General
Any alcoholic beverage can cause flatulence, with beer in particular being blamed for the annoying symptoms. Flatulence after drinking beer is a problem that affects relatively many people. Basically, everyone has more or less severe symptoms of this kind after drinking beer.
This depends mainly on the individual composition of the bacteria in the intestine. In some cases, intolerance to certain ingredients in beer can lead to individual, particularly severe symptoms. Beer is composed of the main components water, malt and hops.
It also contains carbonic acid. To achieve alcoholic fermentation, certain yeasts are usually added. The average alcohol content of beer is between 4 and 6%.
A large part of the components in beer is broken down in the intestine to form sugar, which serves as a nutrient for a number of different bacteria. These bacteria process the sugar into gases which are perceived as flatulence. Only the carbonic acid contained in the beer ensures that the consumption of the drink leads to increased flatulence. If a lot of flatulence also occurs with other foods and drinks, a food intolerance should be excluded. Especially the clinical picture of coeliac disease, an intolerance to gluten, can lead to flatulence after drinking beer.
Gluten
Gluten is a protein that occurs in most types of grain. The so-called coeliac disease is a food intolerance to this protein. As it can lead to symptoms such as flatulence, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and dangerous changes in the intestinal mucosa, patients with this disease should strictly avoid gluten.
As beer is usually made from barley, the protein mixture is also present in beer and can cause flatulence in people suffering from celiac disease. As there is currently no causal therapy for celiac disease, the therapy consists of avoiding foods containing gluten, including beer. However, there is beer, which is produced by a different method and does not contain gluten and can therefore also be consumed by patients with celiac disease.
Symptoms
In addition to the flatulence that can be caused by beer consumption, other unspecific symptoms are sometimes perceived. Mainly symptoms of the gastrointestinal tract are described. Especially abdominal pain and diarrhoea can accompany the flatulence and cause problems. Independent of the symptoms concerning the gastrointestinal tract, symptoms such as tiredness often occur during the consumption of beer. The alcohol contained in beer also causes symptoms which can have different effects depending on the amount consumed.
Diarrhoea
Apart from flatulence, other symptoms can occur after drinking beer. For example, diarrhoea also occurs, usually when consuming large quantities. This is usually due to the components in beer which bind water when they pass through the intestines.
When drinking alcohol, more substances remain in the intestine, which are normally absorbed and bind water in the intestine, which can lead to diarrhoea. Since the diarrhoea caused by beer is not a bacterial infection, no therapy is necessary. After about 24 hours the problem should go away by itself and the stool should become firmer. Apart from the general consequences of beer consumption on the intestines, people who suffer from gluten intolerance (coeliac disease) may experience diarrhoea and other complaints after drinking beer. If the diarrhoea also occurs regularly with other foods, this should be clarified in any case.
