Thursday, July 21, 2011 scarolinagrl05 asks

Q: excessive gas and bloating

and in college. my stomach would make extremely loud gassy noises but i felt like i really didnt have any gas. there wasnt any bloating or anything just very noisey and super irregular foul smelling bowels. i ended up leaving school because it was so embarrassing. at the time i was a very unhealthy eater. i had been eating fast food 2 or 3 times a day for about 3 years but never had any gas problems until a year ago. ive been slowly removing certain foods like dairy, soda, fried foods, coffee, etc from my diet. i felt healthier but my stomach wasnt changing. about 12 weeks ago, i started getting really fed up with it and began eating only whole grain breads, fruits, vegetables, and nuts with mininmal amounts of animal protein. i even exercise 3-4 times a week now. for a while, i felt like this was helping but now im experiencing very excessive gas. before, during, and after eating. when i wake up in the morning im very gassy and i dont eat anything before bed. im gassy all day and my stools are still pretty irregular and foul. i drink lots of water and eat very healthy as well as exercise. this problem is affecting my social relationships as well as my ability to finish school. it is so embarrassing and uncomfortable. what is going on?  i thought about taking beano but i really would rather solve this problem with diet changes. i would like to known if a medical condition could be causing this or stress and what i can do at home to make it stop.

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11/24/11 6:16pm

First of all, I'm not a doctor of any kind but I've suffered the same symptoms you describe.  I've been an avid dieter all my life and finally figured out that all of my gas problems went away while on Adkins or South Beach (both low carb).  But I love my carbs.  Then while on Weight Watchers, it finally occurred to me - wheat.  I get gas when I eat wheat:  bread, fried food that's been dredged in flour, pasta, and creamed soups.  I can eat potato chips, enchiladas, Fritos, etc. and have no problems whatsoever.  Those are potato & corn carbs.  I can even eat rice without any issues.  But it's the wheat that causes me the problems.  I even drink beer without any issues and if I haven't had any wheat, and do have some gas, it's not noticible.  This epiphany has changed my life for the better!  Oh, I do have IBS and take a Nexium every night before bed and that seemed to stop the sudden trips to the bathroom.  But now that I know that wheat is the problem, I might just skip the Nexium for a couple of weeks and see how it goes.  Hope that helps.  Good luck.

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By scarolinagrl05— Last Modified: 11/24/11, First Published: 07/21/11