by The way you chew could be the reason you’re in the theater drooling over this year’s summer blockbusters A Quiet Place: Day One. While the characters stay silent to avoid bloody aliens, you don’t…much to the horror of other moviegoers.
In a Japanese survey where 10,000 adults were asked about belching, 1.5 percent indicated that their burping interfered with their daily life—above the international average of about 1 percent.
The scientists at Osaka City University found that drinking alcohol, taking acid reflux medications and bowel disorders such as gastrointestinal disease were the main causes of increased burping.
Men were more likely to have burping problems than women, and eating habits such as chewing too much or not enough, or eating until full, were also linked to burping disorders.
However, they found no association between burping and drinking soda.
“Burping can be linked to many things,” said nutritional therapist Suzy Wyld News Week. “An interesting and often unknown one is the lack of stomach acid. This often happens because of stress and the body is not ready to accept the food we give it.”
Wyld said she often advises diet clients who struggle with this issue to do breathing exercises before eating, such as alternate nostril breathing or taking deep breaths until they gills.
“This provides the nervous system, which makes us ‘relax’ rather than ‘fight or flight’, which most of us seem to live in all the time and which is terrible for digestion .” In other words, it is believed that digestion is more efficient when we are calmer.
‘Our food without thinking’
Nutritional therapist Amani Kaite said News Week that burping can be caused by swallowing air, certain foods and drinks, various diseases and infections, and food intolerances.
“Air can be swallowed from eating or drinking too fast, chewing gum, or consuming carbonated drinks,” Kaite said. “This can lead to excess air in the stomach, expelled as burps.”
Certain foods, she said, such as beans, lentils, onions, complex carbohydrates and sodas, can cause gas production in the digestive tract, which can upset some people.
Intolerance to foods such as lactose or gluten can lead to digestive problems, including gas and burping, Kaite added.
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“Eating on the go, or just gobbling our food without thinking is another problem,” said Wyld. “It’s very common, and it leads to indigestion and burping, because our digestive system can’t work properly.
“Even just scrolling on your phone and not thinking about your food can affect your digestion in the same way as being chased by a tiger; you don’t need to eat food – not to mention digest it – while running for your life!”
Wyld added that chronic burping could be a sign of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), explaining: “We want most of our gut bacteria to be in our large intestine, but with SIBO there is an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine.
“If our digestion is slowed down, perhaps due to bad eating habits or low digestive enzymes – but also chronic constipation, hyperthyroid or medications including acid reducers – it allows bacteria to grow in the wrong place.”
In the case of SIBO, this can lead to digestive issues and symptoms like chronic burping, she explained.
How to Avoid Burping
Kaite said those with chronic burping could try drinking peppermint tea or using baking soda for quick relief.
“Mix about half a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water and drink it slowly,” she said. “Baking soda neutralizes excess stomach acid and may help release trapped gas, but should be used sparingly to avoid potential side effects and not as a long-term solution.”
Kaite also recommended applying gentle pressure to the abdomen to release trapped gas and reduce burping.
When eating, she said it’s best to chew well, eat mindfully, and avoid too much fluid, as this can dilute stomach acid. After eating, Kaite recommends going for a gentle walk to aid digestion, and avoiding lying down as it can lead to acid reflux.
In a statement, Professor Yasuhiro Fujiwara, who led the research team, said: “The problem with belching disorders is that they take a long time to treat and are only practiced in a limited number of medical facilities.
“In the future, evaluation of the number of times a person chews and the effects of improved nutritional habits in patients with belching disorders will provide a treatment option for patients to make on their own.”
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Reference
Fujiwara, Y., Sawada, A., Kobayashi, Y., Hosomi, S., Otani, K., Fukunaga, S., Ominami, M., Taira, K., Tanaka, F. (2024). Prevalence of Belching Disorders and Their Characteristics in the General Adult Population, ie. The American Journal of Gastroenterology n/a(n/a). https://doi.org/10.14309/ajg.000000000002960
