Although having gases is as natural as breathing, the reality is that when they occur in excessive amounts they are truly annoying. That’s why we tell you what to eat and what not to avoid intestinal gas.
How are gases formed in our body?
The gases they are mainly composed of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane; although the blame for their bad smell is due to the presence of sulfur inside.
As we said, having gases is very naturalIn fact, human beings expel approximately 10 to 20 flatus daily, often unconsciously.
said gases can be caused by the ingress of air our body, either by chewing, talking, laughing or eating certain foods, or after metabolizing food by the bacteria in our gut.
Especially if we include in our diet many hard-to-digest foods or that are not metabolized in the small intestine, will pass to the colon and there will be fermented by bacteria creating, among other things, gases.
For this reason, our diet is decisive in the formation of gases being able to moderate or exacerbate its presence in our body.
Diet to avoid intestinal gases
As well as certain habits and foods they can encourage the development of gases in our intestine, there are also others that can help us reduce their presence. We detail it below:
foods to avoid
- Chewing gum or chewing gum that encourages chewing, and also usually contain fermentable carbohydrates that favor the production of flatus by colonic bacteria.
- Carbonated or fizzy drinks such as soft drinks, beers, champagne and others whose bubbles represent the air that we enter when drinking them.
- Too much cabbage, onions, or garlic They have a large amount of sulfur compounds and fiber that favor the formation of gases, especially if we are not used to their consumption or if we eat them in significant quantities.
- legumes in excess which are a source of fiber in high proportions and carbohydrates that are difficult to assimilate such as resistant starch, which in our colon are highly fermentable and therefore favor the formation of gases. However, its regular consumption is recommended without exceeding its proportions.
- Jelly beans and other sweets which are concentrated in sugars and these constitute a good substrate for the fermentation of the bacteria of the intestine. Therefore, they can cause excessive flatulence, especially gummies that are partially digested in our body.
Foods that can help you
- Water as usual drink that promote hydration and proper bowel movement, helping to prevent excessive colonic fermentation by bacteria in our body and thus reduce gas formation.
- Fish that they can constitute an excellent source of proteins that are easier to digest than meat and that, unlike the latter, do not favor the formation of gases with a high sulfur content.
- fermented dairy that can be well tolerated by those who do not fully digest the lactose in milk and milk products, as well as, can help favor the intestinal tract by reducing gas production and eliminating constipation problems.
- Cereals and derivatives especially integral or whole that, although they are digested more slowly than refined ones, can favor the composition of our intestinal flora and help avoid, among other things, constipation that also promotes the formation of gases by stimulating the colonic fermentation of the food present there.
- Various fruits and vegetables, especially cooked that prevent constipation and promote adequate intestinal transit; and in the case of cooked alternatives, they offer fiber that is easily digested by our body.
In addition to taking care of the choice of foods to avoid intestinal gas, We recommend eating slowly, chewing each bite well and not going to bed immediately after eating, as these habits contribute to less flatus formation in our body.
In DAP | Damaged intestinal flora: its possible causes and consequences, and how to recover it with the help of diet
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