It is tough to find someone who wants to talk about the thing called flatulence unless you are in high school, but the truth is we have all been a victim to that smelly bomb, dropped on us with little to no warning, and I refuse to pull any more fingers. The average person passes gas about 15 times a day, with that in mind, gas in the digestive tract comes from two primary sources; eating and drinking too quickly and enzyme shortage.
Eating and drinking too fast
When this occurs, we tend to swallow much air which comes out either by belching or it passes thru the intestines and out the rectum.
Enzymes shortage
When sugars, fibers, and starches are not digested in the small intestine, the food that could not be absorbed passes through the large pipe where bacteria can break down the food, the result of this process produces carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and methane gas.
While everyone is different in how they respond to certain foods, below are a list of foods that can cause gas.
- Beans contain a complex sugar called raffinose that the body has a hard time breaking down, thus causing gas.
- Dairy contains a sugar called lactose which the body has a hard time breaking down if you don’t make enough of the enzyme called lactase.
- Carbonated drinks increase the amount of air that you swallow; thus what goes in must come out.
- Fruits, grains, and vegetables contain complex sugars and fibers, that the digestive tract can have difficulty breaking down, thus releasing gas.
Some Home Remedies for Gas
Ginger— is a potent anti-inflammatory, which calms the stomach and helps the body to expel gas.
Mustard— yellow mustard contains acetic acid, and turmeric, which helps to soothe an acidic stomach, thus giving relief to gas pains.
Peppermint— has menthol in it which helps to soothe a troubled stomach, decreasing spasms in the stomach lining and allowing the rectum to release gas.
There are many foods out there, and we all respond differently according to our body chemistry and makeup. Some people cannot eat onions others can’t eat cabbage, find the foods that work for you, because the benefits of eating healthy far outweigh the risk of a little gas.
