Do Nutrisystem Foods Cause Excessive Gas?

Nutrisystem offers a variety of food options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Most of these items, especially the items offered for breakfast and lunch, are high in fiber. For example, the chocolate frosted donut and cinnamon roll both have 5 grams of fiber per serving. Many of the lunch items also contain 3 grams to 6 grams of fiber per serving, including the chicken Parmesan melt and the Mexican-style tortilla soup. Of course, some of the items are also fiber-free, including the chicken noodle soup offered at lunch and hickory smoke-flavored beef patty offered at dinner.

When upping the intake of fiber in your diet, you should do so slowly to allow the bacteria in your digestive system time to catch up. Consuming too much fiber when your body isn't ready can lead to gas and bloating. Even adding small amounts at a time can cause abdominal pain, according to the University of Michigan Health System. When selecting your Nutrisystem foods, you may not take the fiber content into account, which may lead to you eating more than your body is ready for.

The University of Michigan Health System suggests adding fiber to your diet at a rate of 5 grams every two weeks. If your Nutrisystem diet is making you feel too gassy, you might want to take a look at the nutrition information for each food item and make your selections based on the amount of fiber, slowly increasing as tolerated. Also, it's important to drink plenty of water, at least 8 cups daily, when adding fiber to your diet to prevent constipation.

When it comes to weight loss, fiber is your friend. Eating foods higher in fiber keeps you feeling full longer, which helps you eat less. A study published in 2015 n the Annals of Internal Medicine found that simply focusing on getting more fiber in your diet is as effective at promoting weight loss as a more complex diet such as the American Heart Association diet.