What is Flatulence?
Flatulence is produced by the digestive system as enzymes and bacteria break down carbohydrates and proteins in your food.
After food has been broken down and mixed up in the stomach, it is digested and absorbed in the small intestine. Anything that is left over, such as dietary fibre and some carbohydrates, pass into the large bowel. Any change in your usual diet can cause your body to produce more wind than usual. This is because the bacteria that live in our bowels get used to coping with whatever we eat on a regular basis, and have a bit more difficulty handling anything we're not used to.
If you regularly overeat then your stomach will have to work faster than normal, breaking down all the extra food, which can lead to more wind. Foods such as beans, cauliflower and cabbage contain insoluble fibre and take a long time to break down in the bowel, which can also trigger excess wind.
Certain foods, such as kidney beans and artichokes cause an overproduction of bacteria in the stomach, which can in turn lead to excessive flatulence. Food containing a lot of fibre such as baked beans and brown rice, and drinks such as beer and coffee can also contribute to flatulence.
Other foods that can cause flatulence in some people are lettuce, apples, turnip, lentils, parsnip, swede, onions, brussels sprouts, beans, garlic, leeks and products made with malt extracts.
Foods that are rich in sulphur such as cauliflower, eggs and meat are more likely to make the gas smelly. Bacterial fermentation in the colon can also cause smelly wind.
Medical conditions that can cause flatulence are:
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS),
- Crohn's Disease,
- Hypersensitive Colitis,
- Functional Dyspepsia,
- Peptic Ulcers
- Gastroenteritis,
- Diverticulosis or diverticulitis,
- Lactose Intolerance
- Coeliac disease,
- If your thyroid is not working properly,
- If your body is not absorbing food properly,
- If part of your intestine is blocked
Flatulence can also be an unwanted side effect of laxatives taken for constipation, antibiotics, certain medications, or from misuse of opiate-based medicines such as pethidine and morphine.
It has also been documented that high protein diets, favoured by some fitness enthusiasts and bodybuilders, can result in excessive flatulence. Many high protein foods cannot be fully digested and pass into the intestines where bacteria feeds upon it, generating gas. The same can also be said for the glucose in protein drinks and shakes.
Some vegetarians and vegans can find that due to eating large amounts of complex-carbohydrates, such as bananas, barley, beans, brown rice, chickpeas, lentils, nuts, oats, parsnips, potatoes, root vegetables, sweet corn and wholegrain foods, they too can suffer from excessive flatulence. Similar to high protein diets, due to an increased intake of fibre, some fibrous foods cannot be fully digested and pass through to the intestines where they ferment, causing gas to be created.
Some medications used to treat type 2 diabetes, such as Metformin, Glucophage, Acarbose, Precose, Miglitol and Glyset, have also been reported to cause excessive flatulence.
