Abdominal discomfort and gas troubles may be seen in people of all age groups. The gas formation in the stomach as a by product of digestion of food is not a problematic issue as long as it is expelled out either as a burp or as flatulence. But if the gas gets trapped in the stomach and causes great discomfort of the stomach, then it becomes a concern. The digestion of any food that we eat, especially the foods with excessive carbohydrates, excessive fibers like in case of leafy vegetables and fruits cause gas in the abdomen as a byproduct of its digestion. Some kinds of bacteria in the stomach also create gas. A few kinds of bacteria in the intestines absorb these gases too and only the residual gas is expelled out.
A lot of gas also enters the stomach along with the food due to talking while eating, fast swallowing, hasty eating, sucking with a straw, etc. Artificial dentures may have gaps which lead to ingestion of gas along with food as well. Too frequent meals and insufficient chewing too are reasons for gas formation in the stomach. The fermentation of the undigested food reaching the large intestine leads to a lot of gas formation. Eating fruits immediately after food also leads to fermentation of foods. This is because fruits digest very easily. But when taken with other foods which take longer time to digest, the digested fruits too stay in the stomach for longer periods and cause fermentation of the undigested food creating excessive gas.
The frequent burping after food is the most common presentation of excessive gas trouble in the stomach. Usually, a healthy individual may pass wind upto 14 times a day, but if a person passes wind very frequently or has excessive discomfort in the stomach with an urge to pass stool or if there is excessive offensiveness to the flatulence, it may indicate problems with digestion. Most gas troubles occur due to indigestion. Another major reason for gas troubles is the habit of smoking. 30% of the inhaled smoke goes into the stomach and causes persistent indigestion. This may also cause ulcer or even cancer in the stomach. Gas trouble may result from constipation, some diseases affecting the large intestine, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety disorders, etc.
The reabsorption of water takes place in the large intestine and if the peristaltic movements are increased, there will be reduction in the rate of water reabsorption leading to loose motions and frequent flatulence with a desire to pass stool while passing the flatus. If the peristaltic movement is slowed down there would be increased reabsorption of water leading to constipation and subsequent gas troubles as well.
There are certain foods that create a lot of gas. Some fast foods, fibrous foods, etc. may cause gas troubles. Certain food allergies also may cause gas troubles. For example, a person who is allergic to milk may have gas trouble from drinking tea or milk. A person having gluten allergy may have excessive gas and desire to pass stool from having foods like wheat, oats or barley which contain gluten. So, in such cases, the first step is to identify the gas producing foods and avoid them from the diet.
While eating food the following things must be noted.
1. We must take sufficient time and eat our food by chewing it well before swallowing.
2. Try to leave an interval of at least 2.5 hours between meals.
3. Try to eat only half stomach and do not eat full stomach as this may act as the main reason for indigestion.
4. Excessive tension may lead to indigestion as well. So, eat less quantities of easily digestible foods when under stress. Also, follow a short round of breathing and relaxing techniques before eating.
5. Drinking 2.5 l of water a day and keeping the body well hydrated is the key to having a healthy body which in turn will help with reducing the gas troubles also.
6. Including ginger in the diet as a spice in various dishes or as ginger tea aids in digestion and reduction in gas troubles.
7. Eating freshly prepared meals is also seen to be very helpful in reducing gas complaints. Foods like potato and pulses are seen to create more gas when taken cold or after reheating.
8. Foods that grow below the ground, the tubers like yam, elephant yam, etc. may create gas in some people due to some chemicals present in them and hence may be avoided if found to be problematic.
Gas trouble may be seen as a symptom of various other diseases too. If there is severe abdominal pain along with gas trouble, it may be due to constipation or due to trapping of gas in the spaces between the small intestines and the large intestines. Small inflammations of the small intestines or polyps and ulcers of the large intestines also may create such problems.
Thus, if the problem persists in spite of all the dietary and lifestyle modifications, a doctor must be consulted for further investigation and appropriate treatment. In addition to such accessory managements, homoeopathic medicines are very effective in treating gas troubles. A treatment of around 2 weeks would be sufficient to cure all such complaints in most cases. Also, if there are other underlying diseases as mentioned above that cause the gas troubles, these may be successfully treated by homoeopathy or modern medicine as appropriate.