Getting caught breaking wind around people is usually quite embarrassing, and one of the first things we learn in life, when we feel a fart coming, is to clench the buttocks together to avoid embarrassment. But this could actually be the least embarrassing option – if we keep the lower exit closed, the risk of the gas getting out through the mouth increases.
Exhaled in your breath
According to Professor Clare Collins, a nutrition expert and dietician at the University of Newcastle, holding on to a fart for too long can be dangerous.
“A build up of intestinal gas can trigger abdominal distension, with some gas reabsorbed into the circulation and exhaled in your breath. Holding on too long means the build-up of intestinal gas will eventually escape via an uncontrollable fart,” wrote Collins in an article published in The Conversation.
A natural and important part of digestion
Farting is a completely natural and important part of our digestive process. What the body does not absorb passes through the intestines and becomes gases.
These gases come out of our body in the form of flatulence, as long as we don’t keep them in for too long.
How much do we fart?
Professor Clare Collins admits that it can be challenging for researchers to get people to sign up for experiments that measure farts.
However, the article explains that humans fart an average of eight times a day.
And of course, this figure varies depending on your diet and health.
So even if it is embarrassing to fart, it’s much more preferable than tasting the gas on its way out with your mouth!
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