Do you often get that bubbling feeling in your stomach that you know is gas? Discover the bizarre foods and causes that can cause this phenomenon.
Everyone has already experienced this terrible moment when we let go in public. It sucks (pun intended), but it happens. Although we hate to belch and fart in public, it is normal to have gas in the digestive tract. Most healthy people emit between 12 and 25 farts a day. Gas is completely normal, but when you suffer from excessive belching or gas, painful bloating, or a disruption in your quality of life, it can be helpful to identify some triggers.
It’s easy to pinpoint why you burp if you drink cans of soda, but read on to find out some unexpected things that can give you stomach upset.
1 Swallow air
When you eat or drink, you swallow a small amount of air that enters your stomach. Some of this air is absorbed in the small intestine, but the rest must escape going up or down. Chewing gum and smoking are the main causes of swallowing too much air. But it can also come from eating too fast or from an anxiety problem, when you take in too much air at once. Also, swallowing water quickly forces you to swallow air, which can lead to belching, the most common way to expel swallowed air. Also be careful when drinking from a bottle or straw. Their design forces you to swallow extra air. It is best to drink slowly from a cup.
2 Eat certain vegetables
If you’ve ever stuffed yourself with cauliflower or broccoli on the veggie plate, you’ve probably spent the night suffering from gas pains. Indeed, cruciferous vegetables contain complex carbohydrates, raffinose and stachyose, which our body has trouble digesting. These gas-producing carbs are also found in abundance in beans, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, leafy green vegetables, and whole grains. These foods can cause bloating and cramping. So it’s best to only eat a small amount at a time to see what you can tolerate.
3 Eat foods high in fat
If foods high in fat, such as cream soups, cheese, cause you to belch or pass gas, it’s likely that an underlying digestive issue is to blame. It could be related to your pancreas, which secretes certain enzymes responsible for helping the body digest fat. Consuming high-fat foods can also cause constipation, especially if you don’t eat enough fiber to facilitate bowel movement. The main cause of excessive flatulence is constipation. Eating enough fiber to have a bowel movement three times a week is key to better digestion and reduced gas. Women should consume between 20 and 25 grams of fiber per day. Men should consume between 30 and 38 grams per day.
4 Exercise
High-intensity exercise and cardio exercises can speed up digestion, which makes gassing faster and, unfortunately, more noticeable. Some yoga poses, for example, create abdominal pressure that moves trapped gas. Add to that stretching and relaxation and it’s no surprise you need to fart.
Do you fart too much?
If you have gas after exercising, it’s probably because you swallowed air while you were blowing. Try to breathe slowly and through your nose to stop post-workout bloating.
5 Use of artificial sweeteners
When it comes to sugar, nothing beats the real thing. Fake sugars, especially processed sorbitol, can lead to symptoms like gas, bloating, urgency, cramps and even diarrhea, according to research published August 2019 in the journal Canadian Family Physician. Sorbitol and similar artificial sweeteners, xylitol, mannitol and others, are abundant in chewing gum, cough medicine, sugar-free candies and low-sugar desserts. The intestine has difficulty digesting these sugars.
Studies have shown that artificial sweeteners have the pernicious effect of making you crave more sugar. They can negatively impact your metabolism and the gut microbes that help turn food into glucose that fuels your muscles. According to a study published in May 2021 in the International Journal of Molecular Science, artificial sweeteners also alter the gut microbes responsible for absorbing and releasing gas. Another study, published September 2022 in Cell, found that people who consumed artificial sweeteners were more likely to experience changes in their gut microbes, leading to an altered blood sugar response when blood sugar levels increased. blood was skyrocketing and collapsing in an unhealthy way.
6 Eat dairy products
Foods that give you gas may not affect your spouse or best friend in the same way. The amounts of digestive enzymes vary from person to person, which may explain why one person is sensitive to gluten and another has gas from dairy products. Milk and other dairy products like yogurt, ice cream, and cheese contain lactose, which can be difficult to digest if your body produces too little lactase, the enzyme that helps you digest lactose. Dairy products can therefore be the cause of gas. The same goes for certain packaged foods in your diet, from cereal to bread to salad dressing. For what ? These foods often contain lactose.
