What Your Gas Is Trying To Tell You About Your Health

Gas may be smelly and embarrassing, but it's just a natural part of life. We’ve all been there. If you feel like your gas sessions are more frequent than normal, then your body might be trying to communicate something else to you.

Bacteria

According to Rebekah Gross, M.D., a New York physician, “Bacteria ferments food that we’ve eaten. This can happen down in the colon, but some colon bacteria can make its way into the small intestines.” This is what would be considered a bacteria overgrowth leading to gas. Sometimes this bacterial imbalance can also happen in your gut. According to Gross, “A lot of people who have the stomach flu or an infection have more gas than usual for a while.”

If you think this may be your issue, try fighting back with a low fermentable diet: avocados, cherries, plums, legumes, whet, onions and garlic.

Eating Too Quickly

We are all very busy and sometimes this leads to our diets being fed to our bodies quicker than we can really even swallow. Believe it or not, if you swallow a lot of air it can cause you to be gassy. The gas has to go somewhere. You may find that if you eat in a rush you might burp or pass gas a lot afterwards.

MUST READ: 9 Ways To Relieve Constipation Naturally

Milk

As we age our systems become more sensitive to certain things. Though you may have never had issues with dairy in the past, the enzymes that your system has to digest milk begin to diminish over time. You may find that as you get older having dairy products doesn’t sit as easy on your stomach. If you find that you are rather gassy after your favorite scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream, you may need to consider eliminating dairy products from your diet.

Gluten Sensitivity

If you notice that you get gas after eating specific types of foods, it may be time to discuss with your doctor. Pay attention to what your body is telling you, as this could be the onset of a gluten sensitivity or even celiac disease.

Hormonal Change

Taking medicine? Pregnant or going through menopause? All of this has to do with your hormone levels. When the body...

...has hormone changes, it could cause you to feel a bit more gassy. Some simple steps to fight this is regular exercise, using the bathroom regularly and taking probiotics.

Constipation

Who knew that being “irregular” could turn you into a gas machine. “When stool isn’t moving, people often feel like they make more gas—and more noxious smelling gas—than they did before,” says Gross. “That’s because the poop is mainly made up of bacteria, so you have more of it just sitting around in your system, fermenting and releasing fumes”. Try adding more fiber into your diet, drink plenty of water and exercise.