You always order the side of broccoli
Or you eat a lot of beans, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts or bran. They’re all good-for-you foods that contain fiber, which keeps your digestive system moving, helps regulate blood sugar and cholesterol levels and keeps your weight in check. The less-than-ideal side effect? You fart after eating, which is a perfectly normal and healthy thing to do. (If it makes you feel better, call it flatusโthe medical term for farts.) Thatโs because the stomach and small intestine canโt absorb some of the carbohydrates in foods we eat. Notorious gas producers, like broccoli and beans, are high in a kind of carb called raffinose. โWhen indigestible sugars like raffinose reach the colon, the bacteria that inhabit that part of our digestive tract feeds on them and produce gas as a byproduct,โ explains Rebekah Gross, MD, a gastroenterologist at NYU Langone’s Joan H. Tisch Center for Womenโs Health in New York.
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You eat too fast
It doesnโt matter if youโre inhaling broccoli or a bowl of blueberriesโthe inhaling part is the problem. You swallow air every time you eat or drink, so the faster you do it, the more air you swallow. Burping typically gets the air out of your belly, but any that remains finds its way into your lower digestive tract and, well, comes out the other side through farts. You may also swallow extra air when you chew gum, suck on hard candy or drink through a straw.
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Your gut bacteria are imbalanced
Think of your digestive tract as one long muscular tubeโfood goes in the top and the muscle contracts to push it along out the bottom. โNormally, the small intestines make strong contractions to sweep food into the colon,โ says Dr. Gross. But sometimes medications, infections, certain diseases (such as diabetes or neuromuscular conditions) or complications from surgeries can interfere with this โclearance wave,โ says Dr. Gross, allowing bacteria to get a foot-hold in the small intestine and overgrow, producing extra gas.
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You have IBS
Thatโs short for irritable bowel syndrome, a chronic condition which affects the large intestine. The coordinated muscle contractions that keep food moving from your stomach to rectum may be stronger, or last longer, with IBS, causing gas, bloating, farts and diarrhea. Or they make be weaker than normal, slowing things down to the point of constipation. The nerves in your gut can also become extra sensitive to the stretch and distention that gas causes in the intestines, adds Dr. Gross, so youโll feel more pain or discomfort. In many cases, diet and lifestyle changes may provide relief. โExercise, for example, is critical for people with IBS, as it helps expel gas,โ says Dr. Gross. Following certain diets that limit gas production also helps.
Drinking milk gives you โissuesโ
So does eating other types of dairy like yogurt and cheese. Blame a little enzyme called lactase: itโs made in the small intestine and responsible for breaking down lactoseโa sugar found in milkโinto simpler forms the body can absorb. Low levels of lactase means lactose gets into the colon undigested, where bacteria breaks it down and your gas issues begin. Lactose intolerance is super common, according to Dr. Gross, and it usually starts in adulthood when lactase production drops off.
Youโre sensitive to gluten
No one can digest this protein found in wheat, barley and rye, says Dr. Grossโbut if you have celiac disease, eating gluten actually triggers an immune response in your small intestine. The reaction can cause a breakdown in the lining of the intestine, affecting its ability to absorb nutrients; and the damage can cause excess gas, diarrhea, weight loss, nutritional deficiencies and other health problems. โPeople without celiac donโt have these same changes to the small intestine, but still may get gas and bloating in reaction to the gluten they canโt break down,โ says Dr. Gross. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, about 2 million people in the US have celiac disease, but most are undiagnosed. If you suspect a sensitivity to gluten or celiac disease, talk to your doctor.
You should ease up on the fake sugar
Sure, you save on calories, but if you’re like some people, your system simply canโt tolerate certain sweeteners such as sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol. These are sugar alcohols, which can have a laxative effect, causing gas, bloating and diarrhea.
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Your sphincter is tight
The tightness and speed at which gas passes through through your anal sphinctersโthe anus has an internal and external sphincterโdetermines the volume and pitch of your toot. And if your last fart smelled like a rotten egg, itโs probably because you ate something with sulfur in it. Most of the gas we release is an odorless mix of carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen and sometimes methane. But when bacteria break down highly sulfurous foods, it creates a tiny amount of sulfur compounds that give off a smell.
For more wellness updates,ย follow The Healthy onย Facebook,ย Instagram, andย Twitter.ย Keep reading:
- Rebekah Gross, MD, a gastroenterologist at NYU Langone's Joan H. Tisch Center for Womenโs Health in New York, NY.
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, "Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)"
- The American Journal of Gastroenterology, "The prevalence of celiac disease in the United States"
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases,ย "Putting the Puzzle Pieces Together: Exploring Mechanisms to Understand the Effects of Artificial Sweeteners"