Burping often can be unpleasant. It can sometimes be difficult to find the reason why we are burping more often. In This article, I cover why we burp, what causes burping when you shouldn’t ignore excess bleching, how to prevent burping, and “Do Vegetarians Burp More?”
Eating a vegetarian diet that includes a high amount of beans, legumes, fruit, and fiber-rich foods can increase the amount you burp. Although these highly nutritious vegetarian foods can increase burping they are only one of many reasons why you may be experiencing excess gas.
Table of Contents
Why Do You Burp?
Burping is your bodys way of expelling excess air from your upper digestive tract.
What Causes Burping?
Burping is mostly caused by swallowing excess air. The air rarely reaches the stomach but, accumulates in the esophagus instead.
Acid reflux and GERD can sometimes increase burping by promoting increased swallowing.
What Behaviors Cause Burping?
There are many things that we do that can cause us to burp more often.
Drinking Carbonated Beverages
Drinking bubbly carbonated beverages can lead to increased burping. The gas bubbles in the carbonated beverages build up in your stomach and the body needs to get the excess gas out, resulting in more burps.
Eating Too Fast
When you eat too fast you end up swallowing extra air, this air gets trapped in your esophagus and build-ups until your body releases it as a burp.
Drinking Through Straws
Using straws while we drink cause us to ingest more air which will have to be released through bleching.
What Health Conditions Cause Burping?
Stomach Ulcers
Burping can sometimes be a sign of stomach ulcers. If you have a stomach ulcer you may feel bloated or full after eating fatty foods and burp more often. It can also be painful after eating.
Being Overweight
Carrying around extra weight can put pressure on your digestive system and stomach, which can cause additional burping.
Lactose Intolerance
When you are lactose intolerant your body lacks the protein to break down lactose. Your gut struggles to break down dairy products and the food ferments in your stomach. The extra gas caused by the fermentation will cause excess burping.
Acid Reflux
When you suffer from acid reflux your stomach acid backs up into your throat. The build-up of stomach acid in your throat and that lump in the throat feeling can cause burping.
Asthma
When you suffer from asthma your airways can get inflamed, and your body works harder to get enough air into your lungs. This can put additional pressure on your diaphragm. Together is may cause excess gas to build up in your throat and cause burping.
Post Nasal Drip
If you are experiencing a lot of postnasal drip it can cause you to swallow more air as you are clearing your throat more often. The excess air swallowed can lead to more burping.
Stress
Being stressed may cause you to take more deep breaths and gulp in more air.
Hiatal Hernia
You may have a hiatal hernia that is causing you to burp more often. A Hiatal Hernia is when your stomach pushes up through your diaphragm into your chest causing stomach acid to back up in your throat.
Having Too Much Gut Bacteria
If your body is not making enough stomach acid, bacteria can become overgrown in your small intestines causing SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth). This bacteria’s overgrowth can make it difficult for your body to digest food causing excess gas to build up.
Having H. Pylori
H. Pylori is a germ that affects the lining of your stomach. It can lead to your body making more acid and causing more burps along with abdominal soreness and swelling.
Suffering From Pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is when your pancreas gets inflamed. If you have pancreatitis you may have increased burping, vomiting, fever, hiccups, and bloating.
What Foods Cause Burping?
Eating Spicy Foods
Spicy foods contain capsaicin which can slow down digestion and irritate the lining of the esophagus causing heartburn and burping.
Eating High Acid Foods
High acid foods like tomatoes, coffee, alcohol, and sugar can cause heart burn, acid reflux and burping.
Sugar-Free Candy And Gum
Sucking on candy and chewing on gum can cause you to swallow more air. When you are enjoying sugar-free candy and gum the sugar alcohols have a difficult time being digested once they are in your stomach. The alcohols stay in your stomach and create gas.
Consuming Too Much Corn Syrup
Your stomach creates gas as it breaks down corn syrup during digestion. If you are consuming a lot of corn syrup you will experience more burping.
Drinking Beer
The carbonation in beer releases carbon dioxide in your body. Your body releases the extra gas by burping.
Drinking Soda Or Seltzer Water
Just like drinking beer the carbonation creates carbon dioxide which causes burping.
Drinking Tea
Drinking too much tea can cause heartburn and burping.
Eating Beans And Legumes
Beans and legumes contain raffinose a soluble sucrose derivative that can cause farting and burping. They also contain a healthy amount of fiber that can contribute to additional gas and burping.
High Fiber Foods
High fiber vegetables likes broccoli, cabbage, and brussel sprouts can cause excess gas and burping.
Eating Fruit
The sorbitol in fruit is metabolized slowly in the body, the slow metabolization can cause gas build up and burping.
Eating Garlic And Onions
Garlic and onions contain allicin which is a sulpher compound that can cause heartburn and can lead to belching.
Consuming High Acidic Foods
High acidic foods can lead to heartburn, acid reflux, burping, and digestive issues.
Eating Fried Foods
Your body has a difficult time digesting fried foods. The digestive process takes longer which can cause belching.
Eating Tomato Sauce
Tomatos are a higly acidic food that can cause heartburn, acid reflux and belching.
Eating Eggs
Some people have an egg intolerance which causes eggs to take longer to digest. The longer difficult digestion process can cause discomfort and belching.
Consuming Gluten
Gluten isn’t a new culprut. If you have a gluten sensitiviy you will experiance digestive issues including belching.
Is Burping A Sign Of Good Digestion
Burping is your body’s natural way of releasing excess gas. It’s a necessary body function but, is not a sign that you have good digestion.
Signs of good digestion include.
- Having clear skin.
- 2-3 bowel movements a day
- You don’t pass gas often
- You feel emotionally balanced
- You have clear eyes
- Your tongue is clean
Is Burping A Lot Bad?
Burping can be a sign of something more serious. There are signs you should look for and seek medical help if you are concerned.
If You Are Vomiting
If you are experiencing burping along with vomiting, a distended stomach, and pain you may have a bowel obstruction which is extremely serious and you must seek medical attention.
Other possiblilies include a stomach bug, infection or cancer.
If You Are Feeling A Sharp Pain In Your Ribs
You may have a Hiatal Hernia pushing your stomach into your esophagus. It can be uncomfortable and possibly can cut off your blood supply to your abdomen which requires surgery to repair and can become fatal.
Your Losing Weight Without Trying To
You would think losing some weight is a good thing but, not necessarily. When you start to lose significant weight when you are not trying to it can be a sign that something is wrong.
If you are losing weigt rapidly you may have a bowel blockage among other possibilites.
If you are losing weight slowly and you aren’t trying to you may need to be checked for IBS, food allergies, Crohn’s Disease, and stomach cancer.
You should see your doctor is you have experianced any weight loss that you weren’t working towards.
You Are Very Bloated
This can be tough. We’ve all experianced being bloated at some point or another. When is it a problem?
Personally, I’ve experienced a great deal of bloat from time to time that has felt like a pregnancy with sharp pains. Ovarian cysts have been the cause of my bloating for many years. It did become serious one night when I was in the worst pain I have ever been in (worse than unmedicated childbirth). One of the cysts had twisted (ovarian torsion) and cut off the blood supply to my ovary. Surgery was the only way to help me.
Ovarian cysts one of many reasons you may be bloated it can be serious like an obstruction or cancer. It may also be a condition like lactose intolerance or IBS.
It’s best to trust that your body is sending you signs. When you notice anything diffeent speak with your doctor.
You Are Experiencing Acid Reflux After Eating
If your throat is burning after a meal and you are burping up acid it can damage your esophagus. It’s best to speak to a doctor to see what’s causing your reflux.
Your Burping And Have Gastrointestinal Symptoms
If your burping is one of may symptoms you are experiencing along with diarrhea, farting, constipation you may have IBS, lactose intolerance, or food sensitivities.
How Can Burping Be Treated
It’s always best to find the root cause of why you are burping more often.
- Take a look at your lifestyle and eating habits. Has anything changed that could be causing an increase in burping?
- Are you experiencing any other symptoms?
I’m not a doctor. If you are concerned with your body it’s best to pay attention to the signs it is giving you and to speak with a doctor.
Once a doctor has evaluated your situation there may be medications, lifestyle changes, or procedures required to improve your health.
How Can Burping Be Prevented
How can we prevent excess burping in the first place? Many of the burping culprits are lifestyle-related. There are some changes that we can make to reduce how often we burp.
- Stop or reduce how many carbonated beverages we are consuming
- Stop chewing gum and sucking on hard candy
- Don’t use straws
- Limit spicy foods
- Limit fried foods
- Reduce your consumption of high acid foods
- Limit corn syrup and sugars
- Limit gluten
Do Vegetarians Burp More Than Meat Eaters
Let’s dig into the real reason for this article. We are wondering if being a vegetarian will cause us to burp more often.
I’ve covered many of the reasons why we burp. Is being a vegetarian one of them?
Vegetarian Foods That Cause Burping
Many vegetarian foods are included on the list of foods that can cause us to belch.
- Eating spicy foods
- High acid foods
- Beer, soda, seltzer water, tea
- Chewing gum and candy
- Consuming high fructose corn syrup
- Eating gluten
- Tomato, sauce onions, and garlic
- Beans and legumes
- High fiber fruits and vegetables
- Eggs
Vegetarian Diet Compared To Meat Eaters
Since we are focusing on if vegetarians burp more than meat eaters lets look at the differences in their diets.
Vegetarian Diet
A vegetarian diet can vary from a “junk food” vegetarian who basically consumes vegetarian-friendly processed foods like Oreos, chips, soda, frozen pizza, and fries to a plant-based diet based on legumes, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables.
Meat Eaters Diet
Just like a vegetarian diet can vary a meat-eaters diet varies from the same junk food as a vegetarian except throw in some pepperoni on that frozen pizza to a diet that is based on lean meats, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables.
Does Switching To A Vegetarian Diet Cause You To Burp More?
Any major dietary changes can affect your body. If you change your diet drastically and go from a standard meat-eating diet to a vegetarian diet that is loaded with fiber-rich fruits and vegetables your digestive system will need to adjust and you may experience additional burping and other digestive symptoms.
Conclusion
The million dollar question today is “Do Vegetarians Burp More?”
The answer is No. There are too many reasons as to why a person burps more than another ranging from health issues like lactose intolerance to lifestyle choices like drinking soda.
Changing your diet drastically to a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables can temporarily cause additional burping and digestive symptoms. As your body adjusts the burping will subside.
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