Suppress Flatulence

Intestinal gas exists in the entire length of the digestive tract. It only becomes noticeable when it tries to exit the body. It is not uncommon for a person to pass gas several times a day since it is a healthy and natural part of the body breaking down food. Although sometimes embarrassing or foul smelling, excessive flatulence can become a medical issue if it causes cramping or pain without an obvious pattern. By itself, however, flatulence rarely causes a serious condition other than a need to change your underwear. If you are embarrassed by excessive flatulence, you may need to change your diet.

Steps

Avoiding Flatulence

1. Get rid of excess air. Flatulence is the body’s simple way of expelling excess air from your stomach. Eating or drinking too fast, talking while you eat, smoking, and drinking carbonated sodas all cause the swallowing of too much air.
   • Eat and drink slowly. By taking time to eat your food and drink your beverages, you will swallow less air.
   • Avoid carbonated drinks and beer since they are known to release carbon dioxide gas.
   • Part of chewing gum or sucking on hard candy is swallowing large amounts of air. Avoid both if you flatulating too often.
   • If you smoke, you are swallowing lots of air. The stinky smell on your clothing might not be from smoke.
2. Cut down on carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are gas-producing foods that can cause discomfort. Complex Carbohydrate Intolerance (CCI) occurs because you lack the enzyme necessary to break down complex carbohydrates. In most cases, however, you are more likely just to suffer from bloating and stomach pain.
   • Cut down on vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower.
   • Avoid fruits such as apples, peaches, and pears.
   • Bloating and discomfort can originate from eating whole grains, cereals, nuts, and seeds. Diagnose Celiac Disease, which is an autoimmune disease triggered by gluten, can cause bloating and gas.
   • Steer clear of drinking milk (especially if you are lactose intolerant), alcohol, and carbonated drinks.
3. Reduce anxiety. Although food intolerances and digestive issues are the main causes of flatulence, anxiety can also lead to its own set of flatulence problems. Anxiety can lead to further anxiety. Chest and stomach pains caused by digestive symptoms results in flatulence and anxiety followed by the increased anxiety of flatulating in public.
   • Excessive stress and anxiety usually cause you to breathe faster, which result in swallowing more air and more flatulence. Severe anxiety can increase hydrochloric acid in the intestines causing more gas to be produced as well as flatulence.
   • If you experience anxiety from either excessive flatulence or pain, the best thing to do is let the gas out safely. Find a secure spot where you are comfortable and away from other people.
   • Practice deep belly breathing, or breathing from your diaphragm, which simulates the parasympathetic nervous system and helps to relax the body. Place a hand on your belly and inhale so that you can feel your stomach rising (as opposed to your chest). Hold your breath for a few seconds, then slowly exhale.

Addressing Your Diet

1. Eat a healthy diet. Troublesome gas is often treated with nutritional advice on what and what not to eat to reduce or prevent flatulence. A range of dietary measures exist, so try experimenting with different combinations until you find one that works for you.
   • Keep a journal of the foods and drinks you consume and record when you have excessive flatulence. There are a host of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and milk products that cause flatulence; by keeping a journal you can narrow down which ones personally affect you the most.
   • Fried and fatty foods should be eaten in moderation because they cause bloating and the buildup of gas.The inability to relieve this gas is painful.
   • Foods high in fiber cause flatulence. Fiber is an excellent and necessary food for the body, though, so try to temporarily cut back and then begin to reintroduce fiber in your diet slowly until your body adjusts to it.
   • Reduce your dairy intake by substituting milk with low-lactose foods like yogurt, or in addition to Lactaid or Dairy Ease which helps digest milk products. If you cannot eliminate dairy completely from your diet, try smaller portions or consuming it with other foods to reduce the impact.
   • Keep yourself hydrated by drinking enough water throughout the day.
   • Avoid caffeine and alcohol as much as possible.
2. Take over-the-counter remedies. Flatulence can be caused by another health problem. Treating the underlying condition with over-the-counter remedies might be able to offer you relief from excessive  flatulence.
   • Add Beano to reduce the amount of flatulence produced by vegetables and beans. Beano must be taken within the first few bites of food to be effective. It must arrive before the gas.
   • If you are lactose intolerant, try taking Lactaid or Dairy-Ease to help you digest lactose. Or, you could also try lactose-free or reduced lactose dairy products.
   • Popular gas relief products — Gas-X, Gelusil, Mylanta, and Mylicon — use simethicone to bust gas bubbles and relieve flatulence. Be aware, however, no studies have proven that these products actually work to relieve gas or gas pain.
   • Charcoal tablets — CharcoCaps and Charcoal  Plus — use an activated charcoal agent to relieve gas and ultimately flatulence. Similar to simethicone, no studies prove they work.
   • Other measure include the use of probiotics such as Florastor and Align.
3. Limit the side effects. Many of the foods that cause flatulence are healthy for you and should not be completely left out of your diet.
   • Foods that contain medium carbohydrates like beans and legumes are water-soluble. This means if you rinse them off or soak them in water, some of the carbohydrates will leach out, reducing the impact of gas and flatulence. Make sure you soak for a few hours before cooking them.
   • It is not a good excuse to cut vegetables from your diet because they make you gassy. Instead, puree your cruciferous vegetables. This increases the surface area of the food particles allowing them to be more readily absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract — and causing less flatulence.
   • Add inulin, a prebiotic fiber, found in fiber-rich foods to your diet. A prebiotic fiber is a carbohydrate that stimulates the growth of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in your stomach. Foods such as pears, pistachios, blueberries, and chia seeds are high in prebiotic fiber.
   • Eat fennel seeds after a meal heavy with vegetables. Fennel seeds are a natural flatulence-fighter used to improve digestive tolerance to beans, lentils, and cauliflower. Either chew on the fennel seed or break it apart and put them in your tea to enjoy their benefits.

Employing Lifestyle and Home Remedies

1. Eat smaller portions. Since swallowing air is a big part of eating, try smaller portions to limit the intake of air and reduce the impact of creating gas. By taking your times and chewing your food thoroughly, you will digest it quicker and it will pass through your body much easier.
   • Cut food into smaller pieces.
   • Chew your food for about twenty to thirty bites with your mouth closed.
   • Try keeping the amount of food on your utensil to a minimum. Don’t scoop it off your plate right into your mouth as if you were eating directly out of a bowl.
   • Between bites of food, set your utensil down on the table. This will slow your roll.
   • Stay relaxed and have a peaceful mind while you eat. Food is something to be enjoyed.
2. Exercise regularly. Physical activity is believed to aid the movement of gas through the digestive tract. Regular exercise, such as tightening your abdominal muscles, can help with digestion and, therefore, with easing the effects of gas, bloating, and flatulence.
   • According the the President's Council on Fitness, Americans need 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise each week, or about 30 minutes five days a week. You should also try and get two to three days of weight/resistance training in as well every week.
   • After eating, take a walk for ten to fifteen minutes to relieve bloating. Or, you could take a jog, stretch, or other types of vigorous exercises to move gas through the digestive tract. The faster the stomach empties, the faster the gas moves into the small intestine. A brisk walk will be more stimulating than a slow one, so try to keep a good pace.
   • Staying upright and moving around, despite discomfort, is better than hitting the couch after a meal. Lying down allows gas to collect in your stomach and leads to bloating.
   • Studies have shown that weak stomach muscles are a factor in bloating. Muscles in the stomach help move food and gas through the body. Strengthening stomach muscles or walking helps reduce gas and flatulence.
   • If you are not interested in weight training, then try yoga to aid in the digestion of food and the reduction of gas. Yoga is a great stress reliever. Minimizing stress can reduce many of the painful symptoms associated with bloating, gas, and flatulence.
3. Try natural remedies. Never try to hold gas in. It is a painful process and there is nowhere for the gas to go but out. There are many ways to treat excess flatulence, but simple natural remedies are not only good for you, but they will help fight flatulence.
   • Peppermint tea eases gas pain because it contains the essential oil called menthol. Menthol creates an antispasmodic effect on the smooth muscle of the digestive tract. By soothing this muscle, as well as nerves and stress, a cup of peppermint tea will keep things moving along smoothly.
   • Ginger contains gingerols and Shogaol  which relaxes the intestinal tract and prevents the formation of excess gas. Drink a cup of ginger root  tea before a meal to help with digestion.
   • Caraway is known to help relieve excess gas by pushing it through the digestive tract. Eat a few caraway crackers or seeds if you feel bloated or gassy.
   • A cup of chamomile tea will relax your digestive tract as an anti-inflammatory to help the movement of gas through the body.
   • Pumpkin reduces the gasses produced by high fiber foods. Eat about one cup of pumpkin with your meal to fight off gas and flatulence.
   • Drink a cup of warm lemon water to stimulate the production of hydrochloric acid (HCL), which helps break down food. The water also helps by flushing out your entire system. Drink a cup for breakfast to feel refreshed all day long.

Warnings

• Suppressing flatulence is not recommended for an extended period of time.
• Any chronic or painful digestive condition should be evaluated by your doctor.

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• Prevent Flatulence
• Regulate Bowel Movements
• Relieve Bloating With Food
• Relieve Gas