Foods and Flatulence

«Flatulence: introduction, causes and diagnosis

Causes of Flatulence

Flatulence is mainly linked to the composition of the diet and only rarely occurs due to a serious illness.

The increased production of intestinal gas is often caused by an excessive ingestion of certain foods or by a deficiency of some digestive enzymes. It being understood that intestinal gas also derives from swallowed air, there are foods, such as those rich in sugars, which enhance the fermentation processes and others, such as smoothies, which incorporate numerous air particles.

If produced in a normal way, most of these gases are reabsorbed by the intestinal walls and eliminated from the blood through breathing. A very small percentage (about one liter per day), on the other hand, is rectally released.

Foods Cause of Flatulence

Foods capable of causing flatulence are above all those rich in carbohydrates, in particular oligosaccharides (small carbohydrate chains, often not digestible, which stimulate the proliferation of numerous bacteria present in the colon). Foods such as beans, onions, yeast, milk and foods particularly rich in fiber fall into the category.

Meteorism and intestinal fermentation can be avoided thanks to prolonged soaking of legumes, their consumption in the form of puree or their division with a spoon halfway through cooking.

However, we must not forget that individuality is a fundamental component of the disorder; the maldigestion of lactose, for example, can form considerable quantities of gas, about 250 cc. For every undigested gram that reaches the colon. to break down milk sugar (B-galactosidase or lactase) is however subjective and as such causes abdominal disorders (bloating, flatulence and diarrhea) only in predisposed individuals. Often it is an acquired intolerance due, at least in part, to the reduction in milk consumption in adulthood, followed by an abrupt reintroduction of the food into the diet.

Similar examples could be made considering gluten intolerance (celiac disease) or fructose.

Food associations

A certain amount of intestinal fermentation is often also due to an incorrect combination of various foods in the same meal. Combining many foods in a single meal, perhaps concluding it with a little fruit and a slice of dessert, is often synonymous with increased flatulence.

Among the most prohibitive combinations we remember protein foods with sugary foods and the association of proteins of different nature (eg milk and eggs, legumes and meat).

Finally, it is also good to pay attention to artificial sweeteners and dietary foods that contain them (chewingum, jams and dietary juices, etc.). This category includes sugar alcohols (mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol), sugars with marked laxative properties and difficult to digest.

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