8 Secrets Your Farts Can Tell You About Your Health

You consistently choose the broccoli as a side dish.

Alternatively, you can consume a variety of beans, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, or bran. These are all healthy foods that are rich infiber, which ensures your digestive system functions properly, helps control blood sugar levels andcholesterollevels and helps maintain your weight. The less-than-ideal side effect? You may pass gas after eating, which is completely normal and beneficial. (If it helps, you can refer to it as flatus—the medical term for gas.) This occurs because the stomach and small intestine are unable to absorb certain carbohydrates found in the foods we consume. Foods known for causing gas, such asbroccoli and beans, they are rich in a type of carbohydrate known as raffinose. “When indigestible sugars such as raffinose arrive at the colon, the bacteria living there consume them and generate gas as a result,” says Rebekah Gross, MD, a gastroenterologist at NYU Langone’s Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health in New York.

Get The Healthy @Reader’s Digest newsletter

You eat too fast

It doesn’t matter whether you’re breathing in broccoli or a bowl of blueberries—the act of inhaling is the issue. You naturally swallow air whenever you eat or drink, so the quicker you do it, the more air you ingest.BurpingUsually removes the air from your stomach, but any remaining air moves into your lower digestive system and eventually exits through flatulence. You might also swallow additional air while chewing gum, sucking on hard candy, or drinking through a straw.

6 Common Breathing Errors You’re Committing—and Tips for Improved Breathing

Your intestinal flora is out of balance

Imagine your digestive system as a single extended muscular tube—food enters at the top and muscles contract to move it toward the bottom. “Typically, the small intestine generates powerful contractions that push food into the colon,” explains Dr. Gross. However, occasionally, medications, infections, specific illnesses (like diabetes or neuromuscular disorders) or issues arising from surgeries can disrupt this “clearance wave,” according to Dr. Gross, which enables bacteria to establish themselves in the small intestine and multiply, leading to increased gas production.

Consuming More of This May Enhance Your Digestive Wellness, According to Recent Research

You have IBS

That’s short for irritable bowel syndrome, a long-term condition that impacts the large intestine. The muscle contractions that move food from your stomach to the rectum might be more intense or prolonged in IBS, leading to gas, bloating, flatulence, and diarrhea. Alternatively, they may be weaker than usual, resulting in constipation. The nerves in your digestive system can also become overly responsive to the stretching and expansion caused by gas in the intestines, according to Dr. Gross, which means you may experience more pain or discomfort. In many instances, adjusting your diet and lifestyle can offer relief. “Exercise is essential for individuals with IBS, as it helps release gas,” explains Dr. Gross. Adopting specific diets that reduce gas production can also be beneficial.

8 Natural Methods to Alleviate IBS Symptoms

Consuming milk can cause you “problems”

So does consuming other forms of dairy such as yogurt and cheese. A small enzyme known as lactase is to blame: it’s produced in the small intestine and tasked with breaking down lactose—a sugar present in milk—into simpler components that the body can absorb. When there’s a deficiency in lactase, lactose moves into the colon undigested, where bacteria ferment it, leading to your gas problems.Lactose intoleranceis very widespread, as stated by Dr. Gross, and typically begins in adulthood when the production of lactase decreases.

10 Unusual Foods That May Lead to Bloating

You’re sensitive to gluten

No one is able to digest the protein present in wheat, barley, and rye, according to Dr. Gross—but for those with celiac disease, consuming gluten actually activates an immune response in the small intestine. This reaction can lead to damage in the intestinal lining, impairing its ability to absorb nutrients; the damage may result in increased gas, diarrhea, weight loss, nutritional deficiencies, and other health issues. “Individuals without celiac disease don’t experience these same changes in the small intestine, but they may still experience gas and bloating due to their inability to break down gluten,” explains Dr. Gross. As per the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, approximately 2 million people in the US haveceliac diseaseHowever, many remain undiagnosed. If you think you have a sensitivity to gluten or celiac disease, consult your physician.

You should reduce the amount of artificial sweetener you’re using.

Certainly, you can reduce calorie intake, but if you’re similar to some individuals, your body may not handle specific sweeteners like sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol well. These are sugar alcohols that might lead to a laxative effect, resulting in gas, bloating, and diarrhea.

Alleviate Abdominal Bloating: 9 Daily Routines to Achieve a Flatter Stomach

Your sphincter is tight

The speed and tightness with which gas moves through your anal sphincters—the anus includes an internal and external sphincter—determine the volume and sound of your flatulence. If your most recent fart had a smell similar to a rotten egg, it’s likely due to consuming something containing sulfur. The majority of the gas we expel is an odorless combination of carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and occasionally methane. However, when bacteria process foods high in sulfur, they produce a small amount of sulfur compounds that result in an odor.

For more wellness updates, follow The Healthy on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Keep reading:

The post 8 Signs Your Flatulence Can Indicate About Your Well-being appeared first on The Healthy.