Intestinal Gas Remedies

Intestinal gas is a common occurrence among people with symptoms indicating a build-up of gas in the intestines, including abdominal pain, belching or burping, bloating of the stomach, or pressure in the abdomen. Production of intestinal gas is a natural process where trapped gas of carbon dioxide, hydrogen, methane, nitrogen and oxygen are released as flatulence by the body. Normally, people pass morning gas or gas while sleeping. Mostly eating certain foods causes a gas problem in the stomach. This could often lead to belching after every drink or meal.

Causes

There could be various causes for intestinal gas to occur; eating dairy products, beans, or foods that contain high soluble fiber in them, swallowing air while eating, or the breakdown of certain foods can causes excess gas production.

The lactose contained in dairy products does not let some people digest their food properly and can entrap gas that could lead to flatulence. Moreover, the body cannot digest some complex carbohydrates on its own, and beans contain two of them raffinose and stachyose. Useful gut bacteria help digest these two components, and in the process, produce carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane that build in the intestine and leads to flatulence. Foods that contain high levels of soluble fiber are also more difficult to digest and lead to intestinal gas. Foods to avoid include beans, fruits, oats and peas.
Swallowing air occurs while eating and drinking, sipping your beverage through a straw, chewing gum, anxiety, sipping hot drinks, chronic pain, postnasal drip, or with poor fitting dentures that can also cause flatulence.
Different foods are digested differently, while fats and proteins produce less gas, carbohydrates produces more gas as the food is more difficult to break down.

Symptoms

The symptoms of intestinal gas can sometimes be similar to irritable bowel syndrome with the familiar symptoms of intestinal gas being abdominal bloating, abdominal pain, belching and flatulence. The degree of symptoms is different for each person, depending on the amount of gas that their body produces.

Foods to Avoid

There are certain foods that you should avoid eating as they could aggravate the situation. Here is a list of foods to avoid:

Beans
Chewing gum and sugar free candy
Fruits such as apples, peaches, pears and prunes
Fruit drinks and soft drinks, as they contain fructose
Milk and milk products like cheese, ice cream, and packaged foods containing lactose
Starchy foods like corn, pasta, potatoes and wheat
Vegetables such as asparagus, artichokes, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and onions
Whole grains, especially bran and whole wheat

Home Remedies

Activated charcoal: Charcoal tends to absorb any surplus air and toxins in the digestive tract that could be the causing your gas problems. Including a charcoal supplement daily before you eat, should help keep bloating and gas problems away.
Caraway Seeds: Caraway seed spices help to alleviate gas, cramping, and indigestion, while propagating proper digestion. If you are eating foods that are prone to cause gas just add a few caraway seeds to your meal.
Colon Cleansing: Getting your colon cleansed will not only give you gas relief but will assist in better overall health of the colon.
Dandelion Tea: Dandelion, which is a weed, has many health benefits with one of them being the ability to relieve gas. You can either add it to your food as a spice that has been dried or drink it in a cup of tea.
Dill Pickles: A single dill pickle or a teaspoon of pickle juice aids with gas issues.
Exercise: You can help get rid of trapped gas by lying flat on your back, lifting your legs in the air and then cycling in the air.
Fennel: Fennel is another home remedy that is useful for stomach problems. You can use it in tea or just chew the seeds. Compounds present in these seeds help relax digestive tract muscles enable trapped gas to pass. Anise seeds and dill seeds contain similar properties.
Garlic: Garlic is one of the age old home remedies that aids in stimulating digestion. For optimal results use a fresh garlic bulb.
Ginger: One of the best remedies to get rid of gas is to eat fresh ginger root or drink a cup of ginger tea. If you like, you can have a teaspoon of freshly grated ginger before you eat for gas relief.
Parsley: Another excellent spice to add to your diet that helps with gas is parsley. It can be added to your food in freshly cut or dried form, but will keep bloating and other gas problems away.
Peppermint Oil: Combine two drops of peppermint oil in half a cup of water and drink this mixture 1 to 2 times a day.
Probiotics: Eat foods that contain probiotics or take a probiotic supplement as they restock intestinal bacteria that are useful and keep your colon in top working condition.
Hot Water: One of the easiest natural remedies is to sip a glass of warm water.

References:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003124.htm