You may have noticed that many diets cause you to have a problem with excessive gas. Not only is this an embarassing thing, but it can also be very unpleasant for those around you. Since you are here and reading this article, we will assume that you are tired of dropping stink bombs on all your friends and neighbors. You don’t have to give up your healthy diet in order to fix this problem, as long as you can identify the cause of the problem. With that mind, let’s take a look at the science behind your flatulence.
According to this study, there are basically three causes of flatulence:
- Swallowed air
- Extra gas being produced in the gut
- Contaminants carried into the gut by blood diffusion
The first thing to consider is the fact that flatulence is basically just bad air. It only smells bad because of where it has been. Without meaning to, most of us swallow large amounts of air on a daily basis, and this air goes through the digestive system where it is broken down, and becomes – you guessed it, a flatulent blast. We will discuss several ways to avoid this in the sections below.
When extra gas is being produced in the gut, it means that you are probably eating too many gassy foods. This is common, as many common diet foods are heavy gas producers. Some of this cannot be avoided since fruits and vegetables are often gas producers, but adjusting your diet is the way to account for this issue.
As your body digests food, nutrients are broken down and some of them pass into the blood. This happens because blood can pass in and out of the intestines by way of a special lining called a lumen. You don’t have to worry a whole lot about this, because dietary measures will correct this as well. Just be aware that your stomach carries nutrients into the blood in this way.
How Can I Prevent Excessive Gas When Dieting?
Let’s discuss six common and effective ways to reduce or eliminate the gassiness that often comes from dieting.
1. Try Some Peppermint Tea
Peppermint tea has a long history of being used to ease or curb the effects of flatulence. While this is more of a folk remedy, that doesn’t mean that it won’t be effective. Many folk remedies are effective, even if the people who use them may not understand the science behind their use. This is a good first step since it is easy to find and pleasant to drink.
2. Cut Out Artificial Sweeteners
One of the main substances that cause gas buildup in the gut is sugar. While artificial sweeteners may not have any calories, your stomach still has to break them down. Since their properties are so similar to sugar, they produce similar products when they are broken down. You get none of the calories, but all of the gas. Most diets call for the elimination of processed sugar, so don’t cheat and use fake sugar.
3. Eat And Drink Slowly
The number one cause of swallowed air is eating and drinking too fast. When you wolf your food down (which will often happen when you are on a diet), you are swallowing a lot more air than you would if you just ate slowly. The same principle applies to drink.
4. Cut Down On Raffinose
Raffinose is a substance that is found in many common vegetables and some grains. Unfortunately, many of the produce items that are high in raffinose are also good dietary choices. These include cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, and quite a few others. This is where you will need to do some research and figure out how much raffinose you are eating, and how much you can eliminate through substitution. This study should give you a good starting point.
5. Experiment With Different Kinds Of Fruit
Fruit is often a big producer of gas. This is because all fruits contain natural sugars, and these produce a relatively large amount of gas when broken down in the gut. There is no way to eliminate this issue since a fruit-free diet would be kind of silly. However, you can and should try different kinds of fruit to see which ones give you the least amount of gas.
6. Cut Down On The Beans
We already mentioned beans earlier as a food that contains a lot of raffinose. This flatulence-producing substance is found in many veggies, but beans have more than just about any food. It is worth mentioning beans because they are well-known to cause terrible flatulence. There is a juvenile rhyme about this, but there is no need to repeat it here. Beans are so gassy, in fact, that scientists will use them to induce flatulence when doing scientific studies on the subject. Here’s an example of one.
One Example Of A Low-Flatulence Diet:
Although this plan will not be perfect for everyone, we would like to give you an example of a healthy meal that will not produce any excessive flatulence. You can use this as a template from which to design your plan based on your dietary needs and practices.
- Half a cup of cranberry juice
- 3 ounces of chicken breast
- Half a cup of steamed rice
- Half a cup of cooked beets
- Half a cup of steamed spinach
- 2 tsp of margarine
- 1 cup of coffee
- 1 tsp of sugar (optional)
- 1 tsp of salt and/or pepper (optional)
- 2 ounces of lean roast beef
- Half a cup of cooked carrots
- Half a cup of rice noodles
- A small lettuce/tomato salad
- 1 tbsp of Oil or vinegar
- Half a cup of canned peaches
- Half a cup of lime sherbet
- 2 tsp of margarine
- 8 ounces of skim milk
- 1 tsp of salt and/or pepper (optional)
For reference, these two meals provide:
- 1593 calories
- 77g of protein
- 228g of carbohydrates
- 44g of fat
- 956mg of sodium
- 2940 mg of potassium
As you can see, eliminating those toxic gas bombs from your life is not as hard as it seems. Like most other unpleasant bodily functions, a gas problem is your body’s way of letting you know that something is wrong. In this case, it is telling you that you need to eat some different things, and maybe adjust your habits a little. Do this, and the noses of your friends and family will surely be thankful for your efforts. If you have found this article to be helpful, you can show your appreciation by following us on Facebook, so that we can continue to bring you useful content like this.