{"id":168300,"date":"2025-08-23T04:44:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T04:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/168300\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T04:44:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T04:44:20","slug":"does-castor-oil-reduce-bloating-doctors-reveal-the-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/168300\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Castor Oil Reduce Bloating? Doctors Reveal The Answer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bloating<\/a> can be super uncomfortable, so some people are willing to try pretty much anything to find relief.<\/p>\n

One internet-favorite way to debloat is naval pulling, a practice rooted in an ancient Ayurvedic tradition, Melinda Ring, MD, director of the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Northwestern University, previously told Women\u2019s Health<\/a>. (Ayurveda<\/a> is a holistic system of medicine that began over 3,000 years ago in India, per Johns Hopkins Medicine<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Navel pulling involves applying castor oil<\/a> on the abdomen, either by rubbing it on directly or by packing the abdomen with pieces of fabric soaked in castor oil, Matthew Bechtold, MD, section chief of gastroenterology at the Harry S. Truman Veterans Hospital and adjunct professor of clinical medicine at the University of Missouri-Columbia, said.<\/p>\n

Per the Ayurvedic practice called nabhi chikitsa, castor oil\u2014which is often used to treat constipation and promote bowel movements\u2014is applied to the navel, which is considered a vital energy point, Dr. Ring explained. In the Ayurvedic practice<\/a>, it\u2019s believed that in the navel, there\u2019s something called the \u201cPechoti gland\u201d that allows for the absorption of oils, Dr. Bechtold said. However, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that the Pechoti gland actually exists.<\/p>\n

Meet the experts:<\/strong> Matthew Bechtold<\/a>, MD, is the section chief of gastroenterology at the Harry S. Truman Veterans Hospital and adjunct professor of clinical medicine at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Melinda Ring<\/a>, MD, is the director of the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Northwestern University.
<\/p>\n

So, does navel pulling with castor oil actually help with bloating and digestion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Experts say no. However, when taken orally, castor oil can help with stomach issues like constipation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Castor oil can have a laxative effect, Dr. Ring said. (In fact, the FDA has even approved the use of castor oil as an oral stimulative laxative<\/a>, though it\u2019s not recommended as a first-line treatment due to side effects like cramping.)<\/p>\n

Despite its history and cultural significance, there\u2019s no evidence that pouring it into your navel affects your GI tract, stomach, or other internal organs that help keep things running smoothly.<\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/p>\n

Although castor oil has anti-inflammatory<\/a> and antioxidant properties, it can\u2019t reach your organs, even through navel pulling\u2014so any potential benefits would be from topical use, said Dr. Bechtold.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Zo\u00eb Hecht is a California-based writer and editor who enjoys writing about beauty, fashion, lifestyle, and pop culture. She graduated from Loyola Marymount University, where she received her B.A. in English. Other than Women\u2019s Health, her work can be found on Byrdie, Teen Vogue, and more. When she\u2019s not writing, you can find her reading, sipping coffee, and scrolling through Pinterest.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Olivia Luppino is an editorial assistant at Women\u2019s Health. She spends most of her time interviewing expert sources about the latest fitness trends, nutrition tips, and practical advice for living a healthier life. Olivia previously wrote for New York Magazine\u2019s The Cut, PS (formerly POPSUGAR), and Salon, where she also did on-camera interviews with celebrity guests. She\u2019s currently training for the New York City marathon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bloating can be super uncomfortable, so some people are willing to try pretty much anything to find relief.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":168301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[2874,96442,1201,210,2875,1060,96441,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-168300","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-content-type-how-to-service","9":"tag-contentid-3b1af206-eda6-4886-bd90-3a8a8238f035","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-locale-us","13":"tag-medication","14":"tag-shorttitle-can-castor-oil-help-you-debloat","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}