It may be a source of fun for young children, but stopping breathing is a completely normal process that each of us performs 15 to 20 times a day.
But there are times when it’s a sign that something else is going on.
For example, smelly or excessive flatulence may be related to a problem with your diet or may be a sign of underlying health problems.
The same goes for burping, another normal part of everyday life but for many people it can become a problem.
Despite the embarrassment they both cause, neither flatulence nor belching is bad in and of itself.
Stopping breathing is a completely normal process that each of us performs between 15 and 20 times a day.
Especially in the case of flatulence, this is usually a sign of a healthy gut: it means that gut bacteria are busy breaking down foods like fiber that can’t be broken down in other parts of the digestive tract, and a byproduct of that. The process is wind (made up largely of carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane).
On average, we produce between 500 and 2000 ml of wind per day, and most of it is released without you realizing it.
In fact, while a large amount of flatulence is released an hour after eating, a significant amount is released while you sleep, as the anal sphincter muscle, which opens to release gas, relaxes.
Even the gas released during the day shouldn’t be a big deal, since 99 percent of what is produced doesn’t smell.
It’s worth remembering if you’re the type of person who tries to hold back the wind when in company.
I’m no etiquette expert, but as a scientist who has spent most of her career researching how the gut works, I can say that while holding it in repeatedly won’t cause any major harm, it can lead to bloating and lead to abdominal pain when the gas presses the intestinal wall.
Obviously, there are times when a blowing wind can make you feel terribly self-conscious, especially if it smells too much.
But why do some people have more smelly wind?
It may simply be due to the composition of your gut microbiome (the community of microbes that live in your gut); Some people simply have more types of gut bacteria that produce smelly gas.
What you eat can also influence. One of the most common culprits of wind acrid is eating too much meat: this is due to a compound called sulfur, found at especially high levels in red meat, which gut bacteria break down into a gas, hydrogen sulfide, which smells to rotten eggs.
Sulfur is also found in other meats and fish, eggs, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower.
But usually the culprit is red meat, since that’s what we tend to overeat, instead of vegetables. So if your wind smells bad, you may want to reduce your red meat consumption.
The last thing I want us to do is cut back on vegetables like broccoli, but if you’re worried about the wind and have a special event coming up, then you can avoid high-sulfur foods for 24 to 48 hours beforehand. (In a study I participated in, published in Gut magazine in 2021, we gave volunteers muffins with blue food dye and found that, on average, it takes just under 29 hours for the food to leave the system.)
If you’re new to beans, I always recommend starting small with a tablespoon of beans every other day.
But, you may be wondering, what about beans, the basis of many fart jokes?
While eating more beans, of any type, may initially increase gas, it usually improves in the long term.
Beans are rich in fiber, which is a favorite food of gut bacteria, and with around 7g in half a can, weight for weight beans provide more fiber than fruits and vegetables. Most of us don’t eat anywhere near the 30g of fiber we need per day.
A lack of fiber can lead to an unhealthy gut microbiome (in other words, your gut bacteria are less diverse and with more “bad” bacteria), and this can also lead to more gas and bloating.
So, ironically, a poor, low-fiber diet can lead to more gas, not less.
Eating more fiber will also help with constipation, which causes smelly flatulence as food ferments for longer and traps gas. Just be sure to drink plenty of water too, as fiber can make constipation worse if you’re dehydrated.
When you start adding more fiber to your diet, be prepared for a few extra windy days, because when you start eating more fiber it’s like throwing a birthday party for your gut bacteria: They happily binge on fiber and produce a lot of gas.
If you’re new to beans, I always recommend starting small, for example with a tablespoon of beans every other day and slowly increasing over the weeks to half a can or more most days.
If you keep that consumption high, the bacteria are not as excited by the presence of fiber and adapt. A 2004 study in the journal Gut found that when people increased the amount of fiber in their diet, they produced the same amount of gas but in larger amounts less frequently.
Another consideration for those who experience excessive flatulence is whether it occurs after eating dairy products such as milk, yogurt or butter, as in this case it could be related to lactose intolerance.
This is because there is not enough of the lactase enzyme needed to break down lactose, the milk sugar.
As a result, it travels, undigested, through the intestine, where it encounters bacteria that ferment it, producing a large amount of gas. It can also cause diarrhea, constipation, and nausea.
If you suspect this is the case, you can try cutting back on dairy products for a while to see if your symptoms improve.
You won’t necessarily have to eliminate dairy completely; Typically, the amount of one glass of milk each day can be tolerated, but this may vary.
Or you can choose low-lactose options, such as kefir or hard cheeses.
You can also get lactase drops at the pharmacy (added to milk, for example) to help break down lactose.
Flatulence can also be a problem for people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the name for a group of intestinal symptoms that include constipation or diarrhea.
This can cause intestinal spasms and lead to painful gas build-up.
In this case, peppermint oil capsules could be beneficial, since the menthol they contain helps relax the muscles of the intestine and thus release gas. You can get the capsules at a pharmacy (although check with your pharmacist as it is not recommended during pregnancy or if you have liver disease or gallstones).
Peppermint tea can also be calming, although it does not contain as much menthol.
When it comes to belching (and to some extent flatulence), as well as what you eat, it’s good to consider how you eat.
If you eat very quickly, you will most likely be swallowing large amounts of air with that meal and, although that will often reappear in the form of burps, some will pass through the system and be expelled as wind.
A major contributor to belching in particular is carbonated beverages, which include beer. This is because bubbles (small orbs of carbon dioxide) gradually build up in the stomach, which then quickly expels them in a burp when it becomes too overloaded. So drink it slowly and if you like a pint of beer, opt for darker beers which tend to be less carbonated.
And maybe reconsider that gum-chewing habit! Sugar-free gum provides a double whammy of gas, as you not only swallow air when you chew it, but it also contains sweeteners, including xylitol, which can contribute to flatulence in some people as it reaches the lower intestine undigested and then fermented. by intestinal bacteria.
Whether you’re bothered by flatulence or belching, a simple way to relieve both is to go for a walk 30 minutes after a meal, as this can help gently disperse any painful buildup of gas and bloating.
As they like to say in Scotland, where I grew up, “wherever you are, let the wind blow freely.”