Gas has become one of the most frequent complaints of patients who visit their digestive tract physician. The discomfort caused by the accumulation of gas is basically threefold:
1. Swelling of the abdomen.
2. Excessive belching.
3. Excessive venting.
We must remember that both belching and venting are normal processes; however, when they are produced in “normal” quantity and in the right place.
Causes of excessive gas
Excessive gas accumulation can be produced by various mechanisms. And it is more of an accounting issue than a medical one: the amount of gas that stays inside the digestive tract is what goes in minus what comes out.
How much gas goes in?
Digestive gas comes, on the one hand, from the gas we ingest with food and drink. Some foods are particularly flatulent, such as white beans, chickpeas, cabbage, etc. On the other hand, many beverages contain gas: soft drinks, cava, beer, etc. There is also intestinal gas that is produced in the digestive tract itself, during the reaction of stomach acids with other substances. And in certain diseases the intestine is unable to absorb some sugars, so a significant amount of gas is produced from the intestine itself. This would be the case in patients with celiac disease, lactose absorption deficiency or sugar malabsorption.
However, the most frequent cause of intestinal gas accumulation is the excessive swallowing of air, aerophagia…which means swallowing air. Naturally this swallowing of air is inadvertent. We all swallow some air when we breathe, talk, eat… And, you swallow much more air when you are nervous, when you eat excessively fast, when you chew poorly or when you breathe through your mouth. Smoking, chewing gum or eating sweets greatly increases the amount of air accumulated. We already have the “credit” side of our ledger.
How is gas eliminated?
Gas is not only expelled “up” (belching) and “down” (wind), it is also absorbed along the digestive tract, and passes into the blood. This is the “debit” part of our gaseous ledger. But in this book, as in many other ledgers, there are some pitfalls and the inputs do not always match the outputs. Sometimes, the gas can be retained producing bloating, because the intestinal movements are too slow; this happens in some cases of constipation.
But, in addition, to further complicate matters, the business owner (you or me) does not always perceive the “profits” in the same way, that is, two people who retain the same amount of gas do not necessarily have the same discomfort. And this is because the sensitivity of the intestine, like that of any other part of the body, is different in different people: some have a more sensitive intestine and others have a more insensitive one.
Now, let us take stock: do we ingest too much gas? do we swallow air? do we expel too little? is it retained? Let everyone keep his or her own ledger; this is the only way to keep the accounts and improve the results. If you can’t do the math, the best thing to do is to consult your doctor.