Intestinal gas is extremely common, with most people producing 1 to 4 pints of gas a day. Most intestinal gas is the result of natural processes in the body. These gases are made up of nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and methane and are typically released from the body as flatulence.
Swallowed Air
According to the Canadian Society of Intestinal Research, only 10 percent of the intestinal gas released as flatulence is created in the intestines. The rest comes from swallowed air. This air is typically ingested during normal eating and drinking. Chewing gum and drinking through a straw can cause even more intake of air into the digestive tract. Anxiety, poor fitting dentures, chronic pain, postnasal drip and sipping hot drinks are other sources of swallowed air.
Dairy Products
Dairy products contain lactose, which some people are unable to properly digest. Most commonly found in Asian, African, Native American and Mediterranean populations, lactose intolerance occurs when a person’s body doesn’t produce lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose. Some dairy products are available with added lactase or with reduced lactose and lactase.
Beans
Raffinose and stachyose are two complex carbohydrates found in beans that the body is unable to digest on its own. Instead, beneficial gut bacteria do the digesting of these two components, producing methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen as by products. These gases build up in the intestines and are eventually released as flatulence. The commercially available product Beano is designed to limit the gas produced by these bacteria.
Soluble Fiber
Foods high in soluble fiber, the kind found in oats, beans, peas and fruit, can cause intestinal gas. Soluble fiber remains undigested all through the digestive tract until it reaches the large intestines. Once in the intestines, soluble fiber produces gas as a byproduct of its digestion.
Breakdown of Food
All foods are broken down inside the body and during this process, some gas is produced. Carbohydrates in particular produce more gas than fats or proteins. Because of differences in digestion and in the balance of gut bacteria, different foods will cause more or less gas in different individuals as well as affecting overall gas production from everyday foods. For example, some people may have more of a particular type of intestinal bacteria that destroys the hydrogen produced by the bacteria that normally break down food; these individuals may be less gassy than others.
About this Author
Bridget Coila has been writing professionally since 1998 and specializes in health, science and nutrition topics. Some of her articles have appeared in “Oxygen,” “American Fitness” and “Suite 101.” Coila has a B.S. in cell and molecular biology from the University of Cincinnati and 10 years of medical research experience.
