If you want fewer pungent farts, you should eat these items
Let loose. According to a research of the gases released by samples of human feces, eating slow-release carbs and reducing your protein intake may help you avoid farting rotten eggs.
The majority of farts are made up of odorless gases. While hydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide are created when bacteria in the large intestine ferment the carbohydrates we eat, oxygen and nitrogen are derived from the air we swallow.
Traces of hydrogen sulphide, which gut bacteria are known to create from protein, are what give off the unmistakable rotten-egg smell. This gas can aggravate inflammatory bowel illness and raise the risk of bowel cancer in addition to making people flush. This led Chu Yao and her colleagues at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, to look into how certain diets alter the amount of hydrogen sulfide that is created in the gut.
Carbohydrates versus protein
When combined with cysteine, a significant sulfur-containing component of meat, eggs, dairy, and other types of protein, hydrogen sulfide emissions from gut bacteria increased more than seven-fold, according to research done on the feces of seven healthy individuals.
This explains why protein powder-heavy bodybuilders are rumored to have pungent farts, claims Yao.
However, the amount of hydrogen sulfide produced was decreased when the scientists combined the feces with four slowly digested carbs. These are partially digested in the small intestine but pass through and are then fermented by bacteria in the large intestine.
Resistant starch, which is present in foods like potatoes, bananas, legumes, and cereals, and fructans, which are present in foods like wheat, artichokes, and asparagus, both reduced the formation of hydrogen sulfide by about 75%. These foods are highly fermentable, which causes them to be broken down before protein, according to Yao. “The protein is not the main focus, hence hydrogen sulfide is not formed.”
Nasty farter Aim to consume more of these
- Potatoes
- Bananas
- Legumes
- Cereals
- Wheat \sArtichokes
- Asparagus
Psyllium and sterculia were the other two carbohydrates that reduced hydrogen sulfide emissions, albeit only by 25%. These two types of dietary fiber aren’t very fermentable, but when they soak in water and enlarge, they can mop up rotten-egg gas.
Erroneous guidance
The team’s findings, which were presented at the Gastroenterological Society of Australia’s annual scientific meeting on Tuesday in Adelaide, contradict the widespread belief that those with foul gas should consume less fiber.
In order to lessen the amount of hydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide produced by bacterial fermentation, people with excessive flatulence are frequently recommended to avoid fiber. However, this can lead to an increase in hydrogen sulfide emissions, which Yao claims have a higher likelihood of purging the space than the other three odorless gases.
The team’s findings are in line with studies that suggest that more fiber enhances people’s fart production but not their perception of the smell. There is no compelling reason for self-conscious farters to avoid fiber, according to Rosemary Stanton, who conducted this study at the University of New South Wales in Australia.
When we dug down, folks were more concerned about the scent than the act of farting, she said. But the worrying part is that there are so many people who are constipated who refuse to eat fiber out of fear of having a nasty fart.
Yao’s team will now examine if forcing people to consume a lot of slow-release carbs and little protein may stop rotten-egg farts in both healthy participants and those suffering from inflammatory bowel disease.
