Dietary fiber is in fruits, vegetables and grains. There are two forms, soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber attracts water, slows digestion and lowers cholesterol. It is in oat bran, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils and some fruits and vegetables. The fiber in wheat bran, vegetables and whole grains is insoluble fiber, and helps food pass through the stomach and intestines. The many benefits of fiber, including prevention of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and diverticular disease, does not mean fiber is without less desirable side effects, such as gas.
Symptoms
According to MedlinePlus, eating a lot of fiber in a small amount of time can cause intestinal gas, bloating and abdominal cramps. Eating fiber causes gas because the bacteria that make this gas are growing. However, this also means that other bacteria in your intestine, those that may be responsible for the many health benefits of fiber, are growing. The gas usually goes away once your bacteria adjust to the increase in dietary fiber.
Prevention
To prevent gas production, introduce fiber into your diet gradually. Whether you are adding fiber foods or fiber supplements, introducing too much too soon can cause constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas and other digestive problems. Nexium Research advises you introduce fiber into your diet over a period of weeks and increase your water intake as well to decrease symptoms.
Dietary Treatment
There are a few treatment options if it is too late for preventative measures. Rather than eliminating these healthy foods, try to find which ones are causing you to produce gas. Everyone is different, and certain foods will cause you to produce more gas than others. Limit foods that are high in fat; this helps the stomach to empty faster and allows gases to move more quickly into the small intestine, says the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, or NDDIC.
Pharmaceutical Treatment
You can also try taking an over-the-counter gas-relief medication. These help breakdown the carbohydrates in high-fiber vegetables that are not easily absorbed by your body, says the American Gastroenterological Association, or AGA. Beano, for example, contains the sugar-digesting enzyme your body does not produce but which is necessary to break down the sugar present in many gas-producing beans and vegetables.
Special Considerations
If you have irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, you should also be aware of the effects that introducing dietary fiber can have on you. Fiber helps to relieve symptoms of IBS by normalizing the time it takes for the stool to pass through the colon and feeding the beneficial colon bacteria. However, if you have IBS, you need to be careful about how much fiber you eat, as the gas-forming bacteria can make excessive amounts of gas, which can cause severe and painful bloating. Jackson Siegelbaum Gastroenterology recommends slowly introducing small amounts of soluble fiber to your diet at first and then generally increasing the amount.
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