Tips to Prevent Gas or Flatulence

Flatulence is a common problem, which is not life–threatening, but can be a major cause of discomfort and embarrassment for the person experiencing it. Here are some tips to prevent gas or flatulence. [Read: What is Flatulence?]

• Eat slowly: When you eat, a little bit of air goes down every time you swallow. Eating slowly and chewing the food properly can reduce the amount of air that you swallow and improve digestion. Avoid chewing gum as it makes one swallow more air than usual.
• Avoid airy drinks and foods: Air also gets into one’s stomach and intestine when one eats food and has drinks, such as beer, soda or sponge cake that contain air.
• Don’t smoke: Quit smoking if you are a smoker as it can cause you to swallow more air than usual while smoking. In addition to this, tobacco smoke has substances that can irritate the digestive system.
• Avoid sulphur: Bad smell of flatus is caused because of gases that contain sulphur. If you ingest less sulphur, the smell of the flatus would not be as bad. Avoid foods that contain sulphur, such as eggs, meat, and cauliflower.
• Cook your beans: Bacteria in colon feed on the carbohydrates in beans and produce a gas by-product. The gas making potential of the beans can be reduced by boiling the beans briefly, letting it stay in the water and cooking them after changing the water.
• Consider Beano: According to research, high doses of the over-the-counter product Beano reduced flatulence and digestion of carbohydrates. Beano (is alpha-galactosidase) is a dietary supplement.
• Exercise regularly:  exercising regularly is helpful in improving the function of the digestive system and bowel movement. It also improved symptoms, such as bloating and clearing of gas. Exercising for 20 to 30 minutes on most days of the week is adequate.To prevent flatulence, proper digestion of food is prerequisite.

[Read: Tips to Improve Digestion]

• Limit high-fructose corn syrup: Foods that contain this sweetener may cause gas and bloating (especially when large amount of fructose is ingested) as it does not get absorbed by the small intestine.
• Take probiotics: If there is too few or too much of a particular bacteria in the intestine, one may experience flatulence. Consult your doctor for probiotics. Probiotics are available both as solids and liquids. They encourage the growth of 'friendly bacteria' in the digestive system. As 'friendly bacteria' aid digestion, probiotics can reduce the symptoms of gas and flatulence, especially if flatulence is caused by irritable bowel syndrome.

Read more articles on Gas.