Foods that cause gas and bloating in adults

Bananas and apples

Everyone loves these fruits - they are nutritious, tasty, filling. Snacking on a banana or apple is a pleasure. But be careful: they contain soluble fiber and fructose, which, if consumed in large quantities, can cause bloating. You say last week you ate four of them at a time and nothing? According to the law of meanness, treacherous gases can strike at the most inopportune moment. Don't tempt fate. One banana is good, but two or more are already risky.

Bananas can cause flatulence at the most unexpected moment

Other factors of increased gas formation

Increased metabolic activity of normal microflora. Occurs when consuming foods that are poorly digested (especially those rich in fiber).
Violation of absorption and digestion processes (with pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract), dysbacteriosis. Undigested food debris is broken down by bacteria and eventually produces gas.
Intolerance to certain foods. Increased gas formation is promoted by foods that do not cause flatulence in other people.
Swallowing air while eating (aerophagia). Especially a lot of gases enter the gastrointestinal tract if you talk while eating.
Impaired intestinal motility. Flatulence and bloating occur with intestinal obstruction and constipation associated with decreased peristalsis.
Malabsorption of substances. Sometimes, excessive gas production occurs due to poor absorption in the intestines. The cause is heart failure and impaired portal circulation.

Increased gas formation in the intestines can be a consequence of disruption of the gastrointestinal tract and poor nutrition.

Individual intolerance

There are foods whose consumption causes increased gas formation in certain people. To identify individual intolerances, you need to keep a food diary. In it, write down the time of food intake, its composition, and whether after some time it caused bloating, pain, or not. Such records will help the doctor determine the cause of increased gas formation.

Be sure to read: What medications to use for increased gas formation?

Most often, the cause of individual intolerance to certain foods is pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract:

reduced acidity of gastric juice;
malabsorption (impaired absorption of various nutrients);
celiac disease.

Read more: Blood test for food intolerance

With low acidity, even milk causes increased gas formation. It does not curdle in the stomach under the influence of hydrochloric acid and is not digested. With other digestive and absorption disorders, complex carbohydrates and proteins remain undigested. All these leftover food, under the influence of intestinal bacteria, begin to ferment and rot. As a result of complex chemical reactions (the action of bacterial enzymes), gas is formed and symptoms of flatulence appear.

Combination of products leading to gas formation

In addition to individual intolerance, there are a number of products, the combination of which increases the formation of gases. Therefore, it is advisable to consume some products separately:

Milk is the most common product and cannot be combined with most dishes. To digest it, you need high acidity of gastric juice. When other food enters the stomach, the acidity decreases and the milk is not digested. And if it is consumed with sour fruits, then the curdling process begins before the food bolus enters the stomach.
Sugar and starch. With increased acidity, they increase the acidity of gastric juice. Sour belching and dyspeptic disorders occur. With low acidity, starch helps slow down the movement of food into the duodenum, and sugar is quickly broken down. Due to the lack of hydrochloric acid, the fermentative microflora is not neutralized, but intensively promotes the fermentation of sugar, the formation of gas and the proliferation of pathogenic and putrefactive microflora.
Fatty meats and legumes. These foods themselves are hard on the stomach. Legumes increase gas formation by 3–5 times. And if they are also consumed with pork or lamb, then this process is enhanced tenfold.

Onion and garlic

If you are not at all bothered by the smell, and you still decide to go out in public by eating a salad with onions and garlic, then know that both of these vegetables contain large quantities of fructans - polymers of fructose, which, under the influence of enzymes in the intestines, produce large volumes of gases . Too much of them and you will smell as if you are not only protecting yourself from vampires, but have already been very scared.

You should always be careful with garlic

Other methods to combat gas formation

Drugs

Main article: Carminatives to combat bloating and gas

Adsorbents (activated carbon).
Herbal medicines. Plants that relieve intestinal spasms and facilitate the passage of gases include the fruits and oil of fennel (dill), caraway fruits, and chamomile flowers. They are part of medications (Plantex), carminatives. A decoction of peppermint leaves, fennel fruits, and valerian root is also recommended.
Defoamers. These include: dimethicone, simethicone. They contribute to the release of gas, which is in the form of small bubbles surrounded by chyme and mucus. The released gas is adsorbed by the intestinal wall or excreted from the body due to peristalsis.

Be sure to read:

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Exercises

With flatulence, exercises that promote the release of gases help.

Lie on your back, bend your knees, place your hands on your stomach. As you exhale, press forcefully with the base of your palms towards each other. In this case, you should feel the hard surface of the internal organs. Hold your breath for 6–8 seconds and use the base of your palm to make sharp shaking movements towards each other. As you inhale, protrude your stomach and release the pressure. Repeat the exercise 6–8 times.
Lie on your back. Bend your leg at the knee, clasp it with both hands and press it tightly to your stomach. Do the exercise with the other leg. Repeat it 10 times.
Get on your knees, resting on your elbows, lower your head. Squat on your left buttock, return to the starting position and squat on your right buttock.

All these exercises stimulate intestinal peristalsis and facilitate the passage of gases.

In continuation of the topic, be sure to read:

Treatment tables (diets) No. 1-15 according to Pevzner: food tables and diet
Causes of bloating and increased gas formation, treatment methods
Details about the coprogram: preparation, conduct and interpretation of the analysis
Irritable bowel syndrome: symptoms and treatments
Why and what causes my stomach to growl, what to do?
Intestinal dyskinesia: types, causes, symptoms and treatment methods
Flatulence in adults: causes, symptoms and treatment methods
Why do gases constantly form in the intestines?
What foods cause fermentation in the intestines?
What foods improve intestinal motility?

Dairy

Gas from overeating cheese can occur even if you are not lactose intolerant. It is this substance, found in all dairy products, that can cause intestinal upset. If you don’t want to blush again, it’s better to avoid an extra scoop of ice cream and milk in your coffee.

Dairy products can also cause gas.

Foods that do not cause flatulence

Protein foods are of particular importance. Complete proteins normalize the function of the intestines, liver, pancreas, blood condition and metabolism. The main source of protein is meat and fish. Fatty varieties are strictly prohibited. Recommended:

chicken;
lean pork;
beef;
veal;
rabbit;
turkey;
kefir, fermented baked milk;
cottage cheese;
mild varieties of hard cheese;
river fish (except red);
sea fish (cod, hake, sablefish, pollock, saberfish);
granular caviar.

Be sure to read:

Intestinal disorder and methods of its treatment: diet and medications All dishes made from these products are best steamed or boiled. To get rid of the specific smell of fish, it is boiled with vegetables and roots. Dill seeds are used as spices; they help with flatulence.

It is better to eat soft-boiled eggs, in the form of an omelet. They are contraindicated in their raw form. The protein contains avidin, which inactivates biotin (one of the B vitamins). Raw eggs can also be a source of pathogenic bacteria. The yolk should be omitted. It contains sulfur-containing amino acids; when it breaks down, hydrogen sulfide is released and flatulence increases.

Carbohydrates enter the body when consuming vegetables, fruits, and sweets, but they all contribute to increased gas formation. The least amount of dietary fiber is found in:

potatoes;
zucchini;
pumpkin;
cauliflower;
rice;
manke.

Dietary fiber is destroyed during mechanical and thermal processing. But if you boil, bake, stew vegetables and fruits, they will not be a source of vitamins. Therefore, it is better to grind them.

Excessive gas formation is often the cause of malfunction of the gastrointestinal tract, therefore, in case of flatulence, consultation with a doctor and examination is necessary. And after diagnosis, the specialist will recommend how to more effectively get rid of this symptom.

How to eat

The menu should not contain foods that cause gas formation in the intestines to prevent digestive problems.

Sample menu:

wheat or buckwheat crumbly porridge;
fruits or vegetables baked in the oven;
low-fat meat products;
boiled fish;
cutlets, steamed, oven-baked or boiled;
kefir, fermented baked milk, bifidok;
bread made without yeast using wheat flour.

You can always take advantage of the advice and recommendations of qualified specialists. They will tell you which foods that cause gas and bloating are not advisable to eat.

Advice! To reduce flatulence, it is useful to drink tea with the addition of ginger or mint.

There are spices in cooking that will help prevent problems of the digestive system, in particular, flatulence. Along with foods that cause increased gas formation, you can eat fennel or cumin. They help the stomach and intestines digest even the heaviest foods. Dill in fresh, dried, frozen form and its seeds have a similar effect.

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Fermented milk products promote the absorption of food; moreover, they normalize the intestinal microflora. Do not forget about fasting days, when stagnant masses are removed from the intestines. 1-2 days a week is enough.

It's rare to treat yourself to peas or beans. But before cooking, the product should be washed well, pre-soaked and cooked for a long time over low heat. Before serving, you can add dill or cumin in a small amount. Cooking food like this will help reduce flatulence in adults, especially if it's legumes.

Broccoli and other types of cabbage

Cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and other green leafy vegetables are super high in fiber and may be too much for your body. But bacteria in the gut like to use it for energy, and this leads to the formation of gas. Many of these cruciferous vegetables also contain sulfur. It has already been noted above that this provokes an unpleasant odor. For example, a large portion of cauliflower with onions will certainly cause such a reaction in the body.

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Solving a delicate problem: basic recommendations

In order to maintain normal bowel function, it is important to choose food responsibly. The article describes in detail what foods can cause flatulence; frequent consumption of them should be avoided.

Fruits and vegetables need to be thermally processed;
salads should be seasoned only with vegetable oil;
no need to eat fried and smoked foods;
You should not drink sweet carbonated drinks during meals;
Bread must be dried before use;
before cooking legumes (beans, peas, etc.), they must be soaked in water for 5-8 hours;
There is no need to eat food at night that takes a long time to digest - mushrooms, meat;
You can drink no later than 30 minutes before meals, and no earlier than 30 minutes after meals;
All foods must be chewed thoroughly, and talking at the table should be avoided.

In addition, walking in the fresh air, playing sports, etc. will help get rid of flatulence. And, of course, you should eat foods that reduce gas formation in the intestines.

If all the measures described above did not produce any results, this may indicate the presence of pathologies. Therefore, it is best to immediately consult a doctor - he will carry out the necessary diagnostic measures and prescribe the correct treatment.

How to avoid flatulence in children?

Colic and bloating are a problem that every parent has faced. In order to avoid this phenomenon, you do not need to give your child foods that cause gas in the intestines. In addition, if the child is breastfeeding, the mother should refuse the following foods:

fatty fermented milk products;
fresh vegetables and fruits;
legumes – lentils, beans, peas;
cabbage;
radish, radish;
yeast baked goods.

If gas formation in a baby is caused by problems with digestion of food, then you need to exclude fatty and spicy foods, cottage cheese, beets, cucumbers, kefir, mushrooms and yeast bread.

Foods that cause bloating can be consumed, but you just need to limit the amount of them, or combine them with foods that eliminate gas formation in the intestines.

Beans

Beans and lentils are high in fiber, but they also contain raffinose, a complex sugar that our bodies have trouble digesting. These sugars enter the intestines, where they begin to be absorbed. The body uses them to produce energy, resulting in hydrogen, methane and even sulfur, which has a very strong odor.

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