5 Reasons Why You May Have Stomach Flatulence Problems
- Stomach bloating and pain is usually caused by a nuisance of air bubbles produced by our bodies. Intestinal bacteria produces gas during digestion
- Sugar can be the culprit of your flatulence problems. Sugar sweeteners like sorbitol and fructose will sometimes initiate the uninvited stomach indigestion problems
- Uncomfortable stomach belching, intestinal gas, and flatulence will easily remind you of your last meal. Certain foods will cause more problems than other with it comes to the digestion process
- Stomach flatulence due to obstruction may be remedied by including fiber in the diet
To the surprise of most, our bodies produce approximately seven liters of gas per day. The annoying, sometimes unavoidable bubbles of air will cause bloating and occasional pain or cramping. This can be blamed on the digestive system which produces gases when food passes through. As the food makes its way down, it mixes with liquids from the movements in the intestines. The intestinal bacteria will produce intestinal gas during the digestive process. Gases are formed in the intestines which may lead to stomach indigestion and bloating. When there is stomach flatulence, there is sometimes cramping which leads to intestinal gas and stomach belching. Some may believe that swallowed air is the reasoning behind stomach flatulence. However, intestinal gas and stomach belching are rarely the result of swallowed air. Intestinal bacteria would be the usual culprit for such conditions. The biological process of flatulence stems from a variety of reasons.
SUGAR, depending on its source and sweetness, will sometimes initiate the irritating experience of stomach flatulence. Depending on the form of sugar consumed, uncomfortable flatulence from stomach indigestion will occur. People sometimes intestinally suffer when consuming lactose filled dairy products. When this happens, the lactose, which is the sugar found in milk, will be insufficiently digested. The reason for this is that lactase, an enzyme found in the intestinal lining, is absent to break apart the lactose. Sorbitol is another sugar sweetener more commonly found in low calorie foods. This form of sugar, along with fructose which is a common sweetener in candies and beverages, may be the origin of flatulence problems.
STARCHES are also an originator of intestinal gas. Rice will produce little gas since it is well digested before reaching the colon. Some starches which are not as reliable in preventing flatulence are wheat, oats, potatoes, and sometimes corn. Such products will reach the colon before completely digesting resulting in stomach indigestion and intestinal gas. Starch found in whole grains will produce more flatulence than the starch of refined grains. Fiber content in whole grains is the reason behind intestinal gas. Various starchier vegetables and fruits will result in gas formation. Cabbage is an example of a vegetable which may plague you with flatulence.
SWALLOWING AIR is rarely the reason behind flatulence. However, there are times when orally ingested excess air, even at small amounts, initiates unwanted flatulence. Intestinal bacteria is continuously produced. Blended with small amounts of that air, this newly produced gas is passed through with intestinal contractions. To prevent gas from accumulating in the intestines, flatulence, or the passing of intestinal gas, occurs.
MALABSORBTION of foods in the small intestines allows more undigested food to meet with bacteria in the colon. Although bacteria is limited to the colon in normal conditions, there are times in which an overgrowth of bacteria will be present in the small intestine.
OBSTRUCTION from constipation may be the cause of flatulence problems. This physical obstruction is related to fecal impaction which causes bloating and distention of the bowel. Functional obstruction is caused by inadequate functioning of the stomach or intestinal muscles which normally drive the intestinal contents.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I can speak from personal experience on the sugar thing. I run road races sometimes and I’ve tried drinking a bunch of sports drinks before I go out, thinking that it would help me in the run. It turns out that by the time the race starts my stomach is in knots. I’ve started just drinking water and saving the sports drinks until after.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
I’m glad I read this article now. I was getting ready to go to the doctor for some really bad stomach cramping and gas problems. After reading this I’m going to try and treat some of the things that it suggests first. Hopefully it will save me some money.
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:22 pm
One of the things that I’ve been told can actually help with these problems is to get a body cleanse. I’ve never actually done one of these, but it flushes out the system and can eliminate a lot of blockages.
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:24 pm
I’ve had huge problems with this and most of my problems were because of sugar. I was avoiding pop and, thinking that I was being healthier, I would drink sports drinks. Little did I realize that these often had a lot of sugar as well and cause more stomach problems for me.