What is the Best Remedy for Intestinal Gas?

The embarrassment starts in childhood and never really diminishes when we reach adulthood, when it's embarrassing and nobody wants to claim ownership. Have you determined what this is yet? The answer is intestinal gas. The bad news is that everybody gets this; however, the good news is that there are solutions to lessen the occurrences.

Behaviors and Food Choices that Cause Gas

• When people have gas, the three ways they expel it are through burping, abdominal bloating or flatus, according to Natalie Egan of Brigham and Women's Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. She notes that eating behaviors and other habits as well as our food choices determine how much gas we will have.

  If we eat too fast, talk or drink while eating, we run the risk of swallowing too much air, which can lead to burping. The same goes for chewing gum or eating bulky foods like lettuce, cabbage or dense bread. Drinking from a straw or sports bottle can be a problem as can drinking very hot or very cold drinks, drinking from a water fountain or wearing clothes that are too tight.

  Foods that lead to bloating or flatus are carbonated beverages, beans, broccoli, cabbage, onions, apple juice, prune juice, dried fruits, anything that contains sorbitol, mannitol or maltital (found in low-carb and sugar-free foods) and spicy, fried or fatty foods.

Ways to Diminish Bloating and Gas

• There are a number of ways to decrease bloating, according to Egan. You should make sure that you eat slowly, chew your food well and even try to eat smaller meals more often, rather than three big meals a day. Drink beverages at room temperature. If you wear dentures, make sure they fit well. Be active during the day. Sit up straight when you eat, and take a walk after your meal.

  Egan recommends some over-the-counter treatments for gas. If you are lactose intolerant, you can take Dairy Ease or Lactaid with dairy products to help lessen gas. Beano helps to digest gas you get from beans and other vegetables. In addition, some people find that Pepto-Bismal, activated charcoal or simethicone (Alka-Seltzer and products like that) help. She suggests that you check with your doctor before starting on these products.

  There are also natural remedies to diminish gas. Peppermint and Chamomile tea, anise, caraway, coriander, fennel and turmeric all help.