How Does Food Lead to Intestinal Gas?

There is Gas in Our Food and Air

There are two primary factors that lead to intestinal gas. Gas comes from the hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans found in food. These contain sulfur, which are found in certain foods like eggs, meat, and cauliflower--the latter is notorious for causing gas.

How Gas is Formed

There are several ways that gas forms in the bodies. Chemical reactions occur when food is mixed with stomach acid, which produces carbon dioxide.

Helpful bacteria living in our intestines help to break down food, which produce carbon dioxide as well as methane and hydrogen. The bacteria, yeasts and fungi in the colon, which serve to break down foods which cannot be digested by the small intestine, will then lead to the production of gas.

How Gas is Expelled

Nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen gasses all originate in the stomach, intestines and colon. Because these gasses cannot be absorbed by the body, they must be expelled.

Swallowed air can be trapped in the stomach from a few short minutes to a couple of days, and can be expelled through burping. While gasses which are created during the chemical reactions caused by the digestion process travel through the intestines and colon, and are finally expelled as flatus. The average person suffers from flatus between 12 to 25 times per day. The time it takes for the gas to be expelled from the body varies by person and depends on the foods eaten, the amount of air swallowed, and the balance of bacteria present in the intestines and colon. On average, however, gas is expelled within 12 hours.

How to Reduce Gas

Eating smaller, more frequent meals, as well as taking smaller bites and not talking while you eat will reduce the amount of air you intake.

Avoiding gaseous foods such as beans, fried foods, cabbage and broccoli can eliminate excessive gas. For those who suffer from flatulence, try a natural gas reliever such as peppermint tea, anise, fennel, or an over-the-counter gas reliever such as Beano or Pepto-Bismal.

Resources

• Why we fart, for kids.