HEALTH & MEDICINE :: JUNE/JULY 2008
GAS, Everybody Passes It
Women experience gas just as much as men do. Belching (burping) and flatulence (farting) are normal.
There are two ways that gas gets into your body: you either swallow it or your body makes it from the food you eat. Studies suggest that women pass gas about ten times a day.
Ther
e are five main types of flatus (gas) that you pass: hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and methane. There are also other trace amounts of different gases that you pass. Sulfur is one of the trace amounts of gas, and it is also the gas that gives your flatus the really bad odor. Garlic is one food that increases the sulfur content of flatus.
Belching is the method of passing the air that gets into the upper GI tract. Most of this gas comes from swallowing air. Situations associated with increased air swallowing include: eating too fast, stress, chewing gum, drinking carbonated drinks (such as soda and beer), sucking hard candy and smoking. People with GERD and sleep apnea also tend to swallow excessive air.
Flatus is the gas you pass through your rectum. A small amount of this gas comes from the air that you swallow, which then passes through your entire GI tract and leaves through your rectum. The majority of flatus comes from your body not being able to digest certain foods properly. The undigested foods are then acted on by the bacteria in the colon, which subsequently creates gas. These foods can include: lactose (in milk and other dairy products), carbohydrate rich foods, sorbitol (found in ‘sugar-free’ foods and some cough syrups), fructose (a fruit sugar used as a sweetener in many foods) and certain vegetables (such as beans, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, cabbage, brussel sprouts).
Lactose is a sugar found in milk and many dairy products. Lactose intolerance (or milk allergy) occurs when your body can no longer digest ‘lactose.’ This occurs when your body is not able to make enough of the enzyme called lactase (which breaks down and digests the lactose sugar). The result is that you experience increased gas and/or diarrhea. The lactase enzyme can be bought as an over the counter pill (lactaid pills or liquid) and taken when lactose is eaten to prevent the excess gas/diarrhea from forming.
Beano can help prevent the gas build up associated with eating vegetables such as beans, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, cabbage and brussel sprouts. This product can also be purchased over the counter (similar to lactaid pills).
Probiotics consist of different species of the “good bacteria” in the colon. In certain disease states the good bacteria are suppressed and then excess gas is formed because the food is not properly digested. Probiotics help to repopulate the colon with the good bacteria and thereby have been reported to decrease gas.
Adding more fiber to your diet (as in a high fiber diet) can also cause your body to experience a temporary increase in gas. As your bowel is exposed to the high fiber products, the good bacteria that digest this fiber become more abundant and digest more of the fiber products, and thereby causes less gas build up. It usually takes your body a few weeks to adapt to a high fiber diet.
Other conditions that can be associated with increased gas include: (discuss with your doctor)
- Blockage in your bowel
- Adhesions (scar tissue)
- Some bowel infections
- Inability to digest certain foods (such as lactose intolerance), celiac disease (wheat intolerance), inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis), some pancreatic problems
- Psychiatric problems (anxiety and/or depression)
- Other (irritable bowel disease, medications, thyroid abnormalities, diabetes, some connective tissue disorders)
If you experience any of these problems, you should talk with your doctor immediately: abdominal pain that wakes you up from sleep, fever, weight loss, blood in your stool, vomiting or diarrhea.
I hope this information is helpful and not too embarrassing to read about!
Dr. Goracci has a GI practice located in MAP 2, Suite 1225, 4735 Ogletown-Stanton Road in Newark, DE (next to Christiana Hospital). She is an Attending at Christiana and Wilming-ton Hospitals. Before coming to Delaware, she spent 12 years in a group GI practice in Elmira, NY. Her practice in NY consisted of 90-95% female patients.
Dr. Goracci attended Jefferson Medical College and completed her Inter-nal Medicine Residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. She completed her GI Fellowship at the Combined NIH-Georgetown-VA Program in Bethesda, MD.
Community involvement includes active participation and leadership roles in both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts with her son and daughter. She has also served on several committees at her prior church in NY.
Dr. Goracci is presently accepting new patients. For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact her office at 302-623-4020.
Publisher’s Note:
When I met with Dr. Grace for the paper the first thing that struck me was the fact that she had to be one of the most gentle, easy to talk with doctors that I had ever met. When I was a young person doctors like her were common, but today they are a rare find. I hope that she will never lose that touch of human concern that she displays.
