Since most day-to-day bloating isn’t caused by a food intolerance, an elimination diet probably won’t benefit you much. What’s more, imposing limits on the types of food you can eat can actually hurt your gut health in a few different ways—reducing diversity in your gut microbiome, for one. “What your gut really wants is the widest variety of foods possible,” and an elimination diet by definition doesn’t allow for that, Van Eck says. Over time, restricted eating can even cause nutritional deficiencies that could compound your digestive woes. In short, “blanketly avoiding certain food groups” is more likely to be harmful than helpful, Dr. Ganjhu says.
Instead of sending certain foods to the chopping block, try more established strategies for addressing your bloating, according to Nielsen. Really, “the most cleansing thing you can do for your bowel is to drink water and hit your fiber targets,” she says. Just pace yourself when it comes to the fiber. If your body isn’t used to it, a sudden influx could actually exacerbate your symptoms, so you’ll want to “build your fiber tolerance up slowly,” Nielsen says. And if your gas and bloating persist despite these changes? Then it’s time to talk to your doc about testing for allergies, intolerances, and other conditions that could be interfering with normal digestion. As a general rule, “the best way to get your healthcare information is really through your doctor or your healthcare provider,” Dr. Ganjhu says.
5. Everyone should be taking a supplement for gut health.
You know that saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?” Well, it applies perfectly to gut health, according to Dr. Ganjhu. Taking digestive supplements can be helpful for certain people under certain circumstances, but that doesn’t mean that everyone should take them all the time—and especially not for preventive purposes. “If you don’t have to think about your gut and it’s happily plugging away, you don’t need to do anything,” Dr. Ganjhu says.
Otherwise? You’re messing with your gut health for no good reason—and it could backfire on you. Take probiotics as an example. With every capsule, you’re introducing a bunch of new bacteria into your existing gut microbiome, potentially throwing off the existing balance and causing the exact issues you’re trying to avoid, like bloating and other digestive woes. In fact, taking an excessive amount of vitamins or supplements “can potentially be extremely harmful,” Dr. Gluckman says.
Plus, keep in mind that “there’s a lack of regulation” around the supplement industry, Nielsen says. Some supplements can contain ingredients not listed on the label, including prescription drugs. (And yes, this is true for those labeled “organic” or “natural” as well, according to Dr. Gluckman.) What’s more, the FDA doesn’t assess any supplements for effectiveness before they go to market, meaning there’s no guarantee that they’ll do what they’re supposed to (or that they even contain exactly what they say they do).
6. Vitamins and other supplements can replace real food.
You can buy a supplement for pretty much anything these days: fiber, fish oil, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E—all the way through the end of the alphabet. With so many nutrient-packed pills and gummies at your fingertips, you might naturally start to wonder if you even need to bother eating healthy—and you wouldn’t be alone. “People will often reach for a supplement instead of examining the lifestyle factors that could actually be at the root cause” of any digestive symptoms, Nielsen says. What’s the point of choking down a bunch of broccoli for the fiber if you can get the same benefits from swallowing a capsule?
