As we settle into 2025, many of us are starting to see the results of our “healthy eating” resolutions.
Maybe you’re feeling less gassy after cutting down on takeaway dinners, or are suffering far fewer heartburn episodes now you’ve put down the rich festive food.
Perhaps your wallet has thanked you for cooking at home more, or your conscience has been soothed by trying Veganuary.
But if you’re healthier, more home-cooked, fruit and veg-laden diet is leaving you bloated, it’s not just you, and you’re not doing everything wrong.
Why am I more bloated on a healthier diet?
According to a study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, two extremely beneficial (and trending) diet changes are associated with increased bloating.
Going from a regular, low-fibre diet to a high-fibre one (ie, one with lots of whole grains, vegetables, and fruit) is associated with increased bloating, especially at the start, they say.
And once you’re on a high-fibre diet, adding more protein, which is recommended because of its satiating and muscle-building properties, was associated with even more (40%) bloating at first.
That’s because, Johns Hopkins says, a sudden influx of fibre can “cause bloating by boosting certain populations of healthful fiber-digesting gut bacteria species, which produce gas as a byproduct.”
The study’s co-author Dr Noel Mueller added: “It’s possible that in this study, the protein-rich version of the diet caused more bloating because it caused more of a healthy shift in the composition of the microbiome.”
That’s key ― most of us don’t get enough fibre, even though it’s associated with a lower risk of type two diabetes, stroke, bowel cancer, and heart disease.
While you may actually be eating too much protein (the older you are, the less likely that’ll be), your new year fibre habit should still stick around.
How can I get rid of bloating from fibre?
If you’re having too much protein with it, cutting back can help, according to the Johns Hopkins research.
But if you’re not, taking it slow and steady can help.
The British Heart Foundation warns we should “make one change at a time, introducing the next once your body has adjusted,” and drink plenty of water.
That’s especially true if you’re active, they add (because yes, working out can cause gas and bloating too, especially on a high-fibre diet. We really can’t catch a break...).