Take a bite from time to time doesn’t cause too many problems. At least towards one’s own health: that of others is something else. However, digestion sometimes plays tricks. Some people recurrently present certain intestinal problems related to the generation of undesirable gases during the process of assimilating nutrients. Of course, some foods are involved more than others in this gaseous formation, being those of vegetable origin such as legumes, cruciferous or cereals that are mostly linked to these gaseous problems.
Its specific terminology is meteorism, but it has nothing to do with the extinction of the dinosaurs. It is defined as meteorism that annoying condition by which the generation of gases in the digestive system generates disorders and discomfort such as swelling and abdominal distension. The resulting problems can be quite serious. On the one hand, we find unpleasant olfactory consequences in those anal exhalations that literally smell like a funeral home. In other words: smelly farts. However, there are also people who are unable to expel gas or fart, bringing with them many other related health problems that are not worth discrediting.
Having gas has traditionally been perceived as something shameful, being overwhelmingly stigmatized. We have a hard time talking about farts, paradoxically, when they are as natural as life itself. It is very normal to peer or “expel the gases from the belly through the anus”, as collected by the RAE. In this sense, however horny this matter may sound, we must be clear that the abundant presence of gases can become a real odyssey for some people and something really painful. Let’s remember: not everyone has such an easy time expelling them.
In addition, the excessive presence of gases can be an indication of other serious health problems and certain diseases. For this reason, the advice that you will find here is dedicated to the general population. If you have bothersome symptoms that exceed the normality of flatulence, the best option will always be to go to a specialized health professional who can adequately assess your individual condition. Once this is clear, let’s proceed to unravel the mysteries of the main foods involved in the generation of digestive gases.
A soft drink classic: legumes
legumes like chickpeas, lentils and beans They occupy the podium within the foods that have the greatest involvement with the appearance of gas, farts or flatulence. The explanation lies in the presence of compounds such as oligosaccharides, dietary fiber, and also lectins. Lectins are a type of antinutrient whose presence is related to gas generation. They are called antinutrients because they can inhibit the absorption of other nutrients such as vitamins or minerals in the body.
To minimize its presence there are several classic culinary tricks, being the previous soaking one of the most effective for keep lectin content in check of legumes. Cooking itself also destroys lectins, so well-cooked legumes are often associated with less flatulence. Even so, by its very nature, it is practically an impossible task that eating legumes does not give us gas. In fact, this group of foods should be controlled in those people who have specific health problems related to poor digestion.
More Farting Vegetables: Cruciferae
Anyone who has eaten a good plate of broccoli, Brussels sprouts or cauliflower knows: their consumption is closely related to the generation of intestinal gas. For these foods we can replicate the previous advice. Usually, good cooking It greatly facilitates the digestion of these foods. For this reason, it is a good idea to prioritize them in their cooked version over the raw one if we have a certain propensity to form flatulence.
The reason why these foods generate more gas than necessary is the presence of certain polysaccharides that are difficult to digest, such as raffinose and stachyose. These compounds reach the last parts of the intestine without being properly digested, and become food for our gut microbiota. There, the microorganisms that are part of our body consume these components and generate more gas than necessary.
Lactose and gluten, cases of special gases
Finally we find two compounds of a different nature, but that share a negative quality: being involved in many cases of intestinal discomfort. In both cases we refer to compounds that are not problematic for everyone’s health, but only make certain sensitive people feel bad. Therefore, there are currently no reasons to advise against the consumption of foods with gluten or lactose to the entire population as a whole.
However, there are certain sensitive people who do not digest lactose well and who feel bad about gluten. The reasons are different, since lactose is a sugar, specifically the natural sugar of milk. Lactose is digested thanks to an enzyme, lactase, whose presence in our body decreases with advancing age. For this reason it is relatively common for older people to generate more lactose intolerance than young people. For several years there has been a huge range of lactose-free products in supermarkets that allow lactose-intolerant people to consume dairy products without problems.
We also have the gluten thing, which is somewhat more complex to deal with. Gluten refers to a set of vegetable proteins that are found in different cereals such as wheat, spelled or barley, and whose consumption is linked to different health disorders. The best known of them is celiac disease. Contrary to what many people believe, celiac disease is not an intolerance to gluten, nor is it an allergy. It is an autoimmune disease where there is a rejection of gluten, but it is mediated by antibodies different from those we see in food allergies. In addition, its symptoms are primarily of the intestinal type with gas, inflammation and a possible deterioration of the intestinal mucosa.
Otherwise, Every person is a world and may develop problems digesting food individually. Therefore, any food is likely to cause gas in sensitive people. In contrast, and as long as there is no hidden health problem, the rest of the foods that do not cause us discomfort are perfectly compatible with a regular diet. As we said, behind a bloating problem there may be serious health disorders, so it is crucial to consult a specialist if we notice excessive and frequent discomfort that reduces our quality of life.