Have you ever wondered why your fart smells so bad? Or maybe, why do you fart so often? Well,
farting is a healthy biological process that helps eliminate gas that might otherwise make
you feel sick to your stomach; not every fart is the same. Others may be noisy and odorless,
while some are silent and, as they say, “deadly.”
Don't be too concerned if you're embarrassed by the smell or frequency of your farts. In
today's video, we'll discuss what could be causing you to pass gas so often,
how to avoid stinky farts, and help you combat your gas problems.
The first and leading cause could be your diet. Gas from farts is a normal and harmless byproduct
of digestion. It’s usually due to you swallowing air while you eat.
Majority of people experience flatulence (passing gas) 14–25 times per day. And, against popular
belief, most gas has no odor. However, they might occasionally come out smelling terrible.
The most frequent reason for stinky farts is diet and eating patterns. When you eat quickly, you may
swallow more air along with your meal, which might cause your digestive tract to produce more gas.
Some foods make farts smellier, like Fiber-rich foods, including beans, leafy greens, and fruits.
Your gut bacteria release gasses like hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane as
they break down fiber and can cause foul farts. Odorous gas can also be produced by foods high
in sulfur, such as onions, broccoli, and cabbage. As these foods break down,
sulfur compounds are released, producing gas with a sulfurous or rotten egg-like odor.
However, you can overcome this issue to an extent by chewing your meal well and
eating slowly to help with digestion. High-sulfur diets shouldn't be avoided,
but if you want to avoid being gassy, try to steer clear of them before social occasions.
Along with your diet, another reason causing you to be gassy is food allergies.
Food intolerances are caused by certain foods the body has trouble digesting.
The most common is lactose intolerance, which happens when a person's body doesn't produce
enough of the enzyme required to digest lactose, the sugar found in milk and other dairy products.
When the undigested lactose lingers in the gut and is broken down by bacteria, it creates gasses that
make farting worse. Gas can result from other food intolerances, such as gluten intolerance,
excessive fat, or lipid intolerance. In those with lactose intolerance, lactose travels from
the small intestine to the colon, where trillions of bacteria gather without being digested.
If you believe you may have a food intolerance, keep a food log to identify the items that make
you feel sick and steer clear of them. Some digestive aids like lactase tablets
may give your body the necessary enzymes to absorb some foods better.
Next on our list, Constipation could also cause you to fart more.
Fiber is the main component of feces. When stool stays in the colon for longer than
the average 36 hours, microorganisms break down fiber and release gas.
Fried foods, processed meats, baked goods, and high-fat foods
do not always cause you to fart. However, eating low-fiber meals, such as these,
may make it difficult to pass stool, resulting in constipation and bacteria-generating gas.
The underlying cause of constipation is usually a lack of fiber in your diet.
Try adding more fiber-rich foods like lentils, broccoli, berries, avocados,
whole grains, and apples to your meals, or even try adding them to your diet as a snack.
Either way, It’s best for men to consume 38 grams of fiber daily and for women to consume 25 grams
daily. Also, remember to exercise regularly and drink plenty of water too. If you are still
not having at least three bowel movements per week, you may need laxatives to help.
Surprisingly, your medications may be at fault.
Yup! You heard right; numerous drugs and nutritional supplements
may interfere with how food passes through your digestive system, resulting in farts.
Some medications contain fillers or sugar alcohols that might be challenging to stomach.
The following medicines can result in foul farts, such as over-the-counter painkillers;
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications and antacids; drugs for diarrhea; fiber supplements;
narcotic painkillers; and antidepressants. If the issue with your gas is medication,
you may need to reduce, stop, or change your medication dosage;
never do so abruptly or without consultations. Apart from changing your medications, you may
need to make lifestyle modifications to help improve digestion, such as…
Improving your gut's Microbiome. Your gut microbiome contains trillions of
microorganisms that live in your intestinal tract. A good gut microbiome positively
contributes to our body's metabolic functions and impacts our physiology in health and disease.
Any bacterial imbalances in your microbiome can definitely result in excessive and unpleasant gas.
Gut bacteria release sulfur-containing substances like hydrogen sulfide during digestion, giving
your gas a bad odor. The foods you eat can alter the bacterial community that lives in your colon,
influencing your farts. Some people have a flora inside their bodies that causes them
to produce more odorous gasses than others. The tiny intestine's bacterial overgrowth is
another typical offender and has many roles to play as well. This happens when too many
bacteria accumulate in the small intestine, which can interfere with nutrient absorption and result
in a wide range of digestive complaints, often resulting in the release of foul-smelling gasses.
Beans! The more you eat, the more you toot.
Oh, it's Beans! An excellent source of minerals, nutrients,
antioxidants, and protein. However, they have a negative reputation for making you pass gas.
Beans contain oligosaccharides from the raffinose family (RFOs). After a meal high in beans,
you may experience gas and bloating because of this group of sugars (RFOs). This is because the
digestive system lacks a crucial enzyme required to digest and break them down.
Raffinose is also found in whole grains, asparagus, and cruciferous vegetables.
Taking any enzyme-based digestive aid can help reduce discomfort.
Speaking of Sugars… Bacteria feast on specific foods, such
as sugars and carbohydrates that haven't fully broken down, when they enter the large intestine.
It consumes the undigested food particles, a process known as fermentation, and produces
gas in the forms of carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and methane, which gives a fart its distinctive smell.
An elimination diet might help you discover specific items that cause bloating,
even though it can sometimes be challenging to pinpoint the source of the problem. Start
by removing sources of sugar from your diet and work your way up from there. In this situation,
working closely with a nutritionist who can help you through the process can be very helpful.
According to research, most carbohydrate-rich foods, including sugar, can make you gassy.
However, some sugars, in particular, produce more gas than others. As follows:
Fructose is the primary sugar found in fruits. It's also found in various
processed foods, such as high-fructose corn syrup.
Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol found in fruits such as apples, peaches, pears, and prunes.
It's also used as a sweetener substitute in low-carb foods and candies. Sugars such as
sorbitol and fructose have been reported to contribute to unpleasant flatulence.
Even if you have a healthy digestive system, these sugars are likely to cause gas,
but if you have certain conditions that make digesting some of them difficult,
your chances of developing bloating and gas increase.
Colon Cancer could be the culprit.
Colon cancer is a rare cause of foul-smelling farts. Due to blockage in the colon, patients
with colon cancer frequently complain that they have trouble passing gas.
The blockade causes the gas to remain in the lower gut and produce an unpleasant odor.
If you start to suffer from discomfort and gas with an unusual odor and a change in diet or
medicine doesn't improve your symptoms, you may need to go for a colonoscopy.
The course of treatment for colon cancer depends on the cancer's stage. It could
involve chemotherapy to kill cancer cells and surgery to remove tumors.
Bloating and gas build-up are common symptoms of polyps and tumors in the digestive tract,
which make it difficult to pass gas. This causes a great deal of discomfort and stinky farts.
Last on our list; you could have a Disease or Infection.
Though stench alone is typically nothing to be concerned about,
a few circumstances leading to a change in the gut flora due to
certain chronic diseases may result in a change or augmentation of gas.
Abdominal distension also results in bloating and may lead to flatulence with smelly gas production.
It may indicate another condition if you notice a change in your bowel habits or
persistent stomach pain after passing gas or visiting the toilet. Accordingly, it's
critical to rule out the possibility of any new diseases that could be causing the pungent farts.
Examples of inflammatory bowel diseases include Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Bowel
cancer, diarrhea, or bacterial infection may be the reason for the stinky frat as well.
Although farting is a natural biological action,
it can be embarrassing if it smells bad and occurs often. Are you still concerned about
your farts? Let's keep the conversation going with a few more videos. Shall we?
Watch: 9 Foods That Make Your Farts Smell Deadly
or
14 Foods You Need To Eat For Less Smelly Farts
Go ahead, and click one. Or, even better, watch both videos to learn more about foods that will
make you less stinky. Did you learn anything new today? Let us know in the comments below!