Intestinal gas:  has diet anything to do in the absence of a demonstrable malabsorption state?
OBJECTIVE
To summarize the relevant publications during the last 12 months supporting that diet can influence gas-related symptoms in the absence of a malabsorption state.


RESULTS
Gas symptoms during carbohydrate fermentation: a diet incorporating beans is well tolerated by a majority of individuals involved in a program of heart disease biomarkers. By contrast, in patients with irritable bowel syndrome, a diet avoiding fermentable carbohydrates improved gas-related abdominal symptoms. The rate of fermentation determines the production of abdominal symptoms, and many slowly fermentable fibers have a rapid fermentation profile that can generate abdominal symptoms. Modulation of visceral sensitivity: diet can influence gas symptoms by increasing the tolerability of the intestine to gas. Capsaicin decreases visceral hyperalgesia and improved bloating in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Changes in gas-producing bacteria: different strains of Lactobacillus have antimicrobial properties against gas-forming coliforms. New clinical studies show beneficial effects of prebiotics and probiotics on abdominal bloating.


CONCLUSIONS
Actual data suggest that diet could improve gas-related abdominal symptoms acting on several mechanisms: gas production, visceral hypersensitivity and modulation of gas-producing enteric bacteria.
Motility and Functional Gut Disorders Unit, Gastroenterology Department, University Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas, Badalona, Spain. serra.jordi@terra.es
Jordi
J
Serra
D002211:Capsaicin / Q000494:pharmacology; D004032:Diet; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000378:metabolism; D005740:Gases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000517:prevention & control; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D007422:Intestines / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D008286:Malabsorption Syndromes; D056692:Prebiotics; D019936:Probiotics
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D005740:Gases; D056692:Prebiotics; D002211:Capsaicin