There are many causes for flatulence, such as overeating,
eating too quickly, excessive consumption of refined carbohydrates or
artificial sweeteners, food allergies and intolerance, a deficiency of vitamin
B, excessive consumption of alcohol, emotional stress and parasites. One of the
most common causes can be lactose, found in dairy products such as milk and
cheese. Many other healthy foods can also cause gas, such as cabbage, beans,
broccoli, Brussels sprouts, onions, cauliflower, whole wheat flour, radishes,
bananas and apricots. Luckily, with some adjustments in our food choices
and eating habits, the chances of this embarrassing malady can be greatly
lessened or eliminated.
Do not overeat, and chew food slowly. Try to identify if it
is a certain food causing the problem and eliminate it from your diet. Try
chewing a sprig of parsley after meals. Try lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
in water with your meal. You might also want to try sipping your drinks slowly
through a straw in an effort to minimize the amount of air you take in during
drinking.
Vitamin B complex, especially B3 (niacin) rich foods like
light-meat chicken, tuna, salmon, turkey, enriched flour, peanuts, and
fortified cereals can be helpful as they aid in the digestive process and in
converting food to energy.
Yogurts that have acidophilus and peppermint oil in water
sipped with the meal can also help with the digestive process. If the problem persists, you may want to try
and eat proteins and carbohydrates in different meals.
