How Can I Soothe My Stomach After Thanksgiving Dinner? (Published 2022) (2024)

Q: Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, but it always leaves me feeling bloated, gassy and uncomfortable afterward. Are there any ways to avoid those symptoms while still enjoying the best meal of the year?

Every Thanksgiving, I find myself staring at the dining table, suddenly helpless in front of the steaming potatoes au gratin, sizzling glazed turkey and God’s gift to digestive juices, my mother’s corn pudding.

I’m a gastroenterologist who should know how to avoid the inevitable belly pain, bloating, nausea and heartburn that follows, but even I am no stranger to holiday-induced gastrointestinal distress.

Health care workers have long observed, at least anecdotally, that emergency room visits increase on Thanksgiving and the following days for stomach-related issues (as well as cooking injuries, heart attacks and alcohol-related accidents).

“People always feel bloated and uncomfortable after holiday meals,” said Dr. Baha Moshiree, a gastroenterologist at Atrium Health in Charlotte, N.C., who studies how the stomach empties. But with a little planning, she said, you can keep those symptoms at bay.

What can I do during the meal to avoid stomach problems later?

The key, Dr. Moshiree said, is to take care with how and what you eat and drink.

Chew well and slow down. After you chew your food, it travels down your esophagus and into your stomach, where it is further broken down by stomach acids and muscle contractions before passing through a tiny sphincter into the small intestine.