Dear Dr. Blonz: What you eat is obviously involved with gas in the intestines, but it seems to remain a problem no matter what I try. I once went to a specialist in natural medicine and tried various dietary shifts with no success. I now think that food may have less to do with my gas, so I am looking for a greater understanding.

— E.H., Oakland

Dear E.H.: Foods are the first thing people think of when dealing with intestinal gas, but other factors may need to be considered. These include dietary supplements, medications — especially antibiotics and laxatives — as well as shifts in eating time, ongoing stressors during the day, the speed at which you eat and the inadvertent swallowing of air that often takes place during the rushed consumption of foods (also giving credence to parental advice to not talk with your mouth full).

As foods affect people differently, a variety of foods can appear on a particular person’s “gas” list, including dairy products, beans, other legumes and certain grains, cereals, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Whatever the food, it’s usually a poorly digested carbohydrate that becomes the gas-causing ingredient. Beans, lentils and other legumes are notorious for gas because they contain carbohydrates the body does not completely digest.

When less digestible components enter our large intestines, they become the main course for the microbial flora, and gas is often produced as a byproduct. Your eating routine can play a role. If you were to have a portion of a gas-producing food such as beans on an empty stomach, it is likely to produce more discomfort than having that same serving slowly as part of a mixed meal. Discomfort would also be less if legumes were a regular part of your diet.

As mixed meals take longer to digest and absorb, combinations of protein, fat and carbohydrates slow the rate at which food travels through the digestive system, and this can reduce the rate of gas production and its effects. This explains why having single gassy foods, where the flora can go one-on-one with the problem-causing material, creates less pleasant results.

It’s known that some people tolerate large servings of foods that cause excessive gas in others. It’s unclear how much of this is due to differences in digestive ability, how often we eat the food or even such factors as whether we’re relaxed or anxious, the speed at which we eat, medications being taken or how completely we chew.

If you are constantly bothered by gas, start keeping a food diary. On days when your problem is most bothersome, note the foods you have eaten, the meal conditions and even your state of mind. Often, a pattern will emerge that can give you hints about ways to eat, methods of preparation or serving sizes in which foods are better tolerated. In addition, over-the-counter food supplements may help you with a couple of the more troublesome carbohydrates. Given that health problems with the digestive system can also be an issue, instances of persistent problems should be brought to the attention of your health professional. For more on intestinal gas, see the article at b.link/h42kupm.

Kensington resident Ed Blonz has a PhD in nutrition from UC Davis. Email him at cctimes@blonz.com