Belching and burping are quite a common thing that can happen to anyone but it is considered inappropriate at some places. If you are belching it means there are more air stuck in your abdomen. There is a reason why your parents urge you to eat politely because it reduces your chances of passing in more air into your stomach, which fights the belching problem. If you find your belching habits disturbing you we got some solutions to ease it.
Why Belching?
Our stomach normally holds some level of air inside in it which makes its way through our mouth while we eat our foods, drink beverages, water etc. When this air level gets beyond a certain level it gets released through our mouth due to excess pressure. We call this process as a belch or a burp. Belching usually occurs with a distinctive sound which can sometimes irritate the people around you.
Reduce the Belching intensity
Simethicone: Foods we eat reaches our stomach and gets mixed with all the digestive fluids secreted by it. When there is excess air inside the stomach, it usually makes up a huge bubble and when this bubble breaks up it leads to belching. There are certain antacids available in your local drugstores such as Mylanta, Maalox Max, and Di-Gel that contains Simethicone which breaks up the larger air bubble in your stomach to smaller ones. Smaller bubbles reduce the intensity of the burping.
Digestive Enzymes: Air or gas build up in your stomach often results from incomplete digestion. This is the reason why you have a bloated stomach whenever you have food poisoning or indigestion problem which obviously makes you belch more often. Whenever you are troubled with indigestion problem make use of supplements that contain the digestive enzymes listed below
- Protease and Pancreatin: Helps with digesting protein
- Lipase: For digesting fat
- Cellulase: To digest vegetable fiber
- Lactase: Helps with digesting milk sugar
Spice it up
Ginger is one of the most commonly used spice to increase your digestive strength. It is one of the most popular ingredients in many Indian recipes. Ginger is available in candy form if you can get hold of some of it then chew one or two of these candies after each meal. Else you can make use of dry ginger powder, or powdered ginger capsules (take two 550mg before meals).
If you have some fresh ginger, you can also prepare a tea out of it. Grate some fresh ginger and add it to a cup of water and boil it for 5 to 10 minutes. Filter out the ginger and gently sip in the tea. You can add some honey if you like some sweetness in the tea.
Fennel Seeds is usually served in many Indian restaurants to aid digestion after food. Take one or two teaspoons of fennel seeds after your meal to reduce your belching problem. These seeds will transport the excess to the intestines so it is not released through your mouth.
Chamomile tea is not only a good remedy for stomach pains, it also reduces belching. Any store bought chamomile tea powder or tea bags works just fine.
Cardamom improves your digestion so it reduces the level of gas produced by your stomach. If you can add one of two cardamoms to your tea and drink it after meals. Or add three cardamoms to a cup of water, boil it for 10 minutes and drink it before or after your meals.
Watch out for foods with air
Carbonated drinks: I know you love carbonated drinks and you enjoy the fizz. But you can literally gulp in a lot of air while drinking it than what your body actually needs. This is the reason why you immediately burp after drinking a soda or flavored soda.
There is a common belief that drinking carbonated drinks will ease digestion, but it is not true. Carbonated drinks are bad for your health and its refined sugar content will make you put on more weight.
Sparkling wine and beer: This has the same effect of a soda. So if you hate burping then give it up or make sure your wine or beer is stirred clear before drinking.
Whipped cream, fluffy omelets: Some foods are loaded with air over others like whipped creams, fluffy omelets etc… watch out for these foods and avoid them as much as possible.
Hot Drinks: When you drink hot drinks you naturally end up swallowing more air in the process. So have a cold coffee maybe instead of a hot one. Ice tea is also a good option as well.
Don’t use Straws: When you use straws to drink your beverages you are swallowing more air in your system. So drink it your beverages straight from the glass, cup, or bottle.
Give up smoking: Smoking is literally breathing in more air, not just air but a harmful one. So you are not just going to burp more but also might end up cooking up cancer in the process. Plain and simple do not smoke.
Get out of the vicious circle
Some people just burp the air out voluntarily out of sheer habit. They think that burping the air out will stop it. But it won’t, instead, you will end up swallowing more air in and it will make you belch repeatedly and this cycle goes on forever. If you have this habit then don’t do it and stop it immediately.
When to Seek Doctor’s Help?
Belching is usually not dangerous, in fact, it is quite normal to belch one or two times after a satisfying meal. But if you find it quite troublesome and you have to do it more often for no apparent reason then it could be a symptom of something serious like stomach ulcer, gallbladder disease, oesophageal cancer, etc.. If your belching is followed by vomiting or nausea then you should immediately bring it to a Doctor’s attention.
Mind your eating habits
Eat Slow: Eating way too fast will make you gulp in more air and take it inside your stomach unconsciously. So take your time and eat your meals and snacks slow.
Eat with a closed mouth: Open mouth with fast jaw movements will make you to swallow more air along with your food. Also chewing in your food with your mouth wide open is considered inappropriate as it creates more sound. Always chew the food with your mouth closed.
Watch out for Belch promoters
Dentures: If you use dentures ensure you are using the ones that fit you well and also make it is properly adjusted. Poor fitting dentures will make you to chew foods in a strange way and you will end up gulping in more air.
Cold: When you catch a cold you end up taking in more air, due to congestion in your airway. Free up your nasal path using nasal decongestant from your local drug store.
Calcium Supplements: If you are using calcium supplements that have calcium in the form of Calcium carbonate, the carbonate in the supplement will release carbon dioxide making you to belch. Choose another form of calcium supplement that contains Calcium citrate instead.
Tight Pants: When you wear tight pants that put more pressure on your midsection, it will squeeze out more air through your mouth. So wear loose and comfortable clothing.
Avoid these foods
There is a valve that separates the esophagus from the upper part of the stomach. This valve is called lower esophageal sphincter. This valve automatically shuts itself once the stomach starts with the digestion process. But there are certain foods that can weaken this valve and make the stomach acids along with gas in the stomach to move up the esophagus again. These foods include chocolates, high-fat meats, deep fried foods, and caffeine-rich drinks.