Alternative names : Gas in abdomen, Flatulence, Burping, Eructation
Belching, gas in the abdomen and flatulence are embarrassing problems suffered by many people. They are linked to hyperacidity and heartburn. It is a bunch of gas that forms in your stomach and bringing up air from the stomach with a typical sound. In other words the act of expelling gas from the stomach out through the mouth.
What are the causes of belching?
Eating or drinking too fast, gulping or guzzling aerated soft drinks, nervous swallowing of air, or smoking, can result in a noisy return of air from the stomach to the mouth. This is called belching. Gas in the abdomen, known as wind, occurs due to fermentation of food in the intestines, giving a bloated feeling and the embarrassing passage of wind from the anus called flatulence. When there is ingestion of the wrong kinds of food and indigestion, the gas expelled is foul smelling. Common causes includes :
- Consumption of gas-producing foods or drinks, such as carbonated beverages.
- Swallowed air.
- Food allergy.
- Stomach acid deficiency.
What are the symptoms of belching?
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Indigestion.
- Heartburn.
Natural home remedies for the treatment of belching
1. ENO
The age-old remedy of taking Eno’s Fruit Salt for gas in the abdomen is still applicable. If you do not have it at home, make your own. Too much of it can cause rebound acidity-so do not make it a habit.
2. Baking Powder with Lime Juice
Mix together half a teaspoon of cooking soda or baking powder, a tablespoon of fresh lime juice, and a teaspoon of fresh ginger juice, in a glass of water and drink it. You can mix half a teaspoon of baking soda and dried ginger powder and have it with hot water before your meal, if you habitually have flatulence. (This has a high amount of sodium ions, hence is not good for those with hypertension.)
3. Garlic
Soak two cloves of crushed garlic in a glass of hot water for 2-3 minutes. Add a spoonful of ginger juice and drink it while it is still warm. Leave the dregs of crushed garlic in the glass.
4. Turmeric
A teaspoon of turmeric in a glass of hot water, with a pinch of rock salt, drunk while still hot, gives immediate relief.
5. Omum Seeds
A teaspoon of crushed omum seeds with a few drops of lime juice, washed down with warm water, gives relief.
6. Omum
Grind together and store 100 gm’s omum, 100 gm’s dry ginger and 25 gm rock salt. This can be taken when needed-a level teaspoon of the mixture with warm water. It can be made into a soothing drink by adding a tablespoon of fresh lime juice.
7. Omum and Dried Ginger
Take 100 gm’s omum and 100 gm’s dried-ginger. Soak in 250 ml of fresh lime juice. Let it dry. Powder fine. Add 25 gm’s of rock salt, mix and take a pinch when needed, on the tongue with a little water.
8 . Fenugreek Tea
Make herbal tea with a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds, 4-6 crushed cloves and a glass of water. Boil to make a tea. Strain. The softened cloves can also be eaten with the tea.
9. Bay Leaves
Take 2-3 bay leaves and the peel of half an orange. Allow them to simmer in a glass of boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Strain/ filter and drink.
10. Cardamom
Chewing a cardamom pod after a meal, or making tea with the seeds of 3-4 crushed pods, a pinch of dried ground ginger, and a small pinch of grated nutmeg, will settle a flatulent, rumbling stomach. Do not make having nutmeg a habit. It is addictive and constipating and has cumulative toxic effects.
11. Fennel
An infusion of fennel or chewing a teaspoon of roasted fennel is a good digestive.
12. Asafoetida
The use of asafoetida while cooking gas-producing vegetables or pulses has a purpose. Gas-producing vegetables are onion, cabbage, broccoli, turnips and beans, and fruits like melons and raw apples. Soak pulses in water 2-3 hours before cooking. This eliminates gas-producing toxins and also decreases overall cooking time.
13. Mint Tea
To make mint tea, add a teaspoon of dried herbs, or a tablespoon of fresh crushed herb to a cup of boiling water. Simmer for a few minutes. Filter and drink it at a temperature you like. This relieves flatulence and pain.
14. Betel Leaf
Chewing on a small crushed betel leaf with a few drops of honey relieves gas.
Belching Prevention Tips
- Eat slowly.
- Dietary changes, such as reducing intake of fatty foods, tea, coffee and alcohol, and eating small regular meals.
- Stop smoking.
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