The Surprising Truth About Farting
Farting, trumping, breaking wind, dropping your hat – no matter what you call it, the act of releasing unpleasant-smelling rectal gas is something most people do more often than they admit. And as we age, this number only increases.
Doctors have long estimated that healthy adults fart between five and 15 times a day. However, new research suggests that the real figure may be significantly higher – and that age can play a role too.
Researchers at the University of Maryland recently found that healthy adults passed gas an average of 32 times a day during testing. Some participants managed as few as four daily emissions, while others hit 59. Whoever those participants were, you don’t want to be seated next to them on a long-haul flight, that’s for sure.
Previous estimates were thought to be lower because studies relied heavily on self-reporting or invasive testing in small groups. Both methods had obvious flaws, not least because people tend not to spend their day accurately logging every fart they come out with.
Understanding the Science Behind Flatulence
Okay, so the results might not be all that nice, but the production and expulsion of wind is a completely normal part of digestion. It’s mainly caused by bacteria in the gut breaking down food through fermentation, which creates gases including hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide.
Some gas also enters the body when we eat, drink, talk or swallow saliva. That air usually exits the same way it arrived, through burping rather than farting. But not always.
The amount of gas that people produce varies hugely depending on things such as diet, gut bacteria and general health. Some people naturally just produce more than others, while certain foods are particularly notorious for turning the digestive system into a particularly enthusiastic brass section.
Foods that are high in fibre are common culprits because they take longer to break down in the digestive system. Whole grains, beans, lentils and vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage are particularly well known for encouraging farting.
Experts stress that the bodily function usually isn’t a bad sign. In many cases, it simply means gut bacteria are doing exactly what they’re supposed to do as they break down complex carbohydrates and fibre. Ironically, many of the foods linked to flatulence are also among the healthiest.
How Age Affects Farting
Age can also affect how frequently we’re followed by ducks, although not always in the dramatic way people fear.
Researchers say that metabolism and digestion naturally slow down as we get older. Food moves more slowly through the digestive tract, which can allow gases to build up in the bowel and linger for longer.
Changes to stomach acid production may also make certain foods harder to digest than they once were. People can gradually become more sensitive to foods they previously ate without a second thought.
That means someone who happily demolished spicy food, takeaway curries and late-night kebabs in their twenties may suddenly find themselves battling mysterious digestive revenge after a fairly innocent dinner later in life.
Some medications can contribute as well, alongside conditions like irritable bowel syndrome. Muscle tone can play a role too in the frequency of our wind breaking. The muscles around the digestive tract and anus naturally weaken slightly with age, which may make it harder to hold in gas or prevent it escaping unexpectedly.
What Counts as Normal?
Researchers say there’s still surprisingly little agreement on what counts as a ‘normal’ amount of flatulence.
Brantley Hall, assistant professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Maryland, said: ‘We don’t actually know what normal flatus production looks like. Without that baseline, it’s hard to know when someone’s gas production is truly excessive.’
Scientists are now launching a major project which is rather wonderfully called the Human Flatus Atlas, which aims to measure farting patterns in hundreds of adults across the US.
The goal is to build a clearer picture of how much gas healthy people actually produce throughout everyday life and how factors like diet and gut bacteria influence it. Researchers also hope the work could eventually help doctors better understand digestive disorders and conditions linked to gut health.
The Smell Factor
The smell comes down to sulphur-containing compounds produced when certain foods are broken down in the gut. So bad news – you very likely haven’t smelt the last of that egg mayo sandwich you had at lunch.
However, experts say sudden changes can sometimes point to underlying problems. Persistent bloating, pain, diarrhoea, unexplained weight loss or major appetite changes alongside increased gas can occasionally signal digestive conditions including coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel disease or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.
Most of the time though, farting more than you’d ideally like is simply part of being a functioning human with a digestive system.
So don’t be ashamed to indulge in ‘flatus’ if you feel the need to. All the rest of the world asks is that you hold it in when you’re in a lift.
