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Why Do I Have So Much Gas?

Everyone has gas, also referred to as burping, belching, flatulence, flatus, and of course passing gas. You can pass gas through your mouth, which is the belching, and burping that we do or you can pass it through your rectum, which is the flatulence, flatus or passing gas.

Gas comes from two sources: the air that we swallow when we eat, drink or breathe through our mouth and the breakdown of undigested food by the bacteria that is in our large intestine. There are certain foods that may cause more gas to form during the digestion process than other foods. Foods that cause gas in one person may not produce gas in another person.

There are things we can do to reduce the amount of gas in our large intestine. One way to reduce gas is to drink lots of water. I know you are tired of hearing this popular remedy. Water is very important to correct function of many of our organs and so it does crop up a lot when health topics are discussed. Drinking non-fizzy drinks instead of fizzy (carbonated) drinks can also reduce the amount of gas in our system. We can also reduce the gas in our intestine by chewing our food more. Individuals who are lactose intolerant and drink milk or eat foods made from milk, will also experience gas, so for them, avoiding milk and milk-made products will reduce the amount of gas that they experience.

Everyone has gas, just different amounts of gas. Everyone needs to pass the gas either out of his or her mouth, or out of his or her rectum. The polite way to pass gas is to excuse you and pass it in the privacy of the bathroom. It is not always convenient to or time efficient to do this; so we are all subject to hearing others pass gas or subject to the embarrassment of having others hear it when we pass gas. There is of course the schoolboy enjoyment of passing it loudly in front of the class or grown men making contests out of who can belch, burp or pass gas the loudest. Knowing that everyone has gas and everyone has to be able to pass it does not necessarily make it any more pleasant. Basically, the average healthy individual will pass gas 14 times each day, approximately 1 to 4 pints of gas daily. If only we could all bottle it and use it in our vehicles; what a savings that would be huh?

Seriously, the gas that escapes from our mouth and rectum is odorless vapors made from a mixture of carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and sometimes methane (yup, methane in our bodies). It is not the actual gas that has an odor to it which sometimes is smelled by others when we pass it through our rectum; the odor from rectally passed gas actually comes from bacteria in the large intestine that is released in small amounts of gas and a mixture of sulfur.

Gas cannot only be embarrassing; it can also be uncomfortable if it is trapped in the large intestine. It is understandable why many individuals are looking for ways to help reduce the amount of gas they experience and ways to reduce the uncomfortable feeling that having gas creates in their abdomen.

We swallow air when we chew gum, eat or drink rapidly, smoke or wear loose fitting dentures. Most of the gas produced by swallowing air is released from our mouth by burping or belching.

Foods that contain carbohydrates typically produce more gas than other types of food. Fats and proteins typically will produce less gas and sugars such as raffinose, lactose, fructose and sorbitol can cause gas.

Keeping a list of what you eat as well as when you pass gas may help you to determine what foods tend to cause you to have the most gas. Once you have narrowed down the types of foods that cause you to have gas, you can limit or avoid these foods. Asking a doctor or nutritionist about gas producing foods and how to still receive the nutrition your body needs while avoiding the foods that produce the most gas for you; is a very good way to stay healthy and avoid the most embarrassing gas releasing moments.