While there are several reasons you may find yourself to be gassy, there are many solutions for reducing belching, flatulence, abdominal bloating and pain.

Excess gas commonly is associated with irritable bowel syndrome. Other serious gastrointestinal disorders usually produce other symptoms besides just being "gassy."

Doctors usually recommend a plan to help move gas through the intestines more readily, combined with preventive measures, such as eliminating certain foods from your diet and avoiding chewing gum.

Although many products on store shelves promise to help, their success is not guaranteed and often depends on the individual. There are also prescription medicines and some alternative therapies.

Keeping a diary of the foods and beverages you consume can help you systematically eliminate one food or group of foods at a time to determine which may be most responsible for your symptoms.

John R. Saltzman, M.D., associate director of endoscopy at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, says this should be the first approach to resolving extreme gas symptoms.

"One of the first questions at the top of the list would be 'Could this be related to dairy products?' If it is, the first step should be to eliminate these products from your diet for about seven days," Dr. Saltzman says. "If you feel better, then try to add dairy products back to your diet in smaller amounts to see if you can tolerate them."

Here are some recommended home remedies and lifestyle changes from Harvard Medical School's Family Health Guide:

• Chew more slowly and thoroughly. Because gas can be a sign of undigested food, the enzymes in saliva begin the first stage of breaking down food in the body's absorption process.
• Eat in a stress-free environment. Relaxation is known to reduce flatulence and burping.
• Avoid foods you know cause indigestion. Common food sources of gas include Brussels sprouts, bran, beans, milk products, cabbage, artificial sweeteners, carbonated beverages and alcohol.
• Take a short walk after you eat to prevent gas accumulation. Maintaining a regular exercise schedule in the form of walking, jogging and calisthenics will help stimulate the passage of gas through the digestive tract.
• Perform chest-to-knee stretches. Lying on your back, bring your right knee to your chest. Hold for 10 seconds and, then repeat with the other knee.

If those remedies don't provide relief, your doctor may recommend that you take an over-the-counter antacid, activated charcoal, or a lactase or bismuth product.

Antacids contain aluminum hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide (known as Milk of Magnesia), calcium carbonate, or other ingredients individually or in various combinations.

"Generally, antacids are not a treatment for excessive gas. However some patients have excessive gas that is part of gastroesophageal reflux disease," Dr. Saltzman says.

Antacids help to control the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, a condition in which the stomach's juices (acid and digestive enzymes) flow backward, or reflux, into the esophagus.

Some antacids contain simethicone, a foaming agent that joins gas bubbles in the stomach so that gas is more easily burped away. Simethicone is recommended for treating gas in the upper intestine.

"People do use simethicone by itself, even without the antacids," Dr. Saltzman says. "It's safe, worth trying, but not universally beneficial."

Here are some of the commonly used antacids found on store shelves. (See labels for recommended dosages.)

Tablets of activated charcoal may provide relief from gas in the colon. Studies have shown that when taken before and after a meal, lower-intestinal gas is reduced.

However, activated charcoal can cause black stools and constipation. While these are harmless side effects, black stools can be confusing to a physician, because color changes in stool can be a sign of a serious illness.

"A physician may, in talking to a patient, ask if their stool color changes. If a patient describes a black color of the stool, this may suggest gastrointestinal bleeding," Dr. Saltzman says. "It should be mentioned if you are taking activated charcoal, so we can evaluate the significance of stool color appropriately. "

Evidence concerning the benefit of activated charcoal is contradictory. Its effect in alleviating symptoms of intestinal gas has been supported by some studies yet refuted by others. As a result, physicians may recommend that patients consider trying activated charcoal to see whether its use results in some symptom relief. The usual dose is two to four tablets taken just before eating and one hour after meals

Products: CharcoCaps, CharcoAid

Gas is often a symptom of lactose intolerance, which makes digesting dairy products difficult. It occurs when the body has too little of the enzyme lactase in the small intestine to break down lactose, the main sugar in milk and milk-based products.

Although lactose intolerance can happen at any age, it tends to affect most people as they grow older.

"Essentially the only adults in the world who can digest milk products into adulthood are those who descend from northern Europe," Dr. Saltzman says. "Most patients with descendents from Asia, Africa and Native America have trouble."

But in many cases, the deficiency of lactase means you may lose only some of your enzyme, which means that your intestine may tolerate some dairy products.

"So if you have yogurt, you may be able to tolerate it fine, but if you have two slices of pizza you are having problems," he says.

Lactase comes in liquid or tablet form. Adding a few drops to milk before drinking or chewing lactase tablets just before eating helps people who have difficulty breaking down lactose.

One caution: Be sure to take calcium supplements if you avoid dairy products.

Products: LactAid, Lactrase, and Dairy Ease

Beano is an over-the-counter preparation of alpha-galactosidase, an enzyme that metabolizes certain complex carbohydrates. It helps the body digest the sugar in beans and many vegetables.

"We do not have the ability to digest beans well, which in some people causes a lot of gas," Dr. Saltzman says.

Beano is not useful for gas caused by foods other than beans and certain vegetables, he adds. The product comes in liquid form. Three to 10 drops are added to a serving of food just before eating to break down the gas-producing sugars.

This chemical element has salts to relieve inflammatory conditions of the stomach and intestines and can sometimes relieve gas. It also reduces the odor of unpleasant smelling gas caused by hydrogen sulfide, a sulfur-containing compound.

"It's safe for gas if the recommended dosage on the box is followed, and it's worth trying," Dr. Saltzman says.

Like activated charcoal, bismuth may result in black stools. Take before or after meals, on either an empty or full stomach.

Product: Pepto-Bismol

Your doctor may prescribe medication if you have a motility disorder or irritable bowel syndrome.

Pro-motility drugs (also called pro-kinetic drugs, such as metoclopramide, brand name Reglan) may help gas move through the digestive tract rapidly. However, metoclopramide can have significant side effects.

"One of the big problems I find is that anxiety causes involuntary air swallowing," Dr. Saltzman says. Treating anxiety helps decrease air swallowing and the symptoms of excess stomach gas.

Smoking cigarettes and chewing gum are among the hard-to-break habits that result in an accumulation of gas. But the good new is that this state of discomfort is temporary. "Those symptoms are present during the day and they go away during night," he says.

You may have harmless bacteria that produces gas in the intestines, or sluggish bowels that slow the body's ability to get rid of air. Your doctor may try antibiotic therapy if you have been diagnosed with bacterial overgrowth.

Some people get relief from the discomfort of excess gas by drinking a cup of water with a drop of peppermint extract. Also, relief may be found in chewing fennel seeds, or sipping teas with peppermint, anise or chamomile after a meal.

In summary, stomach and intestinal gas is normal. Excess gas can be distressing, but rarely is it caused by a serious medical disorder. If your symptoms cannot be easily controlled or you have additional problems such as abdominal pain, change in bowel habits, or rectal bleeding, you need to contact your doctor's office.