Question about flatulence and diet (long)

JW28

This might be TMI for some people, but recently I've had a lot of trouble with gas. As in most nights recently I'm farting quite a lot and not only that but they're the smelly kind. (I've always farted some, but not this much and not this stinky so regularly). I'm guessing that it's due to my change in diet, but I'm not sure which part could be causing it, since I've shaken it up a lot lately.

My diet used to look like this (several months ago, before I thought about what I was eating): cereal (cheerios) w/milk, snack most of the day on some combination of sun chips, balance bars, etc (stupid work break room!), possibly cereal for dinner, probably dessert of some kind. I know, it was terrible. I was never really overweight from eating like this though because I work out, etc, and often rode my bike to work (50min each way). The main thing to note is that I almost never ate any fruits or vegetables, except for the occasional spinach salad for dinner, and I ate mostly white carbs (not a lot of whole grains).

 Now, my diet looks more like this (though I don't always stick to it):

Cereal for breakfast (plain cheerios or oatmeal with raisins), or omelet if I have time. Possibly an orange.

 Apple for morning snack

Large romaine lettuce salad w/bleu cheese, grape tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar, plus small baked sweet potato and a slice of homemade spinach quiche (lowfat, low carb, high protein). Today I also had about 1/2 serving each of plain cooked carrots, peas, and corn.

 Apple with oatmeal or dry cereal for afternoon snack

Lowfat cottage cheese (plain) or lowfat greek yogurt with fruit for second snack 

Dinner varies, sometimes an omelet (partly egg whites part whole egg), salad, sweet potato, etc - usually a combination of whatever healthy food I have left. 

So in short, I'm eating WAY more fruits and vegetables than before, as well as a lot more protein (most of it eggs and dairy - I'm vegetarian). I aim for between 1400 and 2200 calories per day depending on if and how much I worked out. Lately I've been going over quite regularly - somehow after doing well for about a month, I then ate badly for a few weeks and have gained 8 lbs (though much of that seems to be muscle - my biceps grew over an inch). I'm pretty sure I wasn't getting enough protein before, because once I was eating more of it, I started bulking up muscle. Unfortunately I was trying to lose weight :-( Anyway, do you think my flatulence is caused by too much protein, too many vegetables, or just my body being in shock at the abrupt addition of loads of extra fiber (from fruits/veggies)? Any other theories?

statwaldy

Sometimes the issue is the lack of 'good' bacteria in your stomach that is there to break food down. My doctor told me to either get yogurt w/probiotics or take a probiotic supplement which works for me.

mandapanda18

Ditto PP about probiotics. You also went from 0 fiber to the daily allotment, so that will increase gas as well. If you still don't get relief, you an ask your dr to test you for the common gas ailments (h-pylori, IBS, colitis).

jerseygirl81

I get the same way when I do high protein. I haven't really looked into why it becomes an issue, so i'm interested to see what others say!

dirtyred

Eggs will up the stink factor of your gas quite a bit.

PunkinButter

Also try adding some ginger to your diet (i.e. season your vegetables with it). Its supposed to aid in digestion and it definitely helps me with lentils. Also, I find I have issues if I eat large meals.

daves_sweetpea

Too many eggs give me gas.  My SIL cringes when ever my bro goes near deviled eggs b/c she knows she'll be smelling him all.night.long.  When I started metformin I discovered that romaine was not my friend.  I can eat it now but it really threw off my tummy for a few months.  I would not be surprised if romaine can make other people uncomfortable, regardless of medications.  In the end I wouldn't worry too much as long as you're not having GI pain or other discomfort.