3 Reasons Why Strawberries Can Cause Gas

1. They're High in Fiber

Fiber is essential for our bowel health. People often eat more fiber to relieve constipation, and the nutrient can also help you maintain a healthy weight and lower your risk for conditions diabetes and heart disease, per the Mayo Clinic.

How Much Fiber Should You Eat?

According to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, adults should aim to eat the following amount of the nutrient per day:

  • People assigned female at birth: 22 to 28 g
  • People assigned male at birth: 28 to 34 g

2. You Have a Food Intolerance

If you find strawberries do cause gas every time you snack on them, it's possible you have a food intolerance, which is when your body has a hard time digesting certain ingredients, per the Cleveland Clinic.

Signs of a food intolerance include:

  • Diarrhea
    • Gas
  • Bloating
  • Headaches or migraines
  • Nausea
  • Upset stomach
  • Heartburn

Sometimes, though, a straightforward intolerance to strawberries isn't to blame. More commonly, people have an intolerance to sugars in the fruit typically fructose and/or sorbitol.

Per Kaiser Permanente, symptoms of fructose or sorbitol intolerance include:

    Gas
  • Bloating
  • Abdominal pain
  • Diarrhea

Fix it: Talk to your doctor if you suspect you might have an intolerance to strawberries or their sugars. Usually, reducing or eliminating the food from your diet can help you manage symptoms, per the Cleveland Clinic.

Tip

Conditions like celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease can make you more prone to food intolerances, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

3. Your Body Can't Absorb Fructose

Another potential reason for strawberry gas is fructose malabsorption, a condition where the cells of the small intestine can't absorb fructose properly, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM).

As mentioned previously, fructose is a sugar naturally found in strawberries (along with other fruits, fruit juices, some vegetables and honey), per the Mayo Clinic. And when your digestive system doesn't absorb fructose properly, it can lead to gas, diarrhea and bloating.

It's important to note that fructose malabsorption isn't the same thing as fructose intolerance malabsorption is when your intestinal cells aren't working properly, per the NLM. Symptoms can include:

    Gas
  • Bloating
  • Diarrhea
  • Constipation
  • Stomach pain

Fix it: Talk to your doctor if you regularly experience side effects after eating strawberries to see if you may have fructose intolerance or malabsorption. Limiting your fructose intake and eating lower-fructose foods may help you manage your symptoms, per the Mayo Clinic.

Tip

Snacking on strawberries too quickly can also cause gas after all, those berries are hard to resist. Eating too fast can prompt you to swallow more air, which can lead to bloating and gas, per Northwestern Medicine.

Read more on: livestrong