Intestinal gas is a natural part of digestion that may be worsened by certain dietary habits or conditions or by swallowing excessive air during meals. Treatment of gas pain from food involves dietary changes and home remedies. Very frequent or severe gas pain requires medical evaluation to rule out potentially serious underlying causes, such as celiac disease and irritable bowel syndrome. If you suffer from diabetes or another health condition, speak with your doctor before making dietary changes.
Step 1
Keep a food journal for several days to determine what foods in your diet may be contributing to your gas pains. Record what you eat, when you eat and what symptoms you experience.
Step 2
Remove foods from your diet for several weeks that are known to cause excessive gas or that you identified in your food journal as potentially offensive. Certain foods, such as beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce and some fruits can contribute to gas pains by producing large amounts of gas during digestion.
Step 3
Eliminate dairy products from your diet for two weeks to see if your symptoms improve. Lactose intolerance is a common cause of excessive gas and gas pain.
Step 4
Slightly reduce the amount of fiber in your diet, especially if you've recently increased your consumption of high-fiber foods. A high-fiber diet can cause excessive intestinal gas, especially in the first few weeks after increasing your dietary fiber.
Step 5
Eat slowly, chew well and avoid drinking a lot of water just before or during your meal. Digestion starts in the mouth with digestive enzymes in the saliva. If large amounts of badly digested food is passing into your intestines, gas is the result.
Step 6
Walk around after eating to encourage gas to move through your digestive tract. If you cannot walk around, sitting up straight and moving your upper body are preferable to lying down or slouching.
Step 7
Try over-the-counter remedies to treat gas pain from food. Products are available to assist in lactose digestion, and simethicone drops help break up gas bubbles in your digestive tract to make them less painful.
Things You'll Need
- Lactaid
- Simethicone drops
