Natural Ways to Deal With Flatulence

In most cases, flatulence is caused by the digestive system's inability to break down certain foods. The carbohydrates in foods like cabbage, broccoli and bananas are difficult to metabolize, and this is why these foods can cause flatulence. Flatulence might also be the result of your eating habits -- such as eating too fast -- so take into consideration your entire eating routines when trying to rid yourself of this annoying condition.

Food Intake

• Before you can naturally deal with your flatulence, you need to find out if it's the food you are eating that is causing the flatulence. To understand your food intake, after every meal write down the foods that you ate and the ingredients that were in each item of food. Pay attention to when your flatulence occurs most often. If you notice that you are passing gas soon after eating particular foods like bran, coffee and broccoli, remove those foods from your diet, reduce your consumption of them or substitute other food items in their place.

Natural Kitchen Remedies

• If you don't want to cut out particular foods from your diet, try using some natural food remedies that you might be able to find the ingredients for in your own kitchen. Try mixing the juice of one lemon with an equal part of water and a half-teaspoon of baking soda. Foods that are high in vitamin C, like sweet peppers and oranges, can also reduce your gas production. Beware of vitamin C in tablet form, however; it can actually have the opposite effect. Pumpkin is another food that can soothe your stomach and reduce your flatulence; you can bake it, steam it or use it as a main ingredient in a soup.

Natural Herb and Spice Remedies

• Herbs and spices are also known to reduce flatulence. The most effective spices are dill, basil, rosemary, turmeric, coriander, cardamom and cloves, while the most effective herbs are peppermint, fennel, caraway and anise. You can create a tea out of these herbs by simply crushing them up, placing them in a bottom of a cup, pouring boiling water over them and allowing the mixture to steep for a few minutes. Try adding spices to the foods that you know give you flatulence.

Eating Habits

• Your eating habits may also dictate the amount of flatulence you have. When you are eating, consume your food slowly; the faster you eat, the greater chance of your swallowing larger lumps of food that will enter your intestine undigested. Eating slowly will also reduce your breathing rate and the amount of air that can get inside your stomach and expel through your rectum. It is also recommended that you eat sitting up straight. When you are reclining or slouching, your digestive tract bends which makes it difficult for any gases that do get into your stomach to escape upward.