Why Do Pretzels Cause Gas and Bloating?

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Feeling pressure in your upper abdomen after consuming pretzels can be uncomfortable. But sometimes, feeling bloated or over-stuffed in your stomach isn’t as apparent. When your gut is bloated, you may experience symptoms of discomfort or distension — like your stomach feeling very large and your pants feeling too tight. From greasy foods to your favorite sandwich courses, the list of foods that cause bloating is long and interesting. This article will help you understand why pretzels and other greasy foods cause gas and bloating and offer easy-to-follow tips on overcoming this feeling.

Can Pretzels Make You Gassy?

Pretzels, like processed crackers, pita, and potato chips, lack dietary fiber. That means overindulging in pretzels can cause gas and bloat. After indulging in lots of pretzels, it looks reasonable to blame your upset stomach on all that delicious meal you could not resist. If your body can’t produce adequate lactase enzyme that breaks down sugar in milk, your colon will be exhausted, and you will have gas. 

While they may not be as easy to eat as roasted potatoes or gels, pretzels are still safe for people with weak stomachs. These foods are extremely refined, and they are also very low in fiber and vitamins. It usually takes more time to prepare tasty pretzels than most snacks. 

When you take a bunch of sugary snacks like pretzels, it can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours for the carbohydrates to be fully absorbed. In other words, the digestibility of whole grain foods takes longer because they contain excess fiber. Even though eating lots of whole-grain bread may help you relieve constipation and become more comfortable, consuming a lot of white flour may worsen the situation. 

This is also true of other foods made from a lot of white flour, such as bagels and crackers. Remember, refined white flours do not contain any fiber like their whole-grain counterparts and are very high in starch which causes stomach upsets when taken in larger quantities.

According to most nutritionists, even people who regularly drink milk lose some of the lactase enzymes that help digest milk as they get older. Even if the food is harmless, it can cause you to have bloating symptoms. Interestingly, even though fruits and vegetables seem inoffensive, there are times when overeating fructose can cause problems. You may think you are trying to eat healthy, but it ends up doing the opposite: you bloat and feel sick.

If you have a food allergy, you may need to take a diet that restricts the amount of milk, fructose, and other nonabsorbent carbohydrates. When you feel too much gas and bloating problems, it’s best to limit the number of dairy products, fruits, vegetables, and grains you consume. Besides Pretzels, overeating foods such as rye and wheat and sweeteners such as honey, agave, and sugar alcohols can lead to tummy troubles.

Why Do Pretzels Make Me Feel Bloated?

Bloating or excessive gas is a common symptom that people experience when they eat certain foods, such as pretzels. It’s not unusual for people to pass gas too often or feel like they go to the bathroom several times daily. Being occasionally gassed is also expected, but you should talk to your doctor if these symptoms start causing you trouble.

American and Canadian diets are loaded with almost double the amount of sodium that should be consumed. These dietary salty foods can cause your body to retain more water and cause you to feel bloated. If your stomach becomes bloated every time you eat salty snacks like pretzels or chips, you may need to avoid them for at least two months to avoid any potential health issues. Overall, pretzels are gentle on the stomach and are good to enjoy during meals and snacks. But always check the ingredients in your snacks before buying them. 

Other Common Causes Of Intestinal Tract Bloating

When you eat foods that cause your stomach to produce a lot of gas, your bowels will feel bloated. Smoking, chewing gum, and using a lot of hard candy can cause you to feel like you have a lot of gas in your stomach. Additionally, gastric problems occur when people eat lots of broccoli, bananas, beans, onions, and even bagels. 

Drinking carbonate-based drinks, such as carbonated water or soda, can also cause you to feel very gassy. Some people have gas when drinking many sweetened beverages or eating too many carbs. Sometimes, people who are allergic to milk or other dairy products (lactase intolerance) feel very gassy after eating or drinking them. If you are allergic to gluten or have celiac disease, you may experience gas. It is also possible that you will have gas due to a bacterial infection that attaches to your intestine.

How To Minimize Bloating From Pretzels

It is easier to identify the cause of your bloating than to try and remedy it. But if you realize that you always feel bloated after eating pretzels, consider trying the following tips.

• Go for a walk – By getting the bowels moving more frequently, you relieve bloating and other irritants. It is possible to relieve yourself from the pressure caused by gas quickly.
• Try yoga poses – Certain postures in yoga help people stretch their abdominal muscles and release the excess gas from their GI tracts. Sometimes doing yoga poses such as Happy Baby Pose or squatting can help people easily remove gas.
• Try peppermint capsules: Peppermint-flavored capsules can be helpful for indigestion and a variety of other digestive problems. Although the makers of these products market their products as a treatment for irritated bowel syndrome (IBS), even people without IBS can use them to ease bloating.
• Use gas relief capsules – Simethicone tablets and liquids are excellent for relieving the excess gas you experience after eating pretzels.
• Increase fiber gradually – you should gradually start increasing your intake of foods with more fiber. Sadly, most Americans do not get enough fiber, with only 5% of people getting their daily allowance of 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men. If you eat a lot of fiber or if you increase your fiber intake too quickly, it can cause more gas and bloat.

Final Thoughts

In most cases, excessive bloating or flatulence is the only symptom many people experience after eating pretzels. However, severe cases of constipation may lead to having blood in the stool, experiencing random fevers, losing weight, and incessant pain in the abdomen. So, if the bloating you usually experience after eating pretzels triggers diarrhea or constipation, you should see a licensed doctor for further evaluation.