Changing Your Eating Habits
Split your meals into smaller servings throughout the day. Reduce the amount of gas in your digestive system by eating smaller amounts of food. Instead of having breakfast, lunch and dinner, plan to have 6 small meals during the day. With this in mind, prepare smaller, heartier snacks to eat instead of larger, excessive meals. For instance, instead of having a full lunch, try eating a piece of fruit or a handful of fixed nuts every 2-3 hours.
Avoid eating excessive amounts of beans and dairy products. If beans, milk, and cheese are a big part of your diet, you may be naturally setting yourself up for some extra flatulence. Be sure to eat these foods in moderation, and include different calcium and protein sources that help reduce bloating in your system. For instance, probiotic yogurt is a great source of both calcium and protein, and it contains bacteria that improve the function of your GI tract.
Limit the number of vegetables you eat in the cabbage family. Try to avoid eating vegetables like brussels sprouts, asparagus, broccoli, and cabbage in excess, as these plants tend to create more gas when digested. While you shouldn’t cut them out of your diet completely, supplement these types of vegetables with spinach, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, and other nutritious plants. Other common offenders in this family of vegetables include: arugula, turnips, horseradish, bok choy, kale, and rutabaga. If you do eat the vegetables, try using a digestive enzyme to help break them down more.
Try cutting gluten out of your diet. Gluten is usually found in wheat products and it can contribute to abdominal pain, bloating, and gas. Limit the amount of wheat, rye, and barley you have in your diet since they can cause the most symptoms. Remove gluten from your diet for 1–2 weeks to see if your conditions improve. If you do feel better, slowly try to introduce gluten into your diet again to see if it still affects you. If your conditions don’t improve, then you may not have a reaction to gluten.
Use a low-FODMAP diet. FODMAP stands for “fermentable oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides and polyols,” which are carbohydrates in food that aren’t easily broken down by your digestive system and contribute to gas. Some foods that are considered FODMAPs include high fructose corn syrup, sugary soft drinks, artificial sweeteners, and fruits. Try to reduce the amount of FODMAPs you include in your diet to reduce gas in your digestive system more effectively. Talk to your doctor before starting a low-FODMAP diet so you can transition into it healthily. Many sugar-free gums contain FODMAPs so they can make you feel gassy. Gum can also cause you to swallow air and contribute to problems with gas.
Avoid eating food 4 hours before you go to bed. Since gas is released during the digestion process, you don’t want to get the gears of your GI tract rolling right as you’re falling asleep. Instead, cut off all snacks about 4 hours before you plan on going to bed. While this might not stop your sleep flatulence completely, you can lessen it a lot by keeping track of when you eat. For instance, if you go to bed at 11:00 PM, try not to eat much food after 7:00 PM.
Eat ginger and fennel seeds to settle your stomach. Try adding ginger or fennel seeds to your diet. While they aren’t miracle workers on their own, you can calm a queasy, unsettled stomach with ginger and cut down on extra flatulence with fennel. Supplement your meal plan with these ingredients and see if you notice a difference! You can also try coriander seeds to help relieve bloating and gas.Did you know? Ginger is great in many forms, especially tea.
Don’t drink fizzy beverages so you can lower your gas intake. If you’re a heavy soda drinker, try to cut back on the number of carbonated beverages you have each day. Instead, opt for flavored drinks that aren’t fizzy, like fruit juice or fruit-flavored water. When you drink a lot of soda, you end up putting extra gas into your digestive tract, which leads to more flatulence. For example, if you’re a fan of orange soda, try switching to an orange-based tea. Beer can also add a lot of extra gas to your system.
Drink a cup of herbal tea before bed to get rid of extra gas. Prepare a cup of peppermint or chamomile tea if you’re feeling especially gassy. If you tend to pass gas around bedtime, try relaxing the muscles in your GI tract with a mug of tea. When your muscles are more relaxed, you’ll find that extra gas is far less noticeable. Chamomile is especially great for making you feel relaxed before bed.
Try using a digestive enzyme when you eat meals. Digestive enzymes are proteins that help you break down your food so they’re less likely to produce gas and give you flatulence. Take a digestive enzyme right before you eat so it can start working as you eat your meal. Continue taking the enzyme for 2–3 weeks to see if you notice the number of times you produce flatulence gets lower. Talk to your doctor before starting a digestive enzyme since it may interact with other medications, such as blood thinners.
Making Lifestyle Changes
Set a fitness schedule for the week and stick to it. Exercise on a regular basis to boost your digestive tract. Whenever you work out, you give your body a great opportunity to pass gas in a healthy, discreet environment. To get the maximum benefits of exercising, try to set aside 30 minutes a few times each week to get your blood (and gas) pumping. Ideally, try to exercise at least 3-4 times each week. You can also try going for walks after you eat to help work out any excess gas.
Perform different yoga exercises to relax your body. Relax and stretch out with a variety of different yoga positions and techniques. When your body is tense, it doesn’t prioritize basic functions like digestion, which leads you to pass gas at more inopportune times. Instead, focus on your breathing for a few minutes, letting your body relax and get rid of any anxious feelings. Try to spend some time practicing yoga every day, or every other day.
Go for a walk before you go to bed. Get rid of a little extra gas by moving around before you sleep. Don’t worry about doing anything intensive, or even going outside—instead, focus on walking to relax your brain, which may help get rid of any excess flatulence. This is a good strategy for anytime that you’re looking to cut back on passing gas.
Use heating pads to soothe any discomfort from bloating. Turn on a heating pad and rest in on your abdomen to coax away any uncomfortable bloating sensations. If you feel bloated before bed, it might be a sign of flatulence to come; however, a few minutes with a heating pad might alleviate some of that gas and pain, making your sleep more restful and much less smelly. Heating pads are especially helpful with excess bloating and flatulence caused by your period.
Chew your food slowly and carefully whenever you eat. Take time to enjoy your food, whether you’re eating a meal or having a basic snack. When you eat quickly, you’re intaking unnecessary amounts of air, which makes you more likely to pass gas later on. Instead, eat your food at a slower pace, which cuts down on the excess air you ingest. This can also help you to belch less after a meal, as well.
Cut back or quit smoking cigarettes if you’re a smoker. Try and reduce the number of cigarettes or cigarette products you smoke each day. Without intending to, you end up sucking in a lot of extra air whenever you take a drag from a cigarette. When you smoke less, you also ingest less air, which might keep you from passing wind at night! Air inhaling habits like chewing gum can also contribute to this.
Taking Supplements and Medications
Take a daily probiotic if you tend to pass gas excessively. Get your digestive system working at maximum efficiency by taking some probiotic pills to help. If your sleep flatulence is the result of bloating, you might have an imbalance of bacteria in your system. When you take a probiotic pill, you help to balance the scales a bit, which can reduce the number of times you pass gas in general. You can find this medication at most pharmacies or health food stores.Tip: If you don’t want to take pills, consider eating more fermented foods like kimchi to raise your good digestive bacteria levels.
Swallow an anti-gas pill before you go to bed. If you have a lot of bloating in your system before bed, you might have a bad recipe for a night of sleep flatulence. To prevent this, take an anti-gas pill to calm down your GI tract. For instance, you might take a pill with simethicone to relieve your gas. These pills are available at most pharmacies.
Try activated charcoal to get rid of bloating and extra gas. Go to your nearest pharmacy or health food store and purchase an activated charcoal supplement. While not as potent as other medical treatments, you might relieve bloating and excess sleep flatulence by taking these pills on a consistent basis. If you’re taking a variety of prescription medications, talk to your doctor before adding any supplements to your daily pill regimen.
Talk to a doctor if your sleep flatulence doesn’t improve at all. If diet, exercise, and medicinal changes do not affect your sleep flatulence, ask your doctor for other suggestions. If you have a pre-existing GI condition, there might be other types of medicinal options that can reduce your condition. If you don’t have any existing diagnoses, see if your doctor will recommend you to a GI specialist. If you have excessive issues with flatulence, or show signs of constipation, you might have a more serious GI issue. See a medical professional if your symptoms become more severe.
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