Why do I get excessive abdominal gas by eating meat?

[SaraM]

Like many CFSers I do very well on low carb diet, but all types of meat and also eggs cause excessive gas. Can methionine in these foods be a culprit? Taking 500 Molybdenum , digestive enzymes, and betaine HCL has not made any difference.

 

[Mya Symons]

I also get a lot of gas from eating red meat. I do not have as much problems with white meat. I know that red meat takes longer to digest then almost all foods. A lot of us have digestion problems that consist of food digesting very slowly and sitting around in the stomach and intestines for too long. Maybe this is what is going on with you, especially with the red meat.

 

[CBS]

You might find it useful to search the forums for information on Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) and Xifaxan (Rifaxamin).

 

[SaraM]

Mya, red meat is the worst, especially beef. I guess enzymes and betaine must have helped if it was for indigestion , but they did not.

CBS, I had too much strep bacteria when tested. Will definitely ask my doc for Xifaxin. Amoxy and doxy for 2 weeks did nothing.

 

[CBS]

...

CBS, I had too much strep bacteria when tested. Will definitely ask my doc for Xifaxin. Amoxy and doxy for 2 weeks did nothing.

Cipro (ciprofaxin) and Flagyl (metronidazole) both systemic antibiotics did nothing for me, actually make me feel worse. Xifaxan has been a God send. Need it very 4-5 months. Without insurance it can be expensive (my GI gave me a large bag a samples before my insurance agreed to cover it).

Here's an article that might help with your doctor: Rifaximin therapy for patients with irritable bowel syndrome without constipation - the full article is available through his link. Try not to be put off by the title - IBS. A lot of IBS is misdiagnosed SIBO. The "cardinal" Sx for me is bloating and upper GI gas/burping, especially after eating. Simethicone (a generic and much less expensive form of Gas-X) might help until you can get an Rx. A pre- and post-Tx hydrogen breath test (not widely available and a bit of a pain to prep for) can be a very solid indicator of SIBO and successful Tx with Xifaxan. For me, the non-systemic nature (doesn't readily pass from the GI tract into the blood stream) is a big plus. Still, this is a powerful antibiotic taken for 14 days and pro-biotics seem to help minimize the impact on the gut flora (my GI also suggests that taken regularly, they probably delay the recurrence - if SIBO is an issue for you, you'll probably find yourself retreating it 2-3 times a year. I know, far from ideal but for me it was much better than impact of the SIBO: Gas, pain, burning, fluid loss, lost sleep, etc., etc., etc.).

Good luck!

ETA: When I originally posted this, I erroneously stated that Cimetidine was a generic form of Gas-X. That is not true. My mistake. I meant to say Simethicone. Cimetidine is actually the generic name for tagamet, an H2 blocker often used to treat GERD.

Here is a brief description of how Simethicone works (taken from Drugs.com):

Simethicone allows gas bubbles in the stomach and intestines to come together more easily, which allows for easier passage of gas. Simethicone is used to relieve painful pressure caused by excess gas in the stomach and intestines. Simethicone is for use in babies, children, and adults.

It essentially breaks the surface tension of the gas bubbles (hydrogen and methan) as they form in your stomach and upper GI tract (caused by the bacterial overgrowth) and that in turn temporarily relieves pressure and reduces pain.

 

[richvank]

Hi,

To those of you with gas issues: Do you mind saying if it is smelly gas or more or less odorless? By smelly I mean like rotten eggs, suggesting hydrogen sulfide. This can be produced by some bacteria that can ferment sulfur-containing amino acids such as methionine or cysteine. Odorless would suggest carbon dioxide (as produced by yeasts and some anaerobic bacteria) or hydrogen or methane, or some combination of them.

Best regards,

Rich

 

[SaraM]

CBS, Thanks for the tips. Will try Gas X and Xifaxin. Tagamet as you mentioned was useless in my case.

Rich, Thank you for the info. Mine is oderless, and getting worse as time goes by.

 

[globalpilot]

Hi Rich,

Mine is usually odorless unless I've had cabbage or something like that. And I"ve tested negative for hydrogen or methane which leaves CO2.

Regards,
GP

Hi,

To those of you with gas issues: Do you mind saying if it is smelly gas or more or less odorless? By smelly I mean like rotten eggs, suggesting hydrogen sulfide. This can be produced by some bacteria that can ferment sulfur-containing amino acids such as methionine or cysteine. Odorless would suggest carbon dioxide (as produced by yeasts and some anaerobic bacteria) or hydrogen or methane, or some combination of them.

Best regards,

Rich

 

[Athene]

Hi,

I'd like to strongly recommend following CBS's advice on xifaxin. He told me about this, and after ten days of it I was fit to go out in public again!!!

To prevent a rapid relapse you do need to follow it up with truckloads of probiotics, taken with a small amount of psyllium husk to help them establish live colonies inside you. I spent a fortune on poop tests to take specific targeted probiotics that cost a fortune but that's not necessary, you just need to buy any good quality type and keep mixing and varying them so you get the widest variety you can.

The other thing that really helps is to chew your food for a very long time, I mean a ludicrously excessive time. This is necessary to stimulate enough stomach acid before you swallow it, and this in turn stimulates the secretion of bile, which is what actually breaks down protein and is also one of the two main exit routes for toxins from the body. This works much better than taking enzymes (which I experimented with a lot) and is free and I am actually detoxing properly now as well as digesting better.

BTW CBS, how are you doing these days? I hope it's going well. I've added some new supplements and been making tremendous improvements lately.

 

[Sparrow]

Hi,

To those of you with gas issues: Do you mind saying if it is smelly gas or more or less odorless? By smelly I mean like rotten eggs, suggesting hydrogen sulfide. This can be produced by some bacteria that can ferment sulfur-containing amino acids such as methionine or cysteine. Odorless would suggest carbon dioxide (as produced by yeasts and some anaerobic bacteria) or hydrogen or methane, or some combination of them.

Best regards,

Rich

Thanks for the tip, Rich. There are times that there is a bit of a smell, but most of the time I think maybe not. Truth be told, I seem to have a very disproportionate amount of bloating for the amount of gas that actually makes it out the other end. Maybe it's sneaky. It does seem to be gas, though, as I can often hear it bubbling around. I don't think I have IBS, as I"m missing the cardinal symptoms with any kind of consistency. Have plenty of other gut-related wackiness, though.

I've also noticed that for me sweet things seem to be the worst offenders by far (fruit, juices, etc., followed by other carbs like rice). I've had to stop eating anything like that completely because it was so bad. Does that point to anything in particular? Is that a sign that it's a yeast issue for me rather than a bacterial one?

 

[richvank]

Thanks for the tip, Rich. There are times that there is a bit of a smell, but most of the time I think maybe not. Truth be told, I seem to have a very disproportionate amount of bloating for the amount of gas that actually makes it out the other end. Maybe it's sneaky. It does seem to be gas, though, as I can often hear it bubbling around. I don't think I have IBS, as I"m missing the cardinal symptoms with any kind of consistency. Have plenty of other gut-related wackiness, though.

I've also noticed that for me sweet things seem to be the worst offenders by far (fruit, juices, etc., followed by other carbs like rice). I've had to stop eating anything like that completely because it was so bad. Does that point to anything in particular? Is that a sign that it's a yeast issue for me rather than a bacterial one?

Hi, Sparrow.

I would be very suspicious of a yeast infection, based on your experience. I have treated yeast infections myself a couple of times, and it has been effective. I hit them with everything including the kitchen sink, all at once: all of the herbal anti-yeast remedies as well as Candex, which includes natural enzymes that break down the cell walls of the yeasts.

Best regards,

Rich

 

[SaraM]

How about bile salts like Cholacol by Standard Process? I bought a bottle yesterday.

 

[Athene]

Sparrow, have you nbeen tested for fructose malabsorption? When the cells lining the intestine get damaged (irritated by bad bacteria in my case) they stop producing GLUT-5 which is the transport factor for fructose, so it just sits in the intestine fermenting bacteria and making lots of gas and usually diarrhoea as well.

I just found out that a lot of my intestinal bloating after meals was a vitamin B3 deficiency. It gives you chronic intestinal inflammation, which then becomes all the more evident when you add some gas as well.

 

[Sparrow]

Sparrow, have you nbeen tested for fructose malabsorption?

I've suspected from my own investigations that fructose might be tied up in my problem, and my Myhill test showed fructose molecules stuck to my translocator proteins. But I'm not yet working with a doctor who feels that kind of thing is worth testing for. Maybe I'll give it another push.

Anybody know if anything can be done to fix that over time? Try to keep a better balance of gut bacteria, I'm guessing. Anything beyond that?

 

[xchocoholic]

you can add my name to this list too ...

I found this on the celiac board. I looks like in some cases multiple treatments or specific treatments are needed. TC ... x

http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/topic/85719-sibo-troubles/

 

[Athene]

Hi Sparrow,

My fructose malabsorption has improved greatly over the past year. I've been taking a huge amount of antibiotics (to treat Lyme, chlamydia pneumonia and mycoplasma) and a huge amount of probiotics as well. I cannot tell you which of the two has done the job, but I suspect both - kill the bad bacteria and fill up with good ones.
Previously I could not eat even a tiny portion of any veg with fructose in, and no fruit at all, but now I am fine with any veg and any fruit so long as I just have one fruit a day.

If you cannot get a proper test for fruct mal, you can actually do a home made one that is perfectly reliable. You measure out 25 grammes of pure fructose (they have it in most supermarkets but you can use honey instead, which is the same thing) and drink it in a glass of water. You have to eat nothing, just wait three hours and see what happens.
When the doc does this test he takes a breath sample and measures the hydrogen production each 15 minutes and gives you a graph at the end. However, you don't need this because you already know it's positive! Your tummy will hurt awfully, probably bloat up and later on you will be releasing all that hydrogen.

I have criticised KDM on several occasions but for diagnosing fruct mal for me, I will be eternally grateful to him. It made a huge difference in my gut healing to know what I could and could not eat safely. I think any doctor who says it is not worth testing for fructose malabsorption just doesn't understand the condition properly.

 

[SaraM]

Cholacol has had no effect on my gas problem, but I will keep using it for a few more days.

 

[Gavman]

Have some lettuce with your meat for some extra roughage, you'll fart more but better than it staying in the mouth. I like a good chlorophyll/spirulina drink too.

 

[SaraM]

Hi Gavman,
Thanks for the tip, but I have enough vegetables with meat. So, I guess something else is the cause. I also do not experience any bloating.Today I want to try some rice bran to see if it helps.

 

[santi]

Did you eat the meat alone or with carbohydrates? If so, eat it alone and see what happens.