Exercise is Medicine by ACSM

April 14, 2018 // Archive

Date based archive
14 Apr

BLOG 159 GAS

Well, farting is part of life. This socially unaccepted normal occurrence in our bodies isn’t exactly fragrance friendly. And I know you are thinking this is an unexplored topic you didn’t expect me to write about haha. The oldest know recorded joke was about farting. Although a private matter, gas in the body happens to every BODY. But let’s be sophisticated and call it fluctulence ?

In fact, according to Medical News Today, “The average person passes wind between 8 and 10 times a day” (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/7622.php).
It’s simple: when we chew to eat, we then swallow, and we are taking in air. The digestive system uses nitrogen and oxygen and releases these gases while doing its work. Here’s the catch… the smell. So let’s take a look: “In the process of converting our meals into useful nutrients, these food-munching microbes produce a smelly by-product of hydrogen sulfide gas — the same stench that emanates from rotten eggs” (https://www.livescience.com/32405-what-makes-us-fart.html).

Fiber is the common culprit. However, sugars actually produce the most gas and include the following:
• Fructose — A natural ingredient in plants like onions, corn, wheat and even pears. It’s often concentrated into a sugary syrup for soft drinks and fruit drinks.
• Lactose — Milk’s sweet natural ingredient, also added to foods like bread and cereal. Some people are born with low levels of lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose, a fact that inflates their gassy susceptibility.
• Raffinose — The secret gassy ingredient in beans, which is also found in broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, asparagus and other vegetables. Products like Beano, designed to reduce gas production, break down the sugar before it can reach eager intestinal bacteria.
• Sorbitol — Found in almost all fruits, this indigestible sugar is also used as an artificial sweetener in “diet” and sugar-free foods. Yes, sugar-free gum, candy, soda and anything else deceptively sweet can cause gas.
(https://www.livescience.com/32405-what-makes-us-fart.html)

Carbonated beverages and gum chewing also involve taking in extra air in the body producing gas. And yes, exercise can produce gas. As we move the body during its digestive stages, we can create air bubbles.

Not that I want you to stink up my studio, but I get it…. a little movement might cause some of that fluctuance. But hey did you read that part that says sugar causes gas?? Maybe I found another deterrent for you haha. In other news, let’s hit the gas and become the best version of ourselves.
Side note: Interesting Amazon Prime video watch called “Fart: A Documentary” (2016) by Troy Hale