Stomach bloating immediately after eating, severe heartburn and choking due to gas rising from the stomach to the chest, and occasional burping are major health problems that bother most people today. This happens when there is excessive accumulation of air in our digestive system. Scientifically, this is called bloating or flatulence. Here are the 5 main scientific reasons behind gas in the stomach:
Aerophagia: This is a condition in which we swallow air into the stomach without realizing it. Eating too quickly, not chewing food properly, talking while eating, drinking water through a straw, and chewing gum cause a large amount of air to enter the body. This air gets trapped in the digestive tract, which causes gas.
Gut Dysbiosis: Our large intestine is home to billions of good bacteria (Gut Microbiome) that help with digestion. When these bacteria break down the fibers in the food we eat, a small amount of gas is naturally produced. However, when good bacteria decrease and bad bacteria increase due to excessive use of antibiotics or poor diet, food waste starts to rot in the intestines and large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane gases are produced.
Difficult-to-digest foods and carbonated beverages: Certain foods produce more gas during the digestive process. Some carbohydrates, such as nuts, peas, beans, tubers (potatoes, yams), cabbage, and broccoli, take longer to digest. Also, when you drink carbonated beverages like soda water, colas, and beer, the carbon dioxide contained in them goes directly to the stomach and causes severe gas problems.
Food Allergies and Intolerances: Some people have a reduced ability to digest certain foods. For example, people with lactose intolerance, which is a sugar found in milk and dairy products, and celiac disease, which is a gluten allergy to wheat, experience severe gas in the stomach and diarrhea or stomach pain immediately after eating these foods.
Chronic Constipation and Slow Digestion: When bowel movements are not regular, food waste stays in the large intestine for a long time. When intestinal motility is slow, bacteria work harder on these waste products and produce gas continuously. This causes the stomach to always be swollen like a stone.
