Intestinal gas, more commonly called stomach gas, not only cause discomfort and gas pain but are embarrassing too. Although gas problems like bloating, burping and passing gas are natural, they might become serious and affect our daily activities. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid all the abdominal gas problems, the common ones being bloating, flatulence and belching. For intestinal gas treatment or for avoiding bloating, flatulence and belching, one must know the underlying causes for excessive intestinal gas formation and should adopt required dietary changes and other measures including medications if necessary.
How to Avoid Bloating?
Bloating makes a person feel that his/her abdomen has become enlarged. Dilation of abdomen can be caused by anything- fluid, tumors, enlarged organs, or fat within the abdomen. However, the most common cause of bloating is excessive formation of intestinal gas that could not be passed through belching or flatulence. Bloating often causes abdominal pain that can be mild and dull or sharp and intense gas pain. Bloating gas relief can be had by passing gas or having a bowel movement.
Avoid Foods that Cause Gas and Bloating
Where the cause of bloating is excessive intestinal gas formulation, it is usually due to fatty foods and some other foods that cause gas and bloating. To avoid bloating, reduce or totally avoid such foods depending upon the seriousness of bloating problem. Common foods that cause gas and bloating include Baked beans, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Carbonated drinks, Cauliflower, Chewing gum, Fruits like apples, peaches and pears, Hard candy, and Lettuce among others.
How to Avoid Flatulence?
Flatulence, simply stated, is gas buildup in the colon. It is caused due to production of gas by bacteria within intestines during the process of digesting sugars and polysaccharides. Some bacteria are more capable of producing gas and thus they result into chronic flatulence. Other causes of flatulence include maldigestion or malabsorption of sugars and polysaccharides as well as bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine. Constipation too is one of the causes of flatulence as the longer food waste remains in colon, the more time it has to ferment that in turn produces stomach gas.
Avoid Foods that Cause Flatulence
Anyone suffering from the gas problem of flatulence must avoid such food that form excessive intestinal gas like beans, peas, lentils, cabbage, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, bananas, raisins, whole-wheat bread, salads and carbonated drinks. Many people are intolerant of lactose and as such milk and dairy products too should be avoided by them to treat flatulence. Apart from avoiding flatulence causing food, one must also take the following measures.
• Avoid or cut back on fatty foods.
• When excessive gas is formed in your intestine, reduce intake of high fiber foods (temporarily though). When the flatulence problem is under control, start including high fiber foods in your diet gradually.
• Have more smaller meals and avoid having two or three large meals. Also eat slowly to aid proper digestion of the food you eat.
• Do not just sit back or lie down after meals. Have a slow walk or move around doing light works. This aids digestion and avoids flatulence.
How to Avoid Belching?
Belching, also called burping, is the normal act of expelling out stomach gas through mouth. Belching is, in fact, caused by inflated stomach that has dilated due to swallowed air. Air can be swallowed while gulping food and drinking rapidly or due to anxiety as well as carbonated drinks. The swallowed air in the stomach (stomach gas) causes abdominal discomfort that in turn results into belching for expelling the air out to get gas relief. Acid reflux or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) can also cause belching. When stomach acid backs up into esophagus, the person may swallow repeatedly in order to clear the material. This sometimes leads to swallowing more air and more belching. To avoid belching, take the following measures.
• Make habit of eating and drinking slowly. This will eliminate the chance of swallowing air.
• Avoid carbonated beverages and beer as they release carbon dioxide gas. Also, avoid drinking through a straw.
• Avoid chewing gum. The action causes you to swallow more often increasing the chances of swallowing air.
• Quit smoking. Smoking not only causes belching and other intestinal gas problems, it is also not good for general health.
• People using dentures should take care of the proper fit of their denture sets otherwise they can unknowingly swallow air while eating and drinking causing stomach gas.
• If suffering from Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), treat it to avoid belching. Read Home Remedies for Heartburn/ Acid Reflux
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