What to Eat With Gas Pain and IBS

If you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you may be wondering what to eat when your stomach hurts from gas pain. IBS flare-ups can be intense. But knowing what to eat—and what to avoid—may ease some of your anxiety along with your symptoms, so you can reduce that gas pain and be more in control of your life.

When you're dealing with stomach pain from gas, good food choices include options with soluble, non-fermenting fiber and low-FODMAP carbohydrates, like bananas. Bananas are not on the list of known gas-causing foods and they're also believed to be low in FODMAPs. Also recommended are vegetables, like carrots, sweet potato, and zucchini, as well as protein foods, like peanuts and walnuts.

This article provides an overview of foods that can help when your stomach hurts from gas and the foods that are best avoided. You'll also get tips on when it's time to see a healthcare provider for gas pain and IBS.

What to Eat With Gas Pain and IBS

Researchers have identified two types of food that may help alleviate IBS gas and pain. Planning your diet around these may help you leave symptoms behind.

Soluble Fiber

Dietary fiber has important health benefits for IBS and beyond, and research points to soluble fiber as superior to insoluble fiber. The evidence is robust enough to prompt a strong recommendation in the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2021 guidelines for treating IBS.

Soluble, non-fermenting fibers form viscous gels in your digestive tract that aren't easily broken down. That's desirable because these gels retain their water-holding capacity in the large intestine.

It's possible to add too much fiber to your diet too quickly, which can be hard on the system. So go slow and make sure you're choosing the right type. Foods high in non-fermentable soluble fiber include:

• Vegetables: carrot, eggplant, green beans, okra, potato (with skin), summer squash, sweet potato, zucchini
• Fruit: banana, blueberries, kiwi, orange, raspberry, strawberry
• Protein: peanuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts
• Grains: oatmeal

Dietary soluble fiber is considered better than fiber supplements, but if you do take a fiber supplement, choose psyllium fiber.

Insoluble fiber can make your gas, bloating, and abdominal pain worse, as can soluble fibers that are highly fermentable. So if you've learned to be leery of high-fiber foods, maybe you've been eating the wrong ones.

While other forms of fiber may ferment in your large intestine, leading to excess gas and bloating, non-fermentable fiber has a normalizing effect on your stool. It can soften hard stools and prevent constipation, and it can also firm up watery, loose stools to prevent diarrhea and fecal incontinence. In addition, it can:

• Slow food's passage through your digestive system, which allows you to absorb more nutrients
• Improve the balance of your gut bacteria
• Help you feel full after eating less food

Low-FODMAP Carbohydrates

If you find that bloating and gas tend to contribute to your IBS pain regularly, you may want to look into the low-FODMAP diet.

FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols, which are all sugars that your small intestine doesn't absorb well. Notice the "f" word of FODMAPs—fermentable. That's a key aspect of foods that exacerbate the gassiness of IBS.

The low-FODMAP diet has been heavily studied in the treatment of IBS and the ongoing line of research continues to be positive. Low-FODMAP foods include:

• Vegetables: eggplant, green beans, carrot, lettuce, potato, zucchini, bell pepper, cucumber, tomato
• Fruit: banana, cantaloupe, grapes, kiwi, orange, pineapple, strawberry
• Dairy/dairy replacement: almond and soy milk, camembert, feta, hard cheeses
• Protein: eggs, firm tofu, cooked meats/poultry/seafood, macadamias, peanuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds
• Grains: corn; oats; rice; quinoa; sourdough spelt bread; bread made without wheat, rye, or barley
• Sweets/sweeteners: dark chocolate, maple syrup, rice malt syrup, table sugar

The low-FODMAP diet starts out by eliminating all FODMAPs, then strategically adding them back to see which ones do and don't bother you. In the end, you should have a customized diet based on your body's reaction to them.

This can be a long process that leaves you missing out on certain nutrients. It's a good idea to involve your healthcare provider and a nutritionist to aid you on your journey.

Foods to Avoid With Gas and IBS

As important as what you do eat is what you don't eat. Along avoiding with high-FODMAP foods, limiting gas-creating and fatty foods can help ease your IBS symptoms.

High-FODMAP Foods

Some foods identified as being high in FODMAPs, and therefore potentially harmful to people with IBS, include:

• Vegetables: artichoke, asparagus, cauliflower, garlic, peas, mushrooms, onion
• Fruit: apples, cherries, dried fruit, mango, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, watermelon
• Dairy/dairy replacement: cow milk, custard, evaporated milk, ice cream, soy milk, sweetened condensed milk, yogurt
• Protein: most legumes, some processed meats, some marinated meats/poultry/seafood
• Grains: breakfast cereals; cookies; snack foods; bread made with wheat, rye, or barley
• Sweets/sweeteners: high-fructose corn syrup, honey, sugar-free candies and desserts (due to sugar alcohols)

If you find yourself eliminating entire categories of foods from your diet (for example, eating no fruits because the ones you like are off-limits), it may be time to see a nutritionist who can help you fill in the gaps.

Gassy Foods

Foods that produce intestinal gas can contribute to abdominal pain and cramping. Unfortunately, these same foods tend to have high nutritional benefits. It is therefore not a good idea to eat an overly restrictive diet regularly.

On bad days, though, it can help to eat non-gassy foods and avoid those that are more likely to produce gas. Gas-causing foods include:

• Vegetables: asparagus, artichokes, beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions
• Fruit: apples, peaches, pears
• Dairy: cheese, ice cream, yogurt, milk
• Grains: bread, cereal, bran, whole wheat
• Sweets/sweeteners: apple and pear juice, high-fructose corn syrup, sugar alcohols

If you're thinking that list looks similar to the high-FODMAP foods list, you're right. Many of these foods can be problematic for IBS in multiple ways.

Fatty Foods

Fatty foods contain substances that can exaggerate the strength of intestinal contractions, resulting in increased pain and cramping—at least in laboratory settings. However, according to a study published in 2017, no randomized controlled trials show that following a low-fat diet will reduce symptoms of IBS.

Still, since fatty foods often aren't good for you anyway, you might want to see whether avoiding anything greasy, fried, or fatty helps alleviate IBS symptoms.

When to Call Your Healthcare Provider

As with any health condition, it is important to know when you need to consult your healthcare provider. If you experience cramping that significantly worsens beyond your regular pattern, give your provider a call. This is also true should your symptoms include:

• Vomiting
• Fever
• Bloody or black stools
• Inability to pass gas
  

Summary

Although the list of potentially bad foods for someone with IBS seems long, there are still plenty of foods you can eat to help ease stomach pain from gas. Foods with soluble, non-fermenting fiber and low-FODMAP carbohydrates are preferred. These include carrots, potatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, bananas, blueberries, raspberries, sunflower seeds, and more.

The best course of action is to test high-FODMAP categories or try an elimination diet for IBS. The goal is to keep as many foods as possible in your diet so you don't miss out on important nutrients.

Following a special diet can be hard at first, but time, experience, and possibly a good app can help you stick to it and feel better. Consult your healthcare provider or a nutritionist to help you identify the foods you can eat and the ones you can't.