What to do when the *wind* picks up (aka: Ya Got Gas!)

One brave woman in my Designed for Wellness course gracefully asked if I had any advice on the increasing *wind* happening now that she was bringing in more grains, beans and vegetables.

The great news is that generally it is a temporary thing as your body becomes more used to a different kind of diet (and well worth the transition for the benefits of what you are bringing in). Plus there is simply a normal and healthy amount of gas we are supposed to produce daily.

And an increase in the gas you notice happening, can be expected anytime you shift what you eat, especially if the new foods are higher in insoluble fiber (like beans and veggies).

It also can happen when you don’t have strong digestive enzymes or a strong intestinal flora…both of which we need to properly digest and assimilate our food.

Here are a few recommendations to help ease the transition and calm the winds:

1. Bring Raw In Slowly

In the beginning you may want to eat more cooked than raw foods to help the breakdown of the cellulose fiber and bring raw vegetables in slowly.

2. Use Seaweed with Legumes and Grains

Cooking beans or grains in Kombu (a type of seaweed) is helpful because it makes them more digestible and increases their nutrients. If you use canned beans Eden Organics is a great choice since they cook their beans in kombu.

3. Hydrate

Drink plenty of fluids, you want to keep things flowing and flushing so your food doesn’t sit in the colon too long.

4. Exercise

Exercise also helps with this, keeping your intestines massaged and moving along.

5. Keep a Healthy Gut

You may consider fortifying your diet with digestive enzymes or probiotics (supplements you can find in a natural foods store) — or eat more probiotic kinds of foods, yogurt, cultured veggies, ect

6. Spice it Up

Spices that help prevent and relieve excess gas are ginger, fennel, turmeric, coriander, peppermint, sage and chamomile. Take them either as teas or as seasonings in your meals.

Do you have any good recommendations for reducing the amount of gas from a high fiber diet?


Comments

6 responses to “What to do when the *wind* picks up (aka: Ya Got Gas!)”

  1. Adequate soaking of dried beans makes a big difference as well. Every time I shortcut the process we end up in trouble. Something in the soaking allows the sugars to breakdown & cause less digestive havoc.

  2. Great tips Lisa. All of your ideas are great. And yes it does mostly go away. Our family eats beans usually several times a day – lunch and dinner and we don’t have an overabundance of flatulence. Probably the usual amount, though I’ve never taken a poll : )

  3. I agree Renee– about the lessening over time (and about never having took a poll!!) ๐Ÿ˜‰

  4. Yes! Great suggestion, Teresa.

  5. Kristin Avatar
    Kristin

    Or…..surround with yourself with elementary school aged boys and be the source of rockin’ entertainment for a full evening!!

  6. Kristin– You are too much! ๐Ÿ˜‰

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