How To Control Gas Problem In Stomach

Stopping Gas Before It Starts

Gas can be uncomfortable, painful, and embarrassing. Lifestyle changes can help stop gas from getting trapped in your intestines in the first place. Things to try include:

• Eating slowly. Eating quickly while you eat and drink can result in swallowing air, causing gas and gas pain.
• Choosing foods wisely. Eliminate foods and drinks that can cause gas. These include carbonated beverages, spicy foods, and fried food. Keep a food diary so you can determine which foods upset your system, and which are easy for you to digest.
• Eating less. Overeating can cause bloating and gas, especially if youre eating hard-to-digest foods. Reducing portion size may help.
• Reducing air intake. Increased air intake can also be caused by chewing gum, and drinking through straws.
• Not smoking. In addition to the many health hazards of smoking and vaping, these habits can cause air to enter the digestive tract, causing gas.

Gastric Problems: Causes Symptoms Foods To Eat And Foods To Avoid Home Remedies And Yoga Exercises

In todays fast-paced world, the foods people consume regularly are loaded with trans fats, sugars and oil, invariably resulting in an upset stomach. Digestive disorders and other illnesses affecting the gastrointestinal tract arise not only in adults but also in children, teenagers and the elderly. Also Read: Digestive Disorders: 7 Ways To Improve Gut Health

One such common concern is gastric problem, which can be quite embarrassing, especially when a foul odour emanates from a person post meals. This instance occurs when surplus gas accumulates in the organs of the digestive system, namely the stomach and intestines.

In the human digestive system, the gastrointestinal tract comprises the oesophagus or the food pipe, stomach and intestines. The oesophagus transports food particles to the stomach and intestines, where they are broken down into simpler substances, to enable other organs and tissues to absorb nutrients from food, for carrying out routine biological functions and ensuring optimal overall health.

Fast Facts About Trapped Gas

• About 5 percent of emergency room visits are because of abdominal pain.
• On average, your colon produces 1 to 4 pints of gas a day.
• Passing gas

Certain home remedies for relieving trapped gas work better for some people than others. You may have to experiment to see what works best and fastest for you. Most of the evidence behind these home remedies is anecdotal.

Here are some quick ways to expel trapped gas, either by burping or passing gas.

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Can Gas And Bloating Cause Headaches

It is possible that excessive gastrointestinal gas makes its way to your head and cause headaches.

Headaches provoked by abdominal bloating are mainly bought on by leguminous foods, such as beans, which are difficult to digest and are known to produce excessive gas that has nowhere to go. If your headache is set off by flatulence, it will automatically subside when the stomach bloating comes down.

Here Are Some Home Remedies To Treat The Gas Problem

The thought of passing gas at an inappropriate time and in front of people is among the worst fears. Gas is one of the most common and embarrassing health issues. Although it is not a disease and is part of the normal digestion process, gassy stomach can be a painful condition. It can lead to bloating, stomach pain, stomach cramps and heaviness. This condition of gas accumulating in the digestive system is known as flatulence and it happens when you swallow air while drinking or eating. The digestive system produces excessive intestinal gas, which is a mixture of oxygen, carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen, when the amount of stomach acid is not sufficient for the digestion. Other reasons for gas include eating spicy food, not chewing the food properly, stress, digestive disorder, bacterial infection and excessive drinking. Excessive gas leads to problems like belching, burping, gas and discomfort. Here are some home remedies to get rid of the gas and bloating. .Also Read – Sleep Paralysis: What Is Sleep Paralysis? Causes, Symptoms And How To Cope It, Explained | Watch Video

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Why Do You Get Gas

Flatulence occurs when gas builds up in your colon. The Mayo Clinic explains that undigested food goes through a fermentation process in the colon, and gas is often released as a byproduct. Some gas is normal, but if you eat foods that your body has trouble digesting, you may find yourself with an uncomfortable amount of gas to pass.

While dietary choices are the most common reason for frequent gas, other factors may be at play, too. For instance, if youre on antibiotics, the fluctuation of bacteria in your digestive tract can also lead to intestinal gas. Constipation can cause gas, as well.

How Is Intestinal Gas Managed Or Treated

• Alpha-galactosidase , an enzyme to break down hard-to-digest foods.
• Bismuth subsalicylate for adults with upset stomach and diarrhea.
• Lactase enzymes for lactose intolerance .
• Probiotics to get rid of bad gut bacteria.
• Simethicone to reduce intestinal gas buildup that causes bloating.

Prescription medications may help if you have a motility problem like IBS. Antibiotics can treat bacterial overgrowth in the intestines that cause excess gas and bloating.

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So Should You Really Try Activated Charcoal

Though activated charcoal may be an effective detoxifier in some cases for acute poisonings in particular the jury is still out as to whether it can help with diarrhea, gas, kidney problems, cosmetic issues, and many other touted benefits. Dont try to treat poisonings or overdoses with activated charcoal on your own, either.

If youd like to try activated charcoal, you should do so under the supervision of a medical professional, especially if youre already taking other medications. Your doctor can work with you to find the right dosage and frequency if the supplement is the right fit for your health goals.

And although activated charcoal has not been reported to cause birth defects or other health problems in babies, per the Mayo Clinic, play it safe and check with your doctor before taking activated charcoal if youre pregnant or breastfeeding.

May Help Reduce Excessive Gas

Research suggests activated charcoal may offer relief from excessive gas. A small study published in the International Medical Journal found that activated charcoal effectively reduced gas and bloating in men with and without excessive gas. A more recent observational study, published in August 2017 in PLoS One,notes that a combination of simethicone and activated charcoal helped reduce gas by 25 percent in people with small intestinal bowel overgrowth after 10 days. SIBO is associated with greater gas production. Nevertheless, participants who took the antibioticFlagyl saw even better results, with a 67 percent reduction in gas. One limitation of this study, though, is that participants self-reported their gas incidents in a three-day diary before and after treatment, so its hard to know if incidents were accurately reported. Not to mention that three days is a short period of time.

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How Is The Cause Of Excessive Flatulence Or Gas Diagnosed

A healthcare professional may review what the patient eats and the symptoms produced. The patient might be instructed to keep a food and drink diary for a specific period of time and track the passage of gas during the day. A careful review of diet and the amount of gas passed may help relate specific foods to symptoms and determine the severity of the problem.

The primary tests, if necessary, will likely include measuring the amount of hydrogen in the patient’s breath after the person eats suspected foods. Because bacteria are largely responsible for the production of hydrogen, an increase in exhaled hydrogen as measured by the breath test will suggest food intolerance, with the bacteria fermenting the undigested food to produce excess gas. After the patient eats a problem food, breath testing should show an increase in hydrogen in as little as 2 hours.

Another possible test is an analysis of flatus for gas content. This should help differentiate gas produced by swallowing air from gas produced in the gastrointestinal tract.

If these tests produce no diagnosis, broader testing can be accomplished to help exclude more serious disorders such as diabetes, cancer, malabsorption, cirrhosis of the liver, poor thyroid function, and infection.

If lactase deficiency is the suspected cause of gas, the healthcare professional may suggest the patient avoid milk products for a period of time. A blood or breath test may be used to diagnose lactose intolerance.

Tips To Prevent Excessive Gas

• Eat slowly and chew your food properly while eating.
• Avoid chewing gum regularly.
• Avoid using straws while drinking fluids as they can cause you to swallow more gas.
• Avoid drinking carbonated drinks as they can lead to the formation of excessive gas in the intestines.
• Exercise regularly.
• Avoid lying down right after a meal.
• Take a warm bath or use a heating bag to relieve pain from excessive gas.
• Follow a BRAT diet until you recover completely from your gastric troubles. BRAT stands for bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. All these foods are easy on your stomach as they can be easily digested.

Use these tips in combination with any of the remedies provided above to find relief from recurring gastric issues. However, if you develop any of the following symptoms, it is best to consult a doctor for further assistance.

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Taking Medicines Or Supplements

In some cases, doctors may recommend medicines or supplements to help reduce gas or gas symptoms. The medicines or supplements your doctor recommends will depend on which gas symptoms you have and whether a health condition is causing your gas symptoms.

Doctors may recommend

• over-the-counter medicines
• prescription medicines to treat certain health conditions you may have that cause gas symptoms, such as IBS or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth
• supplements or other products to reduce gas symptoms, such as lactase products for lactose intolerance

For safety reasons, talk with your doctor before using supplements, probiotics, or any complementary or alternative medicines or medical practices.

Effects Are Unclear When Charcoal Is Ingested For Hangovers Or Other Issues

Theres no research to substantiate the benefits of adding activated charcoal to foods, either. Black ice cream and hamburger buns may look cool, but its doubtful whether all that activated charcoal is actually doing your body any good. And, by the way, if youre using activated charcoal to prevent or treat a hangover, the effects in that case are also unclear. Most of the research on this topic was published decades ago, and the U.S. National Library of Medicine notes that the body doesnt appear to trap activated charcoal well, meaning its unlikely a panacea for your aches and pains before or after an indulgent night.

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What Causes Intestinal Gas

Causes of intestinal gas include:

• Food digestion: Your small intestines lack certain enzymes needed to digest and absorb carbohydrates in sweet, starchy and fibrous foods. This undigested food passes into the large intestine, where harmless bacteria break down the food, forming hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases. In some people, intestinal bacteria produce methane gas, too. This process is responsible for most gas passed in flatulence.
• Swallowing air: You swallow air without even noticing while eating, drinking, chewing gum or smoking. You can also swallow too much air if you have loose-fitting dentures. Most people expel swallowed air through the mouth by belching . But your intestines partially absorb some air, which you pass when you fart.

How To Avoid Gastric Problems Long Term

As mentioned at the start, the causes of gastric issues are a variety of dietary and lifestyle choices. Avoiding the discomfort and pain of future gastric problems is as simple as cutting these harmful factors out of your life. Cutting out or reducing coffee and soft drinks, alcohol, tobacco and smoking and excessive junk foods from your life will go a long way to curtailing any risk of gastric related health conditions.

Following some healthy habits like eating regularly, avoiding binge eating, sleeping regularly and getting some form of daily physical exercise can all further lower your chances of developing a gastric problem in the long term. Try to stay away from foods that are hard to digest as well as acidic foods like lime, baking soda etc.

It should be noted that some people may experience gastric issues like GERD and similar serious conditions, despite maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This is due to unavoidable physical issues in their body, the only solution to that is to seek professional medical treatment. The above-mentioned home remedies may provide instant relief from occasional bouts of gas and other symptoms of gastric troubles. However, if these tips fail to provide much relief then one must seek medical help immediately.

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What Is Excessive Flatulence Or Intestinal Gas

Excessive gas or flatulence is defined by some researchers as passing gas more than 20 times per day. Increased flatulence occurs when a person passes gas more than about 14 times a day and extreme flatulence is ill-defined but occasionally used to describe excessive and/or constant passing of gas and is occasionally related to excessively smelly gas production.

Chronic flatulence is also not well defined but is used to describe excessive flatulence that may occur daily over weeks to years.

Excess gas in the digestive tract can come from two sources: 1) increased intake of gas, for example, from air swallowed or 2) increased production of gas as certain undigested foods are broken down by harmless bacteria normally found in the colon. Undigested foods may also occur in chronic intestinal problems such as chronic megacolon, patients undergoing chemotherapy or in certain infectious diseases such as giardiasis.

Swallowed air

Swallowed air can occur with improper swallowing while eating or even unconscious swallowing of air out of habit.

Lactase intolerance

Another major source of flatulence is lactose intolerance, which results in a decreased ability to digest lactose, a natural sugar found in milk and other dairy products such as cheese and ice cream, and in certain processed food such as bread, cereal, and salad dressing. This flatulence is often associated with diarrhea and cramping but can appear as only gas.

Where To Buy Activated Charcoal If You Want To Try It

Activated charcoal is available in pill and powder form at many online retailers, including Google Express and Amazon, and at supplement stores such as GNC. As with any supplement, follow the dosage and instructions on the label, and only buy from reputable brands that are third-party tested. Again, your healthcare team can help you identify a legitimate product thats suited to your individual health.

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Try Herbs For Gas Relief

Some research suggests a number of herbs may help relieve excess gas. For example, a review published in April 2015 in European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Studies found ginger helps speed digestion. This is helpful because if the stomach empties faster, gas can move more quickly to the small intestine to relieve bloating and discomfort.

A review published in 2014 in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology found that peppermint oil significantly improved symptoms of IBS, including abdominal pain.

Chamomile is thought to aid in a number of digestive issues, including upset stomach, bloating, and intestinal gas, by relaxing GI muscles and improving digestion.

Gas In The Lower Abdomen

Below are some potential causes of gas in the lower abdomen.

Fermentation

A person experiencing symptoms of gas in the lower part of their belly or abdomen may be experiencing gas from fermentation.

Stomach acid helps to break down food and pass it on to the intestines. The intestines break down the food even further in a process that sometimes releases gases. These gases either make their way to the stomach and leave the body as a burp or travel through the intestines and leave the body as flatulence.

Some foods may produce gas more than others. The list some common foods that may cause gas, including:

• greens, such as kale, cabbage, and Brussel sprouts
• vegetables, such as onions, cauliflower, and broccoli
• beans, including black, pinto, and kidney beans
• dairy products, such as cheese, yogurt, and ice cream
• high fiber foods, such as whole grains and fruits
• sugar substitutes and sweeteners, such as sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol

Irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome is an umbrella term for a group of digestive symptoms that can cause pain, discomfort, and changes in bowel movements.

A person with IBS may experience an excessive amount of intestinal gas. This excess gas may lead to abdominal pain, bloating, and flatulence. Other possible symptoms of IBS include:

• constipation

In extreme cases, the small intestine may be unable to absorb sufficient nutrients from food. This may lead to complications, such as weight loss and anemia.

Food intolerances

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The Link Between Gas Stress And Probiotics

Gas can be worsened by stress. “There are nerves up and down the GI tract,” Lemond says. “People who have a tendency to be nervous can develop gas, diarrhea, or constipation.” When dietary changes arent effective, other treatments, such as relaxation therapy, may help.

Life stress can cause spasms in the colon and abdominal discomfort, according to a review published in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Reviewers noted that progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, yoga, counseling, or changes to daily stressful situations can help reduce stress and have a positive effect on digestive health.

Researchers are devoting more and more time to exploring the direct connections between the gut, brain, and probiotics, whats called the gut-brain axis. For instance, a report published in April 2015 in the journal Annals of Gastroenterology looked at the way that microbiota, the bacteria in the gut, interact with the central nervous system, by regulating brain chemistry and influencing neuroendocrine systems associated with stress response, anxiety, and memory function.