A Layman's Guide to Flatus (AKA Farting)

When I was practising gastroenterology, no subject came up for discussion more often than gas, farting and flatus. Everybody has it but no one talks about it. So here is some up to date medical information on Gas, Farting and Flatus.

The colon is home to myriad numbers of bacteria, most of which provide numerous health benefits to our colon and to our body in general. It is in our own health interest to keep this bacteria factory operating at peak efficiency. Most of the bugs rely on soluble fiber plant food for their own nourishment and growth. No problem here. This is why eating lots of veggies, whole grains and fruits is so good for us. So, it is important to know that bacteria are a normal and healthy part of our colon. 

Now our best friends in the colon are the Bifido and Lacto bacteria (Relax, you don't need to know the technical names). These guys and gals do not make gases. They only do good things for us. However, there are other bacteria in the right side of the colon that ferment these same plant fibers and do make lots of hydrogen gas. We would rather they didn't but they do and you just have to accept this fact that really can not be changed. The good news is that Hydrogen gas is completely odorless. So you may "toot" but you won't reek. So far so good. 

But stay with me here. What happens when this hydrogen gas moves around to the left side of the colon? 

Ahh, here is where 2 diabolical characters do their work. The first are the sulfide producing bugs. They take the arriving hydrogen gas and convert it into hydrogen sulfide (H2S). This is what gives flatus its foul smell. This rotten egg type gas is the source of jokes and great merriment. However, there is really nothing funny about H2S. In fact, in equal concentrations it is as deadly as hydrogen cyanide! Could this be the reason for so much talk about "deadly farts?" Humm. Well, H2S offends our nostrils, but for most of us that is the end of it, if you will excuse the pun.  

A second type of bacteria in the left colon metabolize this hydrogen gas to make odorless methane gas. Yes, methane is the gas that some of your high school jock friends light in the gym locker room. It was called lighting farts in my day. As fun as that may have been, we now know that methane, compared to H2S, is harmless from a health standpoint.

So, here are some key points. 

1. Flatus is normal and is proof that you are feeding your good Bifido and Lacto friends adequately. 
   
2. The normal number of farts per day is somewhere around 12 with females going down to 7 and beer drinking, meat eating males reaching 20 or so. 
   
3. There is great variation and a lot depends on what and the amount you eat.
   

Can you get rid of the fart smell? Yes, you can. Certain prebiotic fibers in plant food cause the good bacteria to make certain acid substances, which in turn make the sulfide forming bacteria stop growing and so stop making these smelly gases. These prebiotic fibers are particularly present in avocados, onions, garlic, bananas, artichoke. agave, and wild jams. Americans really eat very small amounts of these plants and so get a low amount of these fibers. Of course, they are the active prebiotic fibers in our Prebiotin supplement, and as always I encourage you to visit http://www.jacksongi.com and learn more for yourself - maybe even consider adding Prebiotin to your dietary regimen. 

The proof-in-the-pudding is this: My friends and I as well as many customers find that their flatus no longer has any smell after taking these supplements and increasing these foods. Our CEO even 'took over' a page on the Jacksongi.com site to talk about his experience in "sinking the stink" of his flatus using Prebiotin. (He thinks I don't know, but it's definitely worth a read). 

So, the good news is there is something you can do about the ill smell of farts. 

But, can you change the volume of flatus? For certain you should increase the prebiotic fibers in the foods you eat. These and our Prebiotin supplement can be used until your flatus has no smell. They can and should be increased until the volume of flatus is within your tolerable range.  

I will close with a quote from Ben Franklin in a parody essay he wrote in 1781.

"My Prize Question therefore should be, To discover some Drug wholesome & not disagreable, to be mixed with our common Food, or Sauces, that shall render the natural discharges of Wind from our bodies, not only inoffensive, but agreable as Perfumes."

Well, prebiotic food fibers and our Prebiotin will not change the smell of flatus into a perfume, but at least we can render it odor-free. I would therefore salute my fellow Pennsylvanian Ben Franklin and tell his spirit that we have gone half way in his quest. Even now we are working on genetically inserting the smell of a lavender plant into colon bacteria to produce lavender farts. (Just kidding!)