HEALTHY LIVING
Fix Your. . . Belching
OVERVIEW: Belching, or burping, occurs when your body pushes out excess air you have swallowed. Burping as many as four times after eating is normal.
WHY YOU BELCH Eating and drinking too quickly.
You tend to swallow more air when you eat and drink too quickly — called aerophagia — which causes you to burp. Carbonated beverages. The carbon dioxide in fizzy drinks expands and turns into gas when it reaches the warmth of your stomach. Tobacco. When smoking, you
inhale air along with smoke. Chewing gum. Chewing gum makes
you swallow more often, which leads to inhaling more air than normal. Medications. Some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to treat pain, antibiotics, the Type 2 diabetes medication called acarbose, iron supplements, and laxatives such as lactulose can lead to belching. Common foods. Foods high in fiber, including beans, lentils, cabbage, onions, broccoli, and bran can cause gas and burping. Lack of stomach acid. Our bodies
produce less stomach acid as we age, which can cause indigestion, bloating, and burping. One study found that 30% of seniors produced
little or no gastric acid. Medical conditions. Numerous medical conditions can cause belching, including indigestion, celiac disease, peptic ulcers, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
WHAT TO DO Eat and drink more slowly. You
will swallow less air if you eat and drink more slowly. Chew your food thoroughly, drink beverages at room temperature when possible, and avoid talking while eating. Avoid carbonated beverages.
Soft drinks and other carbonated beverages, including beer, contain carbon dioxide, which builds up in your stomach and causes you to burp.
Chew your food thoroughly, drink beverages at room temperature when possible, and avoid talking while eating.
Can’t Burp? There’s a Fix for That W
hile many people deal with excess
burping, others can’t burp, a medical condition called R-CPD (retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction), or no burp syndrome. R-CPD occurs
when the esophageal sphincter will not relax to let gas escape. The disorder
wasn’t formally recognized until laryngologist Robert Bastian, M.D., described it in 2015 and
94 NEWSMAX MAXLIFE | JUNE 2025 BASTIAN Change drinking habits. Don’t use
straws or drink from sports bottles or water fountains, which all cause you to swallow more air. Avoid sugar substitutes. Sugar
replacements including sorbitol and mannitol, which are found in sugar- free foods and drinks, candy, and gum, can cause burping. Try fennel. Fennel decreases the bacteria that causes gas. Chewing fennel seeds after a meal may reduce burping. Take a stroll. Taking a walk after
meals will help combat belching. Take a probiotic. Research indicates
that a probiotic supplement or eating yogurt with live cultures may ease belching by overpowering the bacteria that produce gas. Take an antacid. Antacids, such
as Rolaids and Tums, can neutralize stomach acid. Drink ginger tea. Ginger contains enzymes that break up gas.
IF ALL ELSE FAILS Belching rarely indicates a serious problem, but check with your doctor if simple lifestyle changes don’t help. In addition, see your doctor if you have symptoms such as losing weight without dieting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, severe belly pain, or chest discomfort. Your doctor could order imaging tests, including an abdominal X-ray, gastric emptying studies, a CT, MRI, and ultrasound.
SOURCES: Mayo Clinic; Healthline; WebMD;
Medlineplus.org; UCLAHealth. org;
AAFP.org;
Pfizer.com; Medical News Today; Yale
Medicine.org; Brigham and Women’s Hospital
became the first doctor to treat it successfully. It is usually treated with a brief outpatient procedure that injects
botulinum toxin into the esophageal sphincter. “Patients
routinely experience dramatic relief of their symptoms,” Bastian said.
“Typically, a single Botox injection
serves as ‘training
wheels,’ allowing the system to reset, and the person may never lose his or her ability to belch again.”
MAN/CSA-ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES / INJECTION/HERI HARMONO©ISTOCK
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