You also swallow air, which contains gases like nitrogen say: NY-truh-jen and oxygen say: AHK-suh-jen. Small amounts of these gases travel through your digestive system as you digest your food. All of these gases in the digestive system have to escape somehow, so they come out as farts! Gases are also what can make farts smell bad. Tiny amounts of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane combine with hydrogen sulfide say: SUHL-fyde and ammonia say: uh-MOW-nyuh in the large intestine to give gas its smell.
All people fart sometimes, whether they live in France, the Fiji islands, or Fresno, California! Do you look forward to pumping gas? Do you enjoy the pungent odor of fuel as it wafts up from gas stations and seeps into your hands? Does the cocktail of hydrocarbons, antifreeze, and hundreds of other chemical compounds make you volunteer to jump out of a car in the dead of winter for a chance to pump-and-sniff? Inhaling gas fumes is, of course, not recommended by anyone.
But some people do seem to enjoy taking a whiff when the opportunity presents itself. And according to science, it may be less about getting a cheap buzz and more about nostalgia. In a piece for Discover , Carl Engelking points out that gasoline gets its distinctive smell from benzene, a compound that increases octane levels and improves fuel efficiency.
During digestion, gut bacteria produce sulfur-containing compounds like hydrogen sulfide that create a stench in your gas, Dr. Raymond notes. The foods you eat can influence the population of bacteria that live in your colon, which then affects your farts, explains Frederick Gandolfo, MD , a gastroenterologist at Precision Digestive Care in Huntington, New York.
Foods high in sulfur can make your farts reek of rotten eggs. Cruciferous veggies like broccoli , Brussels sprouts , cauliflower, and cabbage are often to blame. Other sulfur-rich foods include garlic, onions, legumes, cheddar cheese, dried fruit, nuts, beer, and wine. Even animal proteins, like eggs, meat, and fish—all high in sulfur—may be problematic. In a small lab experiment involving seven healthy people, an Australian research team found that mixing poop with cysteine, a sulfur-containing component found in protein sources, resulted in a seven-fold increase in stinky hydrogen sulfide emissions.
It may be why bodybuilders—who tend to consume a lot of protein powder —have notoriously foul farts , the lead researcher speculated. Some people blame milk, ice cream, and cheese for stinking things up, and rightly so.
An estimated 30 to 50 million Americans are deficient in the enzyme needed to digest lactose aka, lactase , the natural sugar found in dairy products. In these folks, lactose passes through the small intestine without being absorbed, traveling downstream to the colon, where trillions of bacteria "have a little party," Dr.
Raymond says. The effect is smelly gas, since milk and certain cheeses have a high sulfur content. People can also be intolerant to and pass smelly gas from other sugars, including sucrose table sugar and fructose found in fresh fruit, corn syrup and some processed foods. Beans, beans. They're a rich source of protein, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. But, whoa, they get a bad rap for making you fart. Beans contain raffinose family oligosaccharides RFOs , a group of sugars that are at least partially responsible for the bloating and gas that can occur after a beany meal.
So do lentils, legumes, and cruciferous veggies. The human GI tract lacks an important enzyme needed to break down and digest these sugars. One study found that soaking dried beans in water helps remove RFOs without compromising the nutritional value of the beans. Taking an enzyme-based digestive aid like Beano, for example can also help ease symptoms. Beware of sugar alcohols, like sorbitol and xylitol, which can be found in diet drinks, sugar-free candy, and some chewing gum.
These sweeteners cannot be fully absorbed by the body, so they travel to the colon where they can contribute to awful-smelling gas.
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