Protein Farts and How to Cure Them

We talk a lot on this site about the importance of getting protein into your diet. It is an essential building block of the muscles and also helps your body burn more fat. We’ve dedicated a few articles to ways to get more of it in your diet, like this article about alternatives to protein bars, and this list of foods packed with lean protein.

So if you’ve been following those diet tips and have a good amount of protein in your daily nutrition, we can probably guess what you’re now experiencing: protein farts. Yep, this diet comes with plenty of gas. If this is affecting you, we’ve got the cure for you!

How to Get Rid of Protein Farts

Gas, in general, is not fun. Sometimes there can be nothing more uncomfortable than that rumbling in your gut. Not to mention the smell! The worst is when you’re getting your fix from eggs, particularly hard-boiled eggs. I swear there is nothing worse than the smell of the gassy emissions you expel after eating those.

Yogurt

Luckily, there are a few things that you can take that can help eradicate this problem, or at least make it a little less uncomfortable. One thing that we recommend is a probiotic yogurt such as Activia. These yogurts contain a probiotic called Bifidus Regularis that helps alleviate the symptoms of gassiness, bloating, and general discomfort in your gut. Add one of these per day to your diet, along with a proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, and you should see the frequency and severity of your farts and bloating decrease. It may even be helpful to use when you have alcohol bloat as well!

Get More Fiber

The reason why you get farty with a high-protein diet is that it is harder to digest than other nutrients. What’s one way to aid your digestion? Adding fiber! Whether it be through a supplement or fiber-rich foods, getting more of this nutrient can help your gut break down the protein much more smoothly with less gassy byproduct.

Change Your Supplement

Sometimes it is not the amount of protein you are getting, rather it is the source of the protein that is causing you issues. If you are taking a concentrate protein supplement, try to switch over to an isolate, which goes through a longer filtration process that gets rid of a majority of the lactose. You can also try changing over to a soy-based powder as opposed to whey.

Pace Yourself

If you just recently adding a ton of protein to your diet (perhaps you’re a skinny guy that wants to gain weight), perhaps you increased your intake too fast. For bulking, it is recommended to ingest at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. If you’re 150 pounds and want to add mass, you need to consume at least 150 grams per day. If you were not on a high protein diet before and immediately ramped up to that level, it can cause problems. Instead, try gradually working your way up to that much by adding 10-15 grams per day.