Flatulence

What Causes Flatulence?

Flatulence (rectal gas, passing wind) is a common problem among many people and can be difficult to discuss with your doctor because of the stigma attached. Excessive flatus is most often produced by bacteria in the colon (large intestine). The colon has hundreds of different bacteria growing within it and rely on the indigestible food we eat for their own nutrition. Certain foods are more likely to cause certain bacteria to thrive and be considered "gas formers". These foods generate gases such as hydrogen, methane nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. Gas is often produced by foods that have indigestible or excess carbohydrates, which are not absorbed when they get to the colon. If we digest carbohydrates, little gas is formed. Most of us are not "good digesters" and have 200-odd bacteria waiting to do the job for us causing gas production.

Foods That Contribute to Gas Production

• Legumes: Especially dried beans, peas, baked beans, soy beans, and lima beans.
• Milk Products: Milk, ice cream, and cheese because many of us lack the enzyme needed to digest lactose.
• Vegetables: Cabbage, radishes, onions, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cucumbers, sauerkraut, kohlrabi and asparagus. Vegetarians produce more gas than meat-eaters because the intestinal enzymes can't digest the cellulose in a vegetable's cell wall.
• Root Vegetables: Potatoes, rutabaga and turnips.
• Fruits: Prunes, apricots, apples, raisins and bananas.
• Cereals & Breads, including pastries, and all foods containing wheat and wheat products. (Check labels)
• Fatty Foods: Pan-fried or deep-fried foods, fatty meats, rich cream sauces, gravies, pastries, and any high-fat food. (Check labels)
• Liquids: Carbonated beverages, fizzy medicine.

• What You Should Know About Probiotics
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• What the Scholars Have To Say On Flatulence
  Scholarly literature on flatulence.