OMG....I swear I can't believe I am about to type this...but here it goes. Deep breath....let it out....okay...I have a gas problem (not the kind that costs $3.07 at the pump!) and my kids are about to mutiny!. Since I started eating whole foods only, I have the most horrible smelling gas. Has anyone else had this problem? I eat lot's of fresh veggies at lunch and dinner and I usually season with a little fresh garlic, ginger and onion. I really love the way I am eating and I have no plans on stopping, but will my body adjust to all this fiber? I eat steel cut oats each morning and they look innocent enough? Could they be the culprit? Any advice out there?

p.s. I can't believe I just talked about gas in a forum. I'm hanging my head in shame.

Honestly, yes, you will get used to it. It just takes time for your body to adjust to the added fiber in take, and it happens to everyone.

How long have you been eating more veggies/whole grains? As long as you keep it up, it should only last a couple weeks at most.

Lol...yeah... I've never had this problem (cough cough)
Beano.
"Beano before, Quiet after"
The worst was having to go to me yoga class...you definately don't wanna let go in a room where they encourage deep breathing!

I had EXACTLY the same problem, only it didn't get better and my body didn't seem to be getting used to veggies. Beano is a temporary fix, but the thing that finally ended my (and my husband's and my co-workers') misery was a good solid round of pro-biotics. The issue was that my intestines didn't have enough good bacteria in them to properly digest my food, and (gross) it was rotting in my guts, creating that gas (and pain and bloating.) I would have never figured it out but I was reading the Dr. Oz diet book and he described the whole thing in illustrative detail. I went to Wild Oats and bought the purest, freshest, most complete bottle of live probiotic supplement I could find (be forewarned, it's expensive - about $38 for the bottle) and you take two in the morning 1/2 hr before you eat for two weeks, then one until they're gone. The point is to recolonize your intestines with enough of the good species of bacteria to do their job. I gotta tell you, for $38 it's been a miracle. I noticed a huge difference in how much gas I was having by the end of the first day. It's no longer an issue for me at all. Really wonderful since it's embarrassing and physically painful!

Not sure if this is what's causing your stomach trouble, but it's worth a try if Beano isn't cutting it for you.

Cheers and good luck!

I'm going to agree with kuhljeanie here -
if your body does NOT get used to it i would definitely suggest a round of probiotics, only you won't find a wild oats anymore to purchase from - they are all now whole foods due to a recent buyout.
i eat a LOT of fiber and if i don't take a probiotic i am the gas queen around here - my boyfriend is constantly joking about the force, sound, and smell coming from my otherwise lovely bottom (lol!) I did a round recently and i am no longer gassy - unless i have a day where i eat junk :/
megafoods brand megaflora is an excellent one to take (about $40 for 60) , or renew life makes one called ultimate flora - critical care that is also excellent for this particular issue.. it's about $35 for 30. you should be able to find either at your local health food store.. if you can't, find out if they can order it for you.. many probiotics have to be refrigerated in order to keep them "alive" and i don't know if i would trust an online resource to ship to my home because i wouldn't know how it was being handled.. a store can also possibly get you a better price due to thier volume buying power, and you don't have to pay shipping!

Probiotics--or a yogurt every day that has active cultures--should help if your body isn't getting over the change. The same thing happened to DH and his doctor "prescribed" yogurt every day. I usually have yogurt also, but I take the probiotics as well because they seem to help my (undiagnosed) irritable bowel syndrome.

Just a correction- the buyout was not a complete takeover (I think even perhaps the SEC blocked the purchase). Here in CO (where Wild Oats is based), WO outnumbers Whole Foods.

I don't know how it's working in CO, but the SEC did not end up blocking the purchase - the lawsuit was based on the idea that WF buying out WO would create a monopoly, but was overturned due to the fact that many "regular" grocery stores carry enough natural and organic foods that such a monopoly will not exist. The changeover was official, as far as i know, Dec 10th... if you try to go to wildoats.com, it will immediately direct you to the WF website.. I don't know if the stores in CO have kept the name, but they are owned by WF.
I am a former WO, now WF employee....

Thank you all for your responses. After this, no question will ever be as embarrassing. I HOPE! I've been eating like this for about 3 months and no relief in sight. I eat yogurt twice a day and so far it hasn't helped. I've never heard of probiotics, so I'll have to look into it and find a store near me. Thank you all so much, my family thanks you too!

Wow, I wonder how long it will take them to turnover all the stores? In Boulder, their corporate office is still functioning (it's huge!) and there are some new WO stores along the front range. How do you like the change? Have they kept things structured the same? Some of the WO stores here are really small, so I wonder if they will shut those down.

Edit: Sorry to semi hi-jack the thread... On your issue, Missingmyerica, I had the same problems and I started using psyllium (Whole Foods brand, a fiber supplement) and that helped a LOT. I've had a minor relapse, so I may have to try some probiotics.

wow, psyllium helped? i found that for me adding more fiber was kind of no good.. but i guess the situation varies from person to person!

i also apologize for highjacking the thread... but I do like the change - for totally selfish reasons the pay is better, the benefits are better and the atmosphere of the store has definitely changed (more happy employees)
many things are the same as of right now, but i don't know how that will change in the future. from what i understand, some stores will close, some will be sold, but many others are just being changed over. i have no idea what's going on with the CO market, since i'm on the east coast.. i don't hear much.

Hey missingmyerica, perhaps your family should be eating whole foods with you. Then the whole family could suffer from the same affliction and no one would be able to get upset about anyone else. It would keep unwanted guests away, too!

I'm going to jump on the probiotics wagon here! I had some tummy problems for about six months. The doctor thought my gallbladder needed removing, then he thought I had a cyst, then he was baffled. Anyway, turns out I just needed to recolonize my gut. Yogurt ended up working for me, but you have to make sure the yogurt has live cultures in it. Otherwise it won't help. I have also heard that in some cases that is not enough and you need to get a good probiotic. So, I'd look into it.

I certainly had this problem for a good while after starting on this path of eating. However, it has mostly sorted itself out and I only really get it again if I have a few junk food days in a row and then go back to wholefoods.

Yep - I always try two weeks of yogurt every day before resorting to the probiotics, and I've only had to take it to that step once before. If you get yogurt with active cultures and eat it regularly for two weeks, it'll usually recolonize you.

This happened to me after some off-plan weeks at the holidays - my body was no longer used to all the fresh, healthy food and it took lots of yogurt to get me back on track again.