The FastDay Forum

TMI alert but need to ask the question. since starting 5:2 I have noticed an increase in flatulence. Also they smell absolutely awful like rotten eggs! Gross! Anyone else suffer with this. Thank God I don't use my real name and can remain anonymous LOL !

[Betsysgr8]

I've not had this problem but have you changed your foods significantly since starting? More beans and or veg? If your body is not used to having these kinds of foods you will have more of "reaction" than if you have them regularly. However, my brother reacts with peanut butter and has it nearly everyday and still continues to drop some really obnoxious bombs!

A quite interesting article about this...

http://nutritionfacts.org/2011/12/05/beans-and-gas-clearing-the-air/

[Betsysgr8]

Excellent article @Caitlin! Hope that clears the air for you @Muftanza.

Think I'll pass that article on to my OH as quite frankly he stinks at the moment

I suffered from this but started taking probiotic tablets and this has helped massively. It has changed the atmosphere in the whole house

[carorees]

I have to say that since lowering my carb intake and skipping breakfast, things in that department have improved enormously. I used to get griping pains and gas quite regularly but now most days are fine, unless I eat too many carbs.

[Debs]

Ah, I love it! Another excuse for plenty of wind based humour

I was wondering about this. I've had bouts of farting like a good'un on fast days, and non fast days alike since starting 5:2' I was pretty much a wind free zone before(unless I ate sprouts!). Very odd! Hubby is not best pleased as can be imagined! He was watching me on this site, and suggested the 's' be changed to an 'r' in the title of the forum

I haven't seen a lot of info about probiotics on the forum, but they changed everything for me. Acidophilus stopped ever present heartburn & bifidis infantis 35642 (Align brand name in the states) was great for this thread's topic. It's nice to be able to go out in public again

I have found it is better since 5:2 but that could be because I was a massive ( no pun intended) over-eater so my digestive system was working really hard. I couldn't even think of eating an egg as it would be awful for everyone (good job we didn't have a canary) I now am eating eggs again and not experiencing the problems from before. I still have early morning clangs ( bob the builder fans will get the reference) but not on the scale as before.

Ha ha the article is great - kale-force winds! I definitely get that - sometimes I fear for mine and my husband's lives. I find that it is not always the things I'm expecting to make me gassy that do, and vice versa. I had an entirely gas-free evening after a takeaway curry a couple of weeks ago (really spicy chilli chicken, chickpeas, the works), but the other night after a pasta & walnut pesto sauce with goats cheese, I was highly flammable! Perhaps I gobbled it down too quickly.

Good job we can laugh about it - how people get on that can't break wind in front of their partners is beyond me. I would forever be leaving the room, he'd want to know what was the matter!

Hi @Muftanza,
It sounds like you have a little food intolerence. It might take a bit of time testing your diet and excluding likely offenders one by one. In the meantime, you could try a digestive enzyme supplement. This with the probiotics might work well. They can come in tablet form and found with vitamins and supplements.

I must admit that I havent noticed a difference with this woe. I was veggie for 24 years until last September and beans or green veg never affect me much. (That said, if the greens are not totally fresh its a different story). However, processed carbs like white bread do, as @carorees has already said. As does a more trad Irish diet of red meat combined with stout.

And now can I snigger at the term "flatologist" and the idea of farting inside a space suit.

(With apologies to all those eminent NASA flatology scientists)

Probiotics helped me generally with bowel movements and feeling bloated as does reducing carbs.

As folks have said, some veggies like cauliflower and sprouts and beans are known to cause gas (they do for me), but shouldn't cause such a big problem if eaten in moderation so may be its food intolerance?

Look at your eating habits, add probiotics, drink lots of water and the herbal teas suggested, eat slowly and see what happens. You can then start reducing carbs or eliminating certain foods to figure out what is the root cause. There is no miracle cure so this may take a while

Good luck