Why Am I Gassy? Causes of Gas and Bloating, and How to Improve Symptoms
Key takeaways:
It’s normal to feel gassy or bloated sometimes. But that doesn’t always make it an easy subject to talk about.
No matter how embarrassing gas or bloating can be, rest assured it’s something we all get — usually from the foods we eat.
Sometimes, too much gas or bloating can be caused by a medical condition. So, it’s important to talk with your primary care provider if the problem is ongoing.
Table of contents
Everyone feels “gassy” from time to time. For some people, having gas means abdominal pain or bloating. For many others, it means belching (burping) or having flatulence (farting).
These are normal body functions related to the passage of gas through your gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It’s normal to pass gas anywhere from 10 to 20 times a day. But sometimes other factors — or even a medical condition — can cause you to pass excessive gas.
Below, we’ll explore the causes of gas and what you can do to feel less gassy.
What causes gas?
There are several reasons you may have an increased amount of gas in your GI tract. Let’s look at some of them.
Swallowing air
Swallowing excess air can lead to excessive gas and bloating. Everyone swallows some air during activities like eating, drinking, or chewing gum. But certain factors and conditions can increase the amount of air you swallow, such as:
Anxiety
Postnasal drip
Poorly fitting dentures
Chewing gum or sucking on hard candy
Eating too quickly
Drinking through a straw
The best teas for digestion: Many herbal teas can help relax the muscles in your digestive tract, which can help with issues like gas, bloating, and cramps.
Foods to reduce gas and bloating: Turmeric, fennel, and ginger are among the foods that have been shown to help reduce gas and bloating.
Does apple cider vinegar (ACV) reduce bloating? If you’ve heard this health claim, you may be curious about what science does — and doesn’t — say about ACV.
Food and drink
Excessive gas and bloating can result from eating foods that are more difficult to digest. For many people, these include high-fiber foods like:
Leafy greens
Beans and lentils
Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, and Brussels sprouts
Carbonated beverages, which contain carbon dioxide, can also increase gas in your GI tract and often cause burping.
Sorbitol, a sugar alcohol found in some sugar-free candy, chewing gum, and fruits (among other foods), can cause gas and other GI symptoms in many people.
Lactose intolerance and fructose intolerance
Lactose intolerance is the inability to break down lactose in the small intestine. Lactose is the sugar found in milk and many dairy products. People with lactose intolerance don’t have the enzyme needed to digest lactose.
When someone with lactose intolerance consumes dairy, the undigested lactose passes into their large intestine. There, bacteria break it down and produce gas. This is why eating dairy can cause excess gas, abdominal pain, and bloating in people with lactose intolerance.
Similarly, fructose intolerance is the inability to break down fructose in the small intestine. It can cause excess gas in much the same way lactose intolerance does.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
In people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the gut may be sensitive to normal or slightly increased amounts of gas, leading to a gassy feeling. IBS also affects gut bacteria, which may create toxins that cause excess gas.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), also known as acid reflux, happens when stomach acid travels back up (or “refluxes”) into your esophagus (food pipe), causing belching or bloating.
Bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine
Small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is when there’s too much bacteria in your small intestine, or a change in the type of bacteria that are normally there.
Celiac disease
Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition that may lead to abdominal pain and bloating after eating gluten.
When you have celiac disease, eating gluten triggers your immune system to attack. This damages the lining of your small intestine. Excess gas and bloating — along with other common GI symptoms of celiac disease — are caused by this inflammation in your small intestine.
Constipation
Constipation occurs when bowel movements are infrequent and difficult to pass. Bloating and gas often accompany constipation. This is because stool that remains in your colon for too long allows bacteria to create more gas.
Diet plays an important role in how often you poop. So does staying hydrated. Drinking enough water helps keep stool soft, making it easier to pass through your digestive system.
Medications
Antibiotics can cause bloating and gas because they kill the “good” bacteria that populate your gut microbiome. This can lead to dysbiosis — when your gut contains too many harmful bacteria and not enough helpful bacteria.
Other medications that can affect GI function and cause increased gas and bloating include:
Anticholinergics like diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
Antidepressants
Opiate pain medications
Blood pressure medications known as calcium channel blockers
If you’re concerned a medication is causing excess gas, talk with a healthcare professional. They may be able to make some suggestions to help.
How to relieve gas and bloating
Making diet and lifestyle changes can help reduce gas and bloating. If you have a lot of gas (farting, burping, and/or bloating), here are some tips that may make a difference.
Avoid carbonated beverages
Limit carbonated beverages like soda, beer, carbonated water, and energy drinks. This can reduce the amount of gas in your GI tract. Instead, drink plain water. Again, drinking plenty of water also helps improve or prevent constipation, which can also cause bloating and gas.
Try a low-FODMAP Diet
FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols) are types of carbohydrates that aren’t always digested well in your small intestine. For some people, especially those with IBS, these foods stay in your intestines for longer, creating excess gas as bacteria try to digest them. Cutting out certain high-FODMAP foods may help reduce gas.
Some high-FODMAP foods include:
Fruits like apples, pears, peaches, and watermelon
Honey and agave nectar
Vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, onions, and cabbage
Grains like wheat and rye
Beans and lentils
If you decide to experiment with avoiding FODMAPs, try cutting them all out for a couple weeks. Then, reintroduce one food at a time to see if you’re able to eat it without getting gassy.
Talking with a dietician or your primary care provider can help you to determine if trying a low-FODMAP diet is a good idea for you.
Change how you eat
Changing not only what you eat, but how you eat, can help reduce gas. For example:
Take your time when eating and chew slowly.
Have smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day.
Sit down when eating, rather than eating on the run.
Minimize talking while you eat.
Go for a stroll after large meals to aid digestion.
Try OTC medications
There are several over-the-counter (OTC) medications that people use to treat gas, including:
Simethicone (Gas-X)
Alpha-galactosidase (Beano)
Activated charcoal and simethicone may work for some people, but current evidence doesn’t show they’re effective treatments. Alpha-galactosidase, however, has been shown to effectively prevent gas from eating high-fiber foods.
Move your body
Research shows that walking can help gastrointestinal (GI) problems, including gas. In one study, adults with a history of bloating walked for 10 to 15 minutes after every meal. After 4 weeks, they reported fewer GI symptoms, including belching and flatulence. In fact, walking after eating was more effective than medications that aid digestion.
Eat fewer fatty foods
Eating some fat is an important part of your diet. Fat helps you feel full. It also allows your body to absorb nutrients from your food. The most healthful kinds of fat to eat are unsaturated fats, which can be found in:
Nuts and nut butter
Avocados
Fatty fish
Healthy oils
But when you eat a meal that’s high in saturated fat (typically high-fat dairy products, red and processed meat, and baked goods), it slows down your digestive system. This can lead to gas and bloating. Some types of fat can also lead to inflammation in your intestines.
Identify causes
To improve gas and bloating, it’s important to determine what’s causing your symptoms.
Try keeping a food diary to help you identify the culprit foods. If you’ve tried eliminating foods that make you gassy and it hasn’t helped, make an appointment for a medical evaluation.
Some causes of gas and bloating, like constipation, may get better with increasing fiber, drinking more water, and doing more physical exercise.
Other causes — like lactose intolerance, GERD, or celiac disease — need medical evaluation and treatment.
When is gas a sign of a more serious problem?
Sometimes, excess gas can be a sign of a more serious condition that needs medical attention. Examples include:
Gastroparesis: This is a condition where the stomach empties slower than normal. It can make you feel gassy, but can also cause significant nausea and vomiting.
Intestinal obstruction: A blockage in a portion of the bowel is a very serious medical condition that needs emergency attention. Intestinal obstruction can cause significant pain, bloating, and vomiting.
If you have excessive gas that doesn’t improve with diet and lifestyle changes, it’s a good idea to check in with your primary care provider. This is especially true if your gas is paired with other symptoms like:
Stomach pain
Diarrhea
Weight loss
Fever
Heartburn
Nausea
Bloody stools
Frequently asked questions
Yes, Gas-X (simethicone) can make you fart. It works by bringing the gas bubbles together in your gut. Then, your body must move them, either through burping or farting.
Both of these symptoms are possible after taking Gas-X, as your body removes excess gas from your digestive system.
It’s very common for gas to feel more pronounced at night. This is because by the end of the day, you’ve likely eaten many meals and snacks. The bloating and gas you experience at night is likely due to a combination things that have happened over the course of the day, such as:
Eating a large dinner
Eating too quickly
Swallowing air
Difficulty digesting FODMAP foods
Constipation
The bottom line
Feeling gassy or bloated is very common. What you eat and how you eat may be causing you to feel gassy. Changing your diet and eating habits can go a long way in reducing gas and bloating. If nothing seems to help, it’s a good idea to seek medical care.
The Unmentionables is a series that focuses on common curiosities about our bodies that, at some point, have been labeled as taboo, shameful, or embarrassing. But these are important questions we all have about our health, and we should be able to ask them. This series aims to dispel the stigma, normalize the discussion, and openly address these important health topics.
Don’t be shy. Someone else has the same question, so ask away!
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References
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