A reader asks: I am a 26-year-old expatriate working in Middle East as an Engineer. I have a serious concern with my stomach. I belch throughout the day. I burp whether my stomach is full or empty. My bowel movements are good, but I still feel gas inside.
Is it a serious concern? Doctors usually say it's common. My eating habits are normal, I avoid taking too much oily and spicy food, but none of these have helped. Please help me.
Dr Rosamma Sabu (Licenced homeopathic practitioner, Al Balsam Homeopathic Centre, Sharjah) replies: Bloating, burping and passing gas are natural and are usually caused by swallowing air or the gas formation due to breakdown of food through digestion:
- Eating fatty foods
- Drinking carbonated beverages or eating gassy foods
- Eating too quickly, drinking through a straw, chewing gum or sucking on candies, resulting in swallowing air
- Stress or anxiety
- Smoking
- A gastrointestinal infection, blockage or disease
- Irritable bowel syndrome, a condition characterized by abdominal pain or cramping and changes in bowel function
- Conditions such as celiac disease or lactose intolerance in which the intestines aren't able to digest and absorb certain components of food
Many carbohydrates cause gas, and the following items are common culprits:
- Beans
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carbonated drinks
- Cauliflower
- Chewing gum
- Fruits, such as apples, peaches and pears
- Hard candy
- Lettuce
- Milk and milk products
- Onions
- Sugar alcohols found in sugar-free foods (sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol)
- Whole-grain foods
You can reduce belching if you:
- Eat and drink slowly. Taking your time can help you swallow less air.
- Avoid carbonated drinks and beer. They release carbon dioxide gas.
- Skip gum and hard candy. When you chew gum or suck on hard candy, you swallow more often than normal. Part of what you're swallowing is air.
- Don't smoke. When you inhale smoke, you also inhale and swallow air.
- Check your dentures. Poorly fitting dentures can cause you to swallow excess air when you eat and drink.
Homoeopathy offers treatment for belching, related to food items as well as other causes like stress or anxiety-related belching. In your case, you did not notice a cause as such but a homoeopathic practitioner can do it through a detailed case taking and give appropriate medications, as homeopathy has a vast group of medicines to cover this problem.
Disclaimer: This blog is a conversation and is not an alternative for treatment. The recommendations and suggestions offered by our panel of doctors are their own and Gulf News will not take any responsibility for the advice they provide.
