Ummmm....
I've been having this uncomfortable problem for a few years. I figured it was the result of aging. I've talked to doctors about it and my current nurse practitioner. They've told me to just take some simethicone.
Yes... the problem is flatulence, otherwise known as gas. It's sometimes painful, sometimes embarrassing. Nobody likes to talk about it except as a joke.
Since moving to Hawaii, however, it's gotten worse.
I was worried about our visit to Illinois and staying with my daughter's family because... well... you know.
Surprisingly, I was fine. No gas. We were so busy that I didn't think about it until we got home to Hawaii and it started up again. In fact, I've been alright on trips. It was only when we were home that I had this problem.
It occurred to us then that it could be diet related. We weren't eating quite as healthily in Illinois as we do in Hawaii... true. (I gained 6 pounds!) And then we realized that one thing that was missing from our diet in Illinois was prunes. I eat about 5-6 prunes with my breakfast every morning in Hawaii. We just never got around to buying it in Illinois.
Art researched prunes on livestrong.com and discovered this:
It's so wonderful when we can find the source of our discomfort. I'm glad I can laugh about it now.
I've been having this uncomfortable problem for a few years. I figured it was the result of aging. I've talked to doctors about it and my current nurse practitioner. They've told me to just take some simethicone.
Since moving to Hawaii, however, it's gotten worse.
I was worried about our visit to Illinois and staying with my daughter's family because... well... you know.
Surprisingly, I was fine. No gas. We were so busy that I didn't think about it until we got home to Hawaii and it started up again. In fact, I've been alright on trips. It was only when we were home that I had this problem.
It occurred to us then that it could be diet related. We weren't eating quite as healthily in Illinois as we do in Hawaii... true. (I gained 6 pounds!) And then we realized that one thing that was missing from our diet in Illinois was prunes. I eat about 5-6 prunes with my breakfast every morning in Hawaii. We just never got around to buying it in Illinois.
Art researched prunes on livestrong.com and discovered this:
No kidding? How do you like that? I had no idea that prunes would cause gas. The website also mentioned that beans and whole grains cause gas build up. I'll just take Beano with those.The University of Michigan states that prunes can cause large amounts of gas buildup, resulting in flatulence. The culprit in this case is another sugar by the name of sorbital. The body is unable to digest the sorbital. This sugar will go to the large intestine to be broken down and will produce large amounts of gas. The prune is a dried plum, and the drying process allows the amount of fiber in the fruit to become much more concentrated. Prunes have been used as a natural remedy for constipation for centuries.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/326170-worst-foods-that-cause-flatulence/#ixzz2Bt4ioVtV
It's so wonderful when we can find the source of our discomfort. I'm glad I can laugh about it now.
And to think if you hadn't taken the trip, you wouldn't have been able to connect the dots. I am a big believer that most of our problems have a simple solution. Congrats on your discovery. What did we do before the Internet?
ReplyDeleteLove the header. She has the most beautiful smile.
What a great discovery! I wonder what it is that I'm eating that is causing my problem. No prunes, but lot of beans. Must be the beans! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt always interests me to read how others deal with this so common problem that so few people want to talk about or admit to their worries. I would agree with your conclusions and the prunes and sorbitol are banned in my house along with a list of other foods. I have to skip the sugars, breads and dairy. I know someone following the GAPS diet and another following the gluten-free diet to try to control their issues. I take Lactaid before every meal, and six capsules of Metamucil (I can't deal with the powder) after dinner instead of eating prunes. It is helpful to all of us that you and others are willing to attack this uncomfortable problem.
ReplyDeletehttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_R7BWi29RuZM/S4ZB5O1nukI/AAAAAAAABYk/8EXoinZmiiw/s1600/image0011-1v.PNG
ReplyDeleteFrom what Art tells me, this is something that the Boy Scouts on camping trips used to know about.
Deletewow, imagine that! All that tie and it was the humble prune all along!
ReplyDeleteI don't eat prunes or beans, so why?
ReplyDeleteI guess I need to take that prune pudding off my Thanksgiving menu....okay, I'm kidding about prune pudding, but I am glad you solved your problem.
ReplyDeleteso your choice is constipation or flatulence....lol!
ReplyDeleteLast winter I was eating a serving of prunes (or dried apricots) most days. Felt bloated a lot. According to the box the serving size was five prunes, which is an awful lot. Would I eat five prune PLUMS in one sitting? I wouldn't.
ReplyDeleteI cut back to one at a time and the bloated feeling went away.
If you hadn't suggested prunes, I would have suggested your gas is caused by what you eat. I eat prunes occasionally, but do not have gas.
ReplyDeleteA vegetarian diet generally does not produce the gas a meat diet does. This is why cow manure smells so good and dog and cat poop does not. (Unless your dog is on a veggie diet too). Prunes are an important source of iron and they and other fruits should not be excluded totally from your diet. Cutting back on sugar consumption might also help. BTW I cook my prunes, so any sugar concentration is probably somewhat dilluted in the syrup from the prunes (I don't eat the syrup).
Not only are we what we eat, we are what we excrete it seems. Dianne
I believe cows are supposed to produce massive amounts of gas. I got this off of the Internet (How Stuff works: http://travelerswife.blogspot.com/2012/11/funny-thing-about-flatulence.html?showComment=1353519110976#c5864798426618781459) :
Delete"Cows emit a massive amount of methane through belching, with a lesser amount through flatulence. Statistics vary regarding how much methane the average dairy cow expels. Some experts say 100 liters to 200 liters a day (or about 26 gallons to about 53 gallons), while others say it's up to 500 liters (about 132 gallons) a day. In any case, that's a lot of methane, an amount comparable to the pollution produced by a car in a day."
Maybe I'll eat at least one prune a day though.
Wow, Kay -- I'm glad you haven't melted away into the commode with 5-6 prunes each morning! It can usually cause so much diarrhea, that people have diarrhea for a week. Might want to check with NP Kathy about lowering the prune intake. Your innards may not work well (becoming constipation,) if you didn't have any prunes, because they are so used to working only with prunes. It's sometimes called bowel training, or adjusting your routine.
ReplyDeleteI had one patient in the hospital for 9 days because the docs couldn't figure out his diarrhea, worrying about cdiff, but that test was negative. Found out, he'd ordered prune juice every morning with his breakfast tray, and he was a slender little person like you.
Good luck, DrumMajor
I really think you're right about the bowel training because I did have some problems the first couple of days. I think I'm OK now though. I do eat enough fiber with all the veggies that mom cooks.
DeleteIt's a funny topic to discuss so early in the morning lol...but I think I have trained my bowels to work only with kiwi skins. Nothing else works for me...not Activa even. I literally panic when I run out of kiwis. Fortunately the fruits are sold everywhere these days, even in our small neighborhood grocery store. I don't worry about flatulence except when we eat cabbages.
ReplyDeleteL....w
Kiwi skins? I know you can eat the skins off of the golden kiwis which we saw in New Zealand, but I haven't seen those over here. Gosh, I haven't had kiwis in a while. I do like kiwis. Hmmmm.... cabbages? I'll have to pay attention to what happens when I eat coleslaw.
DeleteI eat kiwi, skin and all, like biting into an apple or pear. I don't bother slicing it. The riper the fruit the better. For us, even won bok is a killer.
DeleteL...w
This really made me smile, such a common problem that people rarely talk about. I love prunes and figs, but only eat a few of them when my body tells me I need them. Beans and onions are the culprits for me.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you sourced the problem!
ReplyDeleteI'm just so glad you solved your problems. I have that too, but no simple solution. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteIf I had known you had such a problem, the first thing I would have asked is, "Do you eat a lot of prunes". Glad you learned the source.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of a little ditty my Dad used to sing: Beans, beans. That musical fruit. The more you eat, the more you toot. The more you toot, the better you feel. Those beans you eat at every mean.
ReplyDeleteAh, the wisdom of the ages!
Oops, .. . . every meal.
ReplyDeleteit's healthy! LOL
ReplyDeleteWarm Aloha to YOU
from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
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I had to laugh when I saw your blog title. Only Kay would write about gas. But then that's what we love about you, all of your ordinary, real life, practical topics!
ReplyDeleteI did like Lin's comment - either constipation of flatulence!