I think I'm screwed (gas)

I have horrible flatulence all the time. I'm talking, room-clearing, "don't light a match!", "what died in here?" kind of gas. My boyfriend alternates between making fun of it and being completely disgusted by it. he has a better nose than I do, so there's no way of hiding it ever, even if I weren't so loud. I'm sick of it and the social and physical discomfort and embarrassment. The bloating is bad enough I've had people ask me when I'm due. It even wakes me up at night!

And according to this list of foods, everything in my vegetarian diet causes gas. Gas amounts are considered normal if you pass gas 14-15 times a day, but I pas gas closer to 50-60 times a day when I'm awake, and even more while sleeping! I've tried Beano but I suspect unless I swallow the entire bottle in one sitting that it doesn't work with this large of an amount of gaseous foods. I've at least had no success with it so far. I've tried gas-x type pills (simethicone) but they don't do anything except taste like chalk.

Help! What can I do!

 

Edit: I'm allergic to milk and so I don't consume dairy. This rules out lactose intolerance as the source of my problems. 

Everyone knows there are a lot of good nutrients in veggies, but I really can't understand why some people choose to be total vegetarians. I mean I am not putting you or the practice down... I just don't understand why. It seems to me that a balanced diet would be more healthy... and it may clear up your problem.

Heh!  You are a brave girl just to post that comment, so props to you.  Thanks for posting that link to the gas-causing foods. Very informative.

Original Post by kaynep:

Everyone knows there are a lot of good nutrients in veggies, but I really can't understand why some people choose to be total vegetarians. I mean I am not putting you or the practice down... I just don't understand why. It seems to me that a balanced diet would be more healthy... and it may clear up your problem.

Heh! You are a brave girl just to post that comment, so props to you. Thanks for posting that link to the gas-causing foods. Very informative.

 I'm vegetarian for a whole lot of reasons, and despite this gas, health is one of them (and I've seen improvements too)... and being vegetarian is in no means an "unbalanced diet".

i agree that vegetarians eat a very balanced diet. so because we don't eat meat we are missing out on all that cholesterol and saturated fat and hormones? DARN.

beans have been known to cause gas. have you just recently converted to being a veggo? if so your body will just need some time to get used to it. if not, try taking out a certain food from your diet and see if the gas goes away. it might be more from a particular food.

good luck! 

I've been officially vegetarian for 6 months, but I ate a lot of fiber, beans, nuts, tofu, etc before that. I've been allergic to milk forever (was tested when I was 12) so I've always had soy products and I hardly ever consume dairy.

Does anyone think getting tested for an allergy again would make a difference? I asked my doctor about it and she kinda blew me off, saying it wasn't necessary and that I probably just have IBS or something.

Hi, that might make a lot of sense actually. I am not "vegetarian", but generally drink rice milk instead of cow, eat very little meat (due to disliking the taste) and plenty of vegetables, quorn and lentils.  I have the same problem and I also have IBS.  It would seem that with most things I eat I suffer from a painful trapped gas related stomach ache.  It is fairly common so it might just be that you have that.

According to Carol V's detox diet, Jerusalem Artichokes are really good for IBS. DO NOT eat these... ha ha. They will make you fart like a trooper!

Have you tried Beano?  It works for most people.  Another thing that settles the digestive tract is fresh ginger tea.

Peel a 2" piece of fresh ginger root and slice it
Put it in a saucepan with 1 1/2 quarts of water
Bring it to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes

Ladle out 1 cup into a mug and add a cup of water to the pot.  You can keep the pot going all day.
Sweeten it and sip. 
The flavor is hot and spicy, so if it's too strong, add water.

For an added calming effect, add a light dash of nutmeg.  Don't use too much though, since it can be overwhelming.

Howdy, I'm vegetarian too, have been for years.  Most of the time I'm vegan, I eat the occassional bit of organic cheese or free-run eggs now and then.

Now comes the gassy part!  I've started having some serious gas recently too.  Quite painful (bloating)...and I know what it is.  It started when I bought tofurkey sausages last week.  I dont know what it is in them that's causing this but it's killing me.  So though these tofurkey sausages are yummy I'm chucking them in the waste bin.

Have you been eating anything like that?  Like vegan pepperoni etc...?

Occasionally I eat a tofu dog, but that's only a few times a month, and I'm gassy every day. Could I be intolerant to peanuts? I eat tons of pb...

Sounds like getting tested is a great idea.  You may want to see a holistic practitioner such as a homeopath or naturopath as they are often light years ahead of more popular medicine, especially when it comes to food intolerances and how they affect us.

Good luck , keep us posted!

 

Have you tried Papaya tablets?  You can get them at healthfood stores or GNC.  They are chewable and taste really good.  The enzymes help break down the food faster and also knock out gas.  If after trying this you still have a lot of problems then I agree that you should probably be tested.

 By the way Papaya is GREAT for the hick-ups.  If they start just eat a few tablets and then the hick-ups are gone.

THe papaya tablets didn't do anything for me.

2 things that have really helped, not over-eating and I take a strong probiotic every night before bed on an empty stomach.

I tried taking pancreatin for a while, which I think did help.

Some good reading here....

• Breakdown of undigested foods: Your body does not digest and absorb some carbohydrates (for example, the sugar, starches, and fiber found in many foods) in the small intestine because of a shortage or absence of certain enzymes there. So this undigested food then passes from the small intestine into the large intestine, where normal, harmless bacteria break down the food, producing hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and, in about a third of all people, methane. Eventually these gases exit through the rectum.
• Foods that produce gas in one person may not cause gas in another. Some common bacteria in the large intestine can destroy the hydrogen that other bacteria produce. The balance of the 2 types of bacteria may explain why some people have more gas than others.
• Most foods that contain carbohydrates can cause gas. By contrast, fats and proteins cause little gas. These common foods and their natural components may create gas:

• • Beans: Beans contain large amounts of the complex sugar known as raffinose. Smaller amounts are found in cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, and in other vegetables and whole grains.
  • Starches: Most starches (potatoes, corn, noodles, and wheat) produce gas as they are broken down in the large intestine. Rice is the only starch that does not cause gas.
  • Onions: The sugar known as fructose occurs naturally in onions, artichokes, pears, and wheat. It is also used as a sweetener in some soft drinks and fruit drinks.
  • Dark beer and red wine
  • Sorbitol: This sugar is found naturally in fruits including apples, pears, peaches, and prunes. It's also used as an artificial sweetener in sugar-free gum, candy, and other diet products.
  • Fiber: Many foods contain soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber dissolves easily in water and takes on a soft, gel-like texture in the intestines. Found in oat bran, beans, peas, and most fruits, soluble fiber is not broken down until it reaches the large intestine, where digestion causes gas. Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, passes essentially unchanged through the intestines and produces little gas. Wheat bran and some vegetables contain this kind of fiber.
  
  http://www.emedicinehealth.com/flatulence_gas /article_em.htm
  

 

Vegetables will cause fermentation. That's why cows and herbivores are said to be aggravating the green house effect worldwide... Our gut was much larger when we were herbivorous because it takes a lot of time and energy to digest all that largely non digestible fiber (pandas, rabbits and koalas are munching round the clock). Lucy (our prehistoric ancestor) had a much larger gut than us, because of that. We adapted to eat meat, and some say it freed so much of our time (finding enough to eat every day was the main task before that) that it allowed us to become cleverer as well.

Nowadays we can be vegetarians without losing IQ points, thank God, but we still have difficulty in digesting vegetables... Some of us are better at it as well, so you may be part of the group who is not so suited for it (maybe your ancestors came from communities eating mainly dairy products and meat, such as the Alpine populations in Europe)...

There are ways to increase vegetable digestibility. Try not to eat too much raw foods, try to drink fennel and mint tea (both are carminative), and if you eat a lot of beans, try to soak them and peel them before you cook them. There is something in the skin of beans that irritates the bowel of some people and that causes more fermentation. All pulses will cause fermentation, especially legumes (peanuts!...). Avoid prunes as well (same reason as the beans). Spinach contains oxalic acid that many people are allergic to.

Our carnivorous foray made us smart enough to find solutions to most problems, so we should be grateful our ancestors went that way, even if some of us  now think that it has too many drawbacks. Yes, there are problems attached to eating meat, but with eating veggies as well, so let's concentrate on how to live well within the choice we made...

Good luck! 

Oh! I forgot! Only remembered when I saw redkitty's post: freshly cooked pasta (and rice but to a lesser extent) will cause less gas than the same pasta reheated. The more times you reheat it, the more gas you'll produce. Comes from a chemical change that happens inside starches when exposed to heat...

I hope you'll let us know how you are faring in a few weeks time!!!  

 

Original Post by ainedb:

I've been officially vegetarian for 6 months, but I ate a lot of fiber, beans, nuts, tofu, etc before that. I've been allergic to milk forever (was tested when I was 12) so I've always had soy products and I hardly ever consume dairy.

Do you eat a lot of red kidney beans? Because those are killers for gas (or so I've found - I try not to eat them now).

ainedb- i have the same problem as you!  I have had stomach issues for awhile now and after many tests was told I have IBS.  I take an antispasmodic before I eat, but it often doesn't work and I'm still gassy!  I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't really eat red meat and eat very little chicken and turkey.  I eat a lot of veges and fruits.  I know they say some veges like broccoli and some fruits cause gas.  I'm lactose intolerant too so I have already limited my diet a lot.  I feel like I just can't give up eating fruits and veges.  I eat lots of them everyday. 

I don't know what to do either!!  I actually just talked to my mom this morning and I"m going to call my doctor tomorrow.  I think getting tested for food allergies would be a good idea.  I think I'm going to do that too.  And I was thinking about a homeopathic doctor, which someone already said.  Maybe that would be a good idea??

Keep me posted!!  We sound like we have very similar problems.  Good luck, if I find anything from my doctor, I'll let you know!

I just looked at your profile and noticed you're from MA and went to WPI....I am too!  I went to Clark and my parents live on the Cape.  I'm in MD now getting my masters though.  I miss boston :)

fibre can be our freind but gives bad gas well i dont fart nearly that much but becuase of the fibre from well the fruit i eat when i fart it reaks

I've been reading up on how to cook beans from scratch and the two things that I keep reading over and over about gas and beans is that the beans must be soaked overnight and that water thrown out and that the older the beans are the more likely you are to get gas.  There are also apparently some herbs that work with beans to eliminate gas.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/kitch entips/beans.html ;

Health note: Red kidney beans contain a toxin called Phytohaemagglutinin (Kidney Bean Lectin) that causes severe gastric distress, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Under-cooked beans can be more toxic than raw and it only takes 4 to 6 beans to bring on symptoms. Cannellini and Fava beans also contain this toxin but in much smaller amounts.

http://www.culinate.com/read/front_burner/dri ed_beans?page=1&pageSize=1 ;

Many cultures cook beans with herbs to aid digestion; for example, Mexican cooks pair epazote with black beans, and East Indian cooks add turmeric, ginger, or the resin asafetida to dals and other dishes. I add them for the subtle flavor they impart. Candidates include bay, rosemary, basil, thyme or sage, cilantro, epazote, ginger, and asafetida. Chop herbs or leave them in sprigs to be removed once the beans have cooled.

 

 

I'm really going to have to bring the issue to a doctor or stop eating. If I eat much food at all I get so gassy it makes me sick! I spent most of the night awake last night, ill from the gas and completely embarrassed to be in the same room as my roommate while sleeping! It smelled so bad I sat in bed constantly spraying air freshener. I just totally hate everything right now and feel completely awful. I just haven't had much positive reaction from doctors on this issue... they just tell me to take metamucil and cut out foods that make me gassy. I get tons of fiber and EVERYTHING makes me gassy! Not to mention, I get blocked up in other ways and I'm gaining weight like you would not believe.

Hi ainedb,  like I said in my post, when I eat without stuffing myself it's much better.  Try eating 6 smaller meals per day and see if that helps.

I had to visit a nutritionist/naturopath who finally helped me figure out why I was so gassy!  The change in diet, exercise and probiotics really made a huge difference.  Now it's only when I overeat or eat certain gassy foods that make me smelly!  

Good luck and please post back about how you are doing!