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Seventy-two percent of adults report they've passed gas in public or in front of someone else, according to a recent survey.
An underlying medical condition may be responsible for excessive gas, but often it's simply the result of eating certain foods, including beans, cabbage, broccoli, apples, whole grains and cheese.
"It takes about a full six hours for portions of a meal to be released as gas, so if you have a particularly gassy sensation, it might not be that snack you just ate, but, rather, the meal you had a while ago," says Dr. Patricia Raymond, a board-certified gastroenterologist, author and assistant professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School.
Raymond provides the following tips for keeping flatulence under control:
* Keep a record. Try to determine if your gas is related to a particular food by noting the volume of gas within six hours of your last meal. Note all items in your last meal to cross-check against other meal periods in which you also experienced gas.
* Go slow on fiber. Fiber breaks down in the intestines and causes gas. If your physician recommends that you increase your fiber intake, add it to your diet in small doses.
* Deactivate gas with activated charcoal. CharcoCaps Homeopathic AntiGas Formula is a natural and safe way to control everyday flatulence. Activated charcoal, the main ingredient in CharcoCaps, adsorbs gas and is a useful remedy for discomfort, pressure and bloating.
* Walk it off. Instead of keeping still after a meal, take a post-dinner stroll. Gas just sitting in the bowels causes distension and pain. Moving around helps it pass easier and faster to make you more comfortable.
* Consult your doctor. If excessive or malodorous gas persists, see a doctor. What's making your belly bloat might not be gas, but a symptom of an underlying condition, such as irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, pancreatic insufficiency or lactose intolerance. A gastroenterologist can make these determinations and prescribe proper diet or medication.
By: Richard Lewis
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