DIGESTIVE DISTRESS

During the premenopause transition, complaints of increased gas and bloating are common. Although having gas is normal, it can be a source of discomfort and lead to embarrassing situations. Everyone has gas and eliminates it by burping or passing it through the rectum. Excess formation of gas in the stomach or intestine is termed flatulence. Most people produce about 1 to 3 pints of gas per day and pass gas about 14 times a day.
Understanding the causes of gas and various treatment options helps most people find relief. The most common symptoms of gas are flatulence, abdominal bloating and discomfort, and burping. The amount of gas produced by an individual, as well as the bacteria responsible for breaking down food in the digestive tract, differs from person to person. As a result, individuals experience differing symptoms based upon their situation.

The gas found in the rectum is primarily made from carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and sometimes methane. The unpleasant odor of gas is derived from normal bacterial byproducts in the large intestine that are responsible for breaking down food substances and contain sulfur. However, I find that the most odiferous gas comes after eating processed foods.

Excessive gas production, more than 25 times per day, may be a sign of malabsorption that can be detected by your health care practitioner. Excessive bloating or discomfort may be a sign of an intestinal disorder, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

QUICK TIPS

• Start keeping a food diary to determine which foods are giving you the most discomfort; then do your best to reduce or eliminate them.
• Soy foods are a common culprit, especially when they're unfermented which is most common. Other than miso (a paste often made into soup), tamari soy sauce and tempeh, most soy products are not fermented and highly processed. For more information on this, go to www.westonaprice.org.
• Wild yam is the herb I reach for most often for clients reporting problems of bloating and flatulence. It's best to included it in a customized formula, but can also be taken alone as a simple.

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