Bloating is used to describe the sensation of excess stomach gas that has not yet been released. Gas in the stomach is primarily caused by swallowing air while consuming food or beverages and is released from the mouth as a burp. Once this undigested food passes into the small intestine, bacteria break it down, producing hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and sometimes methane. This doesn't happen in everyone, though. One way to manage flatulence and belching is to eat fewer of the well-known gassy foods.
Common culprits include:. These items contain fiber, sugars, and starches that don't digest or absorb easily, eventually causing intestinal gas. Other people are bothered by carbonated soft drinks and fruit drinks. If you discover that these foods are causing you excess gas, eliminate them from your diet or consume them in smaller portions.
When it comes to foods to avoid, moderation is key, says Stephen Bickston, MD , a professor of internal medicine and the director of the inflammatory bowel disease program at the Center for Digestive Health at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Novey suggests keeping a food diary and noting when you feel gassy. Cooking may help break down some of the offending ingredients, too, Dr. Bickston says. Boiling seems to break down chlorophyll and other desirable ingredients.
Try drinking about 30 minutes before a meal to help your stomach digest better. When you eat or drink fast, you can swallow a lot of air, which can cause gas, says Bickston.
The simple solution? Slow down when you eat. In the normal course of the day, we all swallow some air. This air is generally released through the process of burping or belching. However, this air can also make its way to the large intestine, where it is released through the rectum as flatulence. There are things that can cause a person to swallow more air than normal. Some substances in the food that we eat are not well digested and absorbed by our bodies.
When these substances, mainly carbohydrates like simple sugars and starches, arrive in our large intestines, they are acted upon by bacteria within our guts. The result of this breakdown is the release of gas. Although some of these gasses may be absorbed into the bloodstream and exhaled out, most of them are released through your anus. The primary food components that can trigger the release of intestinal gas are:. Now that you have a sense of what might be causing you to experience excessive intestinal gas, you can take some steps to address the problem:.
Don't delay your bowel movements. Are you one of those people who ignore the sensations to have a bowel movement until you get home? This might result in gas building up within the intestines, causing pain and bloating. And when you do pass gas, it may be smellier, as it is moving around the stool.
Watch what you eat when you really need to be gas-free. As we said before, intestinal gas is good for us. But for the days when it is extra important that you not be gassy, you can choose foods that are less likely to give you gas , and avoid those that have a reputation for being gassy.
Look into a supplement. There are many over-the-counter supplements to choose from. Ask your pharmacist to guide you to the right one for you. Here are some options:. Rule out an intolerance. If you suspect that you may have lactose intolerance, fructose malabsorption, or a problem digesting sorbitol, you can try eliminating foods that contain these carbohydrates from your diet for a short period of time to assess the effects on your system.
To keep things simple and to avoid unnecessary restriction, you should pick one class of foods at a time for elimination. You should know within two weeks if the restriction helped. It is also useful to challenge yourself with the restricted food to see if symptoms return. Abdominal bloating. Bloating is usually the result of an intestinal motility disorder, such as irritable bowel syndrome IBS. Motility disorders are characterized by abnormal movements and contractions of intestinal muscles.
These disorders may give a false sensation of bloating because of an increased sensitivity to gas. Splenic-flexure syndrome is a chronic disorder that may be caused by gas trapped at bends flexures in the colon. Crohn's disease , colon cancer , or any disease that causes intestinal obstruction, may also cause abdominal bloating. Fatty foods can delay stomach emptying and cause bloating and discomfort, but not necessarily too much gas.
Abdominal pain and discomfort. Gas in the intestine causes pain for some people. When it collects on the left side of the colon, the pain can be confused with heart disease. When it collects on the right side of the colon, the pain may feel like the pain associated with gallstones or appendicitis. The symptoms of gas may resemble other medical conditions or problems.
Always consult your doctor for a diagnosis. Symptoms of gas may be caused by a serious disorder, which should be determined. In addition to a complete medical history and physical examination, your doctor may suggest the following activities to assist in the diagnosis:. Abdominal X-ray. Food diary. For people 50 years of age and older, and for those with a family history, the possibility of colorectal cancer is considered.
Colonoscopy is a procedure that allows the doctor to view the entire length of the large intestine, and can often help identify abnormal growths, inflamed tissue, ulcers, and bleeding. It involves inserting a colonoscope, a long, flexible, lighted tube, in through the rectum up into the colon. The colonoscope allows the doctor to see the lining of the colon, remove tissue for further examination, and possibly treat some problems that are discovered.
A sigmoidoscopy is a diagnostic procedure that allows the doctor to examine the inside of a portion of the large intestine, and is helpful in identifying the causes of diarrhea, abdominal pain, constipation, abnormal growths, and bleeding.
A short, flexible, lighted tube, called a sigmoidoscope, is inserted into the intestine through the rectum. The scope blows air into the intestine to inflate it and make viewing the inside easier. Upper GI gastrointestinal series also called barium swallow.
For chronic belching, your doctor will look for signs or causes of excessive air swallowing and may request an upper GI series. An upper GI series is a diagnostic test that examines the organs of the upper part of the digestive system: the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum the first section of the small intestine.
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