Why does cabbage make your stomach bloat and cause gas?

Harmful properties of cabbage

Although cabbage is famous for its beneficial properties, it must be consumed carefully. Everyone knows that even medicines in large quantities become poison. This principle also applies to food.

Doctors identify some contraindications to eating white cabbage in any form:

Under the influence of heat treatment or marinade, the harm and benefits of the product may decrease or increase.

Why is fresh cabbage harmful in large quantities?

Cabbage as an independent dish in the diet or as a component of other dishes has a number of restrictions on its use. It is not recommended to consume it in large quantities because:

• it may cause darkening of the eyes;
• Cabbage is a harmful product for men and is considered an exclusively female vegetable (frequently taken with food, the stronger sex reduces the number of sperm).

The vegetable is not recommended for thyroid diseases. You should not consume it if you have a stomach or duodenal ulcer, as fresh cabbage juice can corrode the walls of the stomach. People with high acidity should not eat cabbage leaves: the vegetable is difficult to digest because it contains a lot of fiber.

What is the harm from stewed cabbage?

Most often, stewing technology is used for heat treatment of vegetables. However, it is worth remembering that after this the harm from cabbage does not decrease. When stewed, the product is contraindicated:

• for ulcers, enterocolitis;
• with intestinal spasms;
• if surgery was performed on the chest or peritoneum;
• for kidney diseases;
• for hypertension.

When consuming this vegetable, irritation of the intestinal walls occurs. It is also not recommended to combine cabbage and milk: it may cause stomach upset.

Diet adjustments

Flatulence can be eliminated by adjusting the nutritional diet. In addition to nutrition, the main cause of flatulence can be acute or chronic pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract.

First, laboratory and instrumental examinations should be carried out to exclude any gastrointestinal diseases. Next, on your own or by consulting a nutritionist, bring your nutritious diet into “order.”

All foods that cause bloating are excluded, as well as fatty, fried, smoked and salty foods. Or all of the above is used rarely and in small quantities.

Origin of gases

The first cavity where food goes is the stomach, and bloating occurs when air enters the stomach. In a normal state, the digestive system contains up to approximately 1 liter of air; excessive amounts are eliminated by belching.

In the upper part of the intestine - the small intestine - mixing of oxidized gastric food with alkali occurs. As a result, a chemical reaction occurs that swells the stomach and releases gases. Some of them are absorbed into the blood, the rest exits through the large intestine.

The lower part of the intestine - the large intestine - carries out the metabolic breakdown of nutrients, which is characterized by filling it with gases: hydrogen, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, which gives an unpleasant odor.

Other foods that cause flatulence

It's not just cabbage that causes bloating.

Important! If all gas-forming foods are excluded from the diet, and the stomach continues to swell, you should undergo a medical examination. This situation can be caused by intestinal parasites, dysbiosis, inflammation and gastrointestinal disease.

There are other foods that cause gas:

• beans, soybeans, peas;
• radish, turnip, radish;
• onion;
• mushrooms and artichokes;
• whole grain products, bakery products;
• all cereals except rice;
• grapes, pear, apricot, sweet cherry, cherry, plum, apple, peach, melon, fig, date;
• Jerusalem artichoke;
• carbonated drinks, beer, kvass and juice;
• milk, kefir, fermented baked milk, ice cream.

Do not forget about the known gas-forming combinations of products:

• legumes with black bread;
• milk with bread, fish or meat, sour fruits;
• sweet juices with protein, starchy or salty foods;
• jelly with sweets.

Important! When taking dairy products, flatulence occurs due to a lack of the enzyme lactose in the human body.

Causes

Finding out the reasons why the peritoneum is inflated is not particularly difficult. For example, eating raw, fried, or sauerkraut is explained by the presence of beneficial microelements, vitamins, and juices for diluting dry foods. The owner of a hundred clothes, familiar from childhood, contains a lot of fiber in the form of dense dietary fiber, which is necessary for the functioning of the body. Processing fiber requires a large number of protein molecules, increased functioning of the intestines and stomach, which is expressed by an increased volume of gases, which make the stomach swell.

ethnoscience

The stomach is constantly swollen and gases are the reasons, what to do if all this happened far from the pharmacy? There are two proven options: some physical exercise and folk decoctions, teas and tinctures.

The first option is special exercises

• We put on looser clothes and lie on our stomachs, then raise our arms and legs up. We repeat the exercises up to 20-30 times.
• We lie on our side and bend one leg at the knee, straighten the other and lift it up and down. Repeat 20 times. Then we turn to the other side and repeat the same movements.
• We strain the rectus abdominis muscles up to 30 or more times.
• We make rotational movements of the body: 20 times to the right and 20 times to the left. Then we bend downwards up to 20-30 times.
• Massage the abdomen clockwise.

Drug therapy

Enterosorbents, carminatives, and prokinetics help reduce excessive intestinal flatulence. The first category includes:

• Activated carbon;
• white coal;
• Smecta;
• Polysorb.

The effectiveness of adsorbents is based on their absorption of harmful substances, toxins, excess gases, and therefore bloating does not occur. The therapeutic effect is complemented by the activation of contractions of the digestive organs.

Carminatives - defoamers - are represented by the following medications:

Defoamers crush large bubbles of intestinal gases into small ones, which allows them to be absorbed by the lining of the digestive organ and removed from the body more quickly.

Prokinetics, in addition to crushing large bubbles, increase the number of contractions of the digestive tract, which stimulates the rapid passage of food with a decrease in secretions. These are:

Important! The use of adsorbents is based on the absorption of all types of microelements found in the intestines. For normal functioning of the latter, it is recommended to take vitamins.

Drugs that reduce gas formation

If you can’t stand it, then you can use auxiliary medications:

1. suppressive gases - Bobotik, Espumisan, etc.;
2. adsorbents – Sorbex, white coal;
3. antispasmodics – No-shpa, Spasmol.

In any case, it is better not to self-medicate. The best option is to find the cause of the problem and eliminate it. A qualified gastroenterologist will help you do this.

For constipation, it is useful to eat crumbly porridge: buckwheat, millet, pearl barley. It is worth giving up strong tea, coffee, chocolate, thick cereals, white bread, and pasta.

Misconceptions about the healing properties of cabbage or why it is dangerous to go on a cabbage diet.

Cabbage has firmly established itself on our table. In fact, she is praised in vain. And it’s completely in vain that people eat it in such huge quantities...

Yes, indeed, cabbage once saved sailors from scurvy. But, mind you, it was sauerkraut, which really concentrates vitamin C. Otherwise, especially in its healing properties, the fame of cabbage is greatly exaggerated, and in some cases is not true at all.

Speaking of vitamin C. If the sailors of that distant time had known about it, instead of many barrels of cabbage, they would have taken with them just a bag of dried rose hips. Because it contains 1100 mg of vitamin C per 100 g. product (in fresh rosehip – 650 mg), and in white sauerkraut – 60 mg (in raw – 45 mg). Did you feel the difference?

Effect on the stomach

It is recommended to eat stewed cabbage if you have hypoacid gastritis. Stewed cabbage retains vitamins and nutrients that ease the stomach and improve digestion. An additional plus is that the dish copes with the feeling of hunger, saturating the body.

Substances contained in cabbage:

• B vitamins;
• folic acid;
• vitamin C;
• iodine;
• phosphorus;
• calcium.

Stewed cabbage regenerates the mucous membrane and helps eliminate inflammation. The product protects epithelial tissue from aggressive factors and heals the effects of the inflammatory process.

When an acute period of gastritis occurs, eating vegetables is contraindicated; it provokes an increase in the secretion of hydrochloric acid.

Recipes

Before you send the product to the stove, it must be properly prepared.

1. Wash the head of cabbage thoroughly and remove the top spoiled leaves from it.
2. Then chop it finely and knead it a little with your hands until the juice appears: this way the dish will cook faster.
3. Then you can prepare the product according to the classic recipe (taking into account dietary restrictions) or add additional permitted components to it.

Dietary version of the classic recipe

For a dietary version of the classic recipe for stewed cabbage, you will need the following ingredients:

• 1 head of cabbage,
• 1-2 medium onions,
• 1 large carrot,
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste (without vinegar),
• 1 tbsp. spoon of sunflower oil,
• salt.

Cooking method:

Chop the head of cabbage into small strips, and chop the onion into half rings. Heat vegetable oil in a cauldron or frying pan, add the onion and fry it a little until transparent (not crusty).

Add tomato paste, carrots. Mix everything well and fry for another 2-3 minutes. until soft. Put in the cabbage. Pour in 1 ½ cups of hot water.

When the mixture boils, you need to reduce the heat and simmer the contents until soft. This will take 40-50 minutes. A few minutes before the end of cooking, add salt to the dish.

With chicken breast

To prepare stewed cabbage with chicken breast you will need the following ingredients:

• 1 head of cabbage,
• 0.5 kg chicken breast fillet,
• 1 tbsp. spoon of tomato paste,
• 1 tbsp. spoon of sunflower oil,
• salt.

Method of preparation: Finely chop the head of cabbage, cut the meat into small pieces, cut the onion into half rings. Heat vegetable oil in a thick-walled bowl, add the onion and fry it until transparent. Add meat and continue frying for another 2-3 minutes.

Do not allow crusts to form on foods.

Then add tomato paste, stir and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Place the cabbage and pour in 1 glass of hot water. Bring contents to a boil. Reduce heat.

Simmer the dish for 40-50 minutes. Add salt 10 minutes before the end of cooking.

Stewed cabbage in milk

Cauliflower stewed in milk will require the following ingredients:

• 450 gr. cauliflower (you can use frozen),
• 2 tbsp. spoons of butter,
• ½ tbsp. low-fat milk,
• ½ tbsp. cabbage broth,
• salt,
• ground nutmeg.

Wash the cabbage, divide into inflorescences, boil and grind in a blender. Add cabbage broth and milk to the resulting mass and bring to a boil. Salt the dish, add butter and a pinch of nutmeg.

How to cook

When preparing stewed cabbage, you need to follow the rules in order to preserve the healthy and tasteful qualities of the vegetable. It is noteworthy that the preparation of stewed cabbage involves a combination with other products allowed for a patient suffering from inflammation of the gastric mucosa.

The cabbage must be thoroughly washed and the top damaged leaves removed. After thin, careful shredding, it is recommended to mash the vegetable with your hands to achieve softness and tenderness of the finished dish. The softer the cabbage, the easier it is for the stomach to cope with digestion.

You can get a nutritious dish if you stew the vegetable together with chicken, zucchini, lean lean beef and other ingredients.

It is important to remember that adding a large amount of salt is excluded. Do not add spices, seasonings or food additives.

Source

Excessive accumulation of gases in the intestines often appears due to the consumption of foods that cause increased gas formation. These include such a widespread vegetable as cabbage. We will find out why flatulence occurs from eating cabbage, what to do about it, how to cook to prevent this from happening, and what varieties of cabbage do not cause this condition.

Tips and tricks

Proper nutrition is the basis for the prevention of gastritis. But in order to completely eliminate the risk of this disease, you need to follow other precautionary measures:

• reduce alcohol consumption to a minimum,
• quit smoking,
• try to avoid stressful situations,
• Do not self-prescribe medications that can cause stomach irritation.

And if suddenly unpleasant symptoms make themselves felt, immediately consult a doctor.

Source