products

People allergic to dairy react to the proteins in dairy products. These proteins primarily include casein and whey; however, lesser-known proteins such as alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin can also cause a dairy allergy. When someone is allergic to dairy, it causes an immune system response that can range from mild symptoms like a skin rash to severe anaphylaxis. Lifelong strict dairy avoidance is necessary for disease management.

Many people experience negative digestive symptoms when consuming dairy products, including gas, bloating, cramping, and diarrhea. This is often due to the body’s inability to break down a FODMAP called lactose. Lactose is a sugar found in dairy and dairy-based products. In people who lack the enzyme to break down the lactose sugar into its individual parts, larger undigested lactose sugar particles will enter the large intestine and cause symptoms including gas, bloating, cramping, and/or diarrhea. This is called lactose-intolerance and can be confirmed with a breath test at your GI doctor’s office.

Tips for including dairy products in your diet if you’re lactose intolerant:

• Take a lactase enzyme when consuming lactose-containing foods. This can be found in your local drug store under the brand name Lactaid or you can purchase the store brand lactase enzyme.

• Purchase dairy and dairy-containing products that already have the lactase enzyme included in them, such as lactose-free milk, yogurt, and ice cream options.

• Try calcium-fortified non-dairy milks made from oat, rice, flax, and almonds.

Wheat and Gluten-Containing Foods

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, spelt, and triticale. For individuals diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that triggers an immune system response, lifelong strict gluten avoidance is necessary for disease management.

Gluten intolerance (non-celiac gluten sensitivity) can cause symptoms such as gas, bloating, fatigue, skin rashes, and headaches rather than the immune system reaction seen in celiac disease. Management usually includes reducing or eliminating gluten-containing foods from the diet.

When an individual is diagnosed with a true wheat allergy, the immune system reacts to various wheat proteins, which may or may not include gluten. Lifelong strict wheat avoidance is necessary for disease management.

Finally, while some individuals may think they have a gluten or wheat sensitivity (not an allergy), they may actually be sensitive to the fructan category of FODMAPs found in these foods. Fructans are short-chain carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed and rapidly fermented in the intestines. Eliminating this FODMAP can temporarily reduce symptoms of gas and bloating; however, long-term, fructan-containing foods are nutrient-dense and should be returned to the diet as soon as tolerated.

Tips for including fructan containing foods in your diet:

• Try smaller portions of fructan containing foods to determine tolerance levels.

• Try the Fodzyme or Fodmate enzyme with fructan-containing foods to aid your body in breaking down these foods and reducing negative side effects.

Fructose

Fructose is a simple FODMAP made up of one sugar molecule. When consumed in smaller doses (i.e., in a piece of fruit), fructose is unlikely to cause digestive distress unless an individual has a true fructose intolerance. Fructose does attract water into the intestines, so symptoms are likely to occur in most people following high intakes (i.e., sodas and processed foods).

Tips for including fructose-containing foods in your diet:

• Limit fructose intake to whole food sources

• Limit the amount of fructose-containing foods/beverages in a day to reduce the total load on the digestive system.

Carbonated Drinks

Carbonated drinks cause bloating in a more obvious way - because they are full of gas! While they have a pleasant mouthfeel to some, sparkling water, soda, and fizzy beverages can trap air in the digestive system. Once the air passes into the small intestine, the only way out is via passing gas. This air can get trapped in the tight twists and turns of the digestive tract and even build up in places, causing discomfort and cramping.

Tips for including carbonated drinks in your diet:

• When enjoying carbonated beverages, be sure to allow for the air to come up as a belch or burp.

• Try stirring out some of the carbonation before consuming to lessen the chance of painful bloating.

• Avoid drinking carbonated beverages through a straw. Straws cause you to suck in air, adding to the extra gas you are consuming in the carbonated beverage.
  

Unexpected Foods That May Trigger Bloating

Artificial Sweeteners (Polyols)

Some artificial sweeteners fall under the FODMAP category of polyols. These artificial sweeteners can be found in sugar-free gums, diet drinks, and low-calorie snacks, and can be identified on a package in words ending in -ol (i.e., sorbitol, manitol, xylitol). Because polyols are small in size, they attract water into the intestines, contributing to bloating.

Tips for including polyols in your diet:

• Limit the amount of polyol containing “diet foods” in a day. While 1-2 servings may not cause symptoms, sipping on diet drinks and/or chewing diet gums/candies all day will add up to gas and bloating symptoms.

• Try alternative sweeteners such as monk fruit and stevia to minimize digestive symptoms from artificially sweetened foods and drinks.

High Sugar Snacks and Desserts

While consuming some sugar each day can be part of a healthy diet, high sugar intake feeds harmful gut microbes, leading to gas, inflammation, and bloating. Sugars are fermented by gut bacteria, producing gas in the colon. Excess refined sugars can pull water into the intestine, causing diarrhea and that bloating feeling. Overgrowths of harmful gut microbes feeding on excess sugar can often lead to inflammation, altered motility, and the reduced ability to digest foods properly.

Tips for consuming sugar-containing foods:

• Enjoy sweet treats in moderation.

• Become label savvy - look for hidden sugars found in many processed and/or packaged foods, and limit your intake.

• Focus on whole food sources of sweetness, such as fresh fruit, root vegetables, honey, and maple syrup. Remember, moderation is key!

Fatty or Fried Foods

Foods high in fat slow digestion. Slow digestion gives bacteria in your intestine extra time to ferment the foods you’ve eaten, leading to gas and bloating.

Tip for consuming fat-containing foods:

• Choose gut and heart-healthy fats such as avocados, avocado oil, olives, olive oil, nuts, seeds, and hummus as your fat choices and reduce fat intake volume at meals. This will allow your body to digest the fats you’ve eaten more quickly, reducing bloating and that heavy feeling in your gut.
  

How to Identify Your Personal Food Triggers

Everyone’s gut responds differently to the foods they eat, so the key is learning your body’s specific reactions.

Helpful methods include:

• • Keeping a daily food and symptom journal

• • Paying attention to portion sizes

• • Observing patterns around stress and eating speed

• • Trying meals with fewer ingredients

• • Introducing foods slowly to see how you respond

• Trying a Low FODMAP diet while under the guidance of a dietitian

A gentle and structured approach makes the process less overwhelming and will help you reach your goal of reduced gas and bloating faster.

Simple Ways to Reduce Bloating From Trigger Foods

Eat slowly and chew thoroughly

Eating mindfully is the only intervention that some people need! When meals and beverages are gulped down with little to no chewing, it makes it harder for our stomach acid and digestive enzymes to do their jobs, and food enters our intestines in larger pieces. These larger pieces are heavily fermented by the gut bacteria, causing excess gas. Additionally, larger food pieces cause water to be pulled into our intestines, leading to a swollen abdomen and bloating.

Tips for better digestion:

• Eat slowly. When eating alone, avoid distractions and focus on the smell, taste, appearance, and texture of your food. When eating with others, slow down and enjoy the conversation.

• Put your fork down between bites and focus on chewing the food that is already in your mouth. Aim to chew your food until it reaches an applesauce consistency before swallowing.

• Avoid drinking while food is in your mouth.

• Sip beverages rather than gulping them down

Add more cooked foods instead of raw ones

Cooking softens food and begins to break down fiber - making digestion easier. Think of how much easier it is to cut cooked carrots instead of raw ones. If most of your meals contain lots of raw ingredients, you may want to experiment with more cooked foods to see how that works for you.

Tip for adding more cooked vegetables to your diet:

• Try steaming, roasting, grilling, or sautéing vegetables to help break down their fibers and aid in your digestion.

• Try different spices and oils to both alter the flavor profile of cooked vegetables and add some variety to your diet.

• During the colder months, add vegetables to soup blends to boost your fiber and nutrient intake.

Try smaller meals throughout the day

Large meals cause your stomach to stretch in order to accommodate the large amount of food. This makes it harder to digest the meal, leading to both longer stomach emptying times and the processing of foods eaten.

Tip:

• Instead of three large meals, divide the same quantity of food into 4 or 5 smaller meals and see how you feel.

Support your microbiome

You may think that avoiding ALL foods containing fiber and FODMAPs will solve your bloating problems; however, that approach can cause long-term damage to your microbiome. Foods that contain fiber and/or FODMAPs contain vitamins, minerals, protein, antioxidants, flavonoids, polyphenols and more - all of which are all essential for a healthy microbiome and your overall health.

Tip for supporting your microbiome:

• Rather than avoiding all fiber and FODMAP-containing foods, eat smaller amounts of the foods that cause the worst symptoms, while keeping “safe” fiber-rich foods in your diet. Some examples of well-tolerated high-fiber foods that are lower FODMAP include kiwi, arugula, brown rice, oats, chia, flax, oranges, blueberries, spinach, green beans and potatoes with skin on.

Pair trigger foods with easy-to-digest foods

If you want to enjoy a high FODMAP food, you may find it helpful to pair it with easy-to-digest foods within that meal.

Here are some examples:

• Shred Parmesan cheese over an arugula salad to satisfy your cheese craving while limiting your lactose intake.

• Craving garlic bread? Use garlic-infused olive oil and dried herbs to season your bread.

• Make a smoothie with a firm banana and frozen raspberries for a nutrient-packed and delicious meal/snack your body will be able to digest easily
  

When You Should Explore Gut Health Coaching

If gas and bloating happen frequently and are accompanied by pain, fatigue, food sensitivities, anxiety, irregular bathroom habits, and/or are limiting your ability to live your life, it may be time to explore deeper gut support.

A professional gut health program can help you:

• Improve your symptoms with structure

• Understand your body’s unique patterns

• Reset your gut gently

• Identify food triggers

• Remove any overgrowths of bacteria, yeast, or parasites

• Rebuild your microbiome

• Identify the role of hormones in your gut health

• Give you the freedom to live your life without worrying about everything you eat

If you’re ready for personalized support and a structured plan to heal your gut, visit Balanced Gut Coaching to reduce bloating, have more energy, and take control of your life again..

Quick Summary

Many everyday foods can cause gas and bloating, including beans, onions, dairy, gluten and wheat-containing foods, carbonated drinks, and foods high in sugar or fat. Understanding your personal triggers and supporting your gut with mindful habits can reduce bloating naturally and consistently.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do healthy foods cause bloating?

So many “healthy” foods contain fiber - complex carbohydrates that have many health benefits, such as promoting regular bowel movements, lowering cholesterol, maintaining healthy blood sugar levels, feeding our “good” gut bacteria, weight management, and reducing heart disease risks. At the same time, the body cannot digest fiber on its own, so the body relies on the bacteria in our large intestine to break down fiber-containing foods. As a result, bacteria ferment these fibers and produce gas. While this is a normal and healthy process, some people can be sensitive to the levels of gas produced by the gut bacteria. Other people have an overgrowth of bacteria in their intestines, leading to higher numbers of bacteria fermenting fibers and causing increased gas.

In addition to fiber, there is a group of sugars known as FODMAPs (Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols) that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine and fermented in the large intestine. While under the guidance of a dietitian, individuals who struggle to digest FODMAP-containing foods can begin a Low FODMAP Diet to reduce symptoms and to systematically determine which specific FODMAP-containing foods and what serving size of that FODMAP is problematic. Ultimately, as many FODMAP-containing foods as possible should be returned to the diet to support gut and overall health.

Does avoiding trigger foods permanently fix bloating?

Avoidance may help in the short term; however, cutting out these healthy, high-fiber, and high FODMAP foods may lead to long-term issues with your gut health. Long-term relief comes from supporting healthy digestion, making targeted lifestyle changes, and addressing any microbiome imbalances or overgrowths.

Can you prepare high FODMAP foods in different ways to make them more digestible?

Yes- preparation methods make a difference! Soaking and rinsing beans before cooking and eating, infusing oils with garlic/onion, and even pickling high FODMAP foods can reduce their negative effects. Digestive enzymes such as lactase, alpha-galactosidase, and Fodzyme can also be used to make these foods more easily digestible.

Should I stop eating dairy if it causes bloating?

If dairy products regularly cause bloating, you may want to limit dairy products for the short term as you address the underlying digestive issue causing you to bloat. Alternatively, you can take a lactase enzyme (i.e., Lactaid brand) with dairy-containing foods or purchase products that already contain the lactase enzyme (lactose-free) to reduce gas and bloating symptoms.

Can a gut coach help me identify food sensitivities?

Yes. A health coach specializing in IBS-type symptoms will work with you to understand your patterns, and guide you through nutrition, lifestyle and hormonal support options so you can eliminate your daily gas, bloating, and distention symptoms and eat the foods you love again.