Stomach Gas Causes

What Causes A Gassy Stomach?

"Stomach gas" and "gassy stomach" are commonly used terms that refer to gas in the digestive tract, including the esophagus, stomach, and intestines. Many people often refer to flatulence as stomach gas, even though this gas occurs away from the stomach, in the lower gastrointestinal system.

Stomach gas is generally made up of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Methane is also present in small amounts sometimes.

The goal of this article is to briefly list and describe what causes excessive gas or a "gassy stomach." There are a number of possibilities.

Stomach gas caused by swallowed air This type of stomach gas is also referred to as aerophagia. While we eat and drink, we swallow small amounts of air. Amounts increase as we eat faster, chew gum, or smoke, eat hard candy, drink beverages (especially carbonated ones) through a straw or drink from containers with narrow openings.

Some people who wear dentures swallow more air if their dentures are loose.

Breathing often accelerates during times of anxiety, and people under stress often breathe through their mouth. Some of this air collects in the stomach.

Stomach gas caused by what we eat or drink Generally speaking, foods containing carbohydrates tend to produce a gassy stomach. Fats and proteins don't.

Here's a quick rundown of foods that are most likely to cause excessive stomach gas in the majority of adults.

• apricots,
• Brussels sprouts,
• carrots,
• celery,
• milk and milk products,
• onions,
• prune juice,
• raisins,
• wheat products,
• certain sugars, including fructose, lactose, raffinose, and sorbitol.
• certain starches like corn, noodles, potatoes, and wheat. Although rice is a starchy, it does not produce stomach gas.
• certain fibers.

Soluble fibers like oat bran, beans, peas, and most fruits aren't broken down until they reaches the large intestine. At this stage, they're likely to produce gas.

Insoluble fiber, including foods made up of wheat bran and certain kinds of vegetables, basically pass through the intestines unchanged, and the don't create much gas.

Foods that contain a lot of air, for obvious reasons, are likely to produce stomach gas. Carbonated beverages, whipped cream, and bicarbonate of soda belong in this group.