Gas Is Good for Your Health

Whenever people say there are no stupid questions, I like to point them to the Internet. You could probably just set your browser at random and come up with a great set within the first ten minutes.

Today's example comes from an alternative medicine column - talk about easy pickings - from the Sacramento Bee. The authors are "Drs. Kay Judge and Maxine Barish-Wreden ... medical directors of Sutter's Downtown Integrative Medicine program. They have written The Complete Idiot's Guide to Secrets of Longevity."

I have great health but a loud digestive system. I have been trying to persuade my wife that there are health benefits to my digestive gases, but she does not believe me. Can you ladies shed light on this?

Admittedly, I'm pretty sure that the doctor ladies had their tongues well into their cheeks when they gave a semi-serious answer.

A recent study showed that hydrogen sulfide, the gas that is responsible for making flatulation so smelly, can also lower blood pressure.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine just published data showing that hydrogen sulfide produced in the blood vessels of mice reduced their blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels – thus preventing hypertension.

Mice that were missing the gene needed to make hydrogen sulfide had blood pressure spikes that were 20 percent higher than their normal counterparts.

What does this mean for us humans? Well, the jury's still out, but it could be that those of us who are skilled at making the stink bombs actually are protecting our hearts.

And they go on to do a good article on gas and its causes. So a point to them.

But as for letter writer Don W., let's all feel sorry for his wife.

Burps, Bloating, and Flatulence

The Canadian site C•Health has a nice primer on the basics of gas production. the kind that takes place inside the body.

"Forgive me": the facts about flatulence
If swallowed air doesn't make its way out in the form of a burp, it may migrate from the stomach down into the colon. Here is where a burp can become a fart. Gas in the colon also comes from the natural breakdown of food by bacteria in the colon. The food that is not digested in the stomach and small intestine moves to the large intestine for breakdown; this includes carbohydrates such as undigested fibre from fruits and veggies or lactose after eating dairy products.

And as with a belch, flatulence needs to flee our body. This time it passes through a different sphincter, the anal sphincter, but the concept is the same: Air vibrates as it passes through a tiny, pinched up opening and out comes that familiar whoopee cushion sound of passing gas.

And that odour that most people are afraid of others detecting? That actually comes from the bacteria that break down the food in the colon. This bacteria release small amounts of sulphur-containing gases. Yes, the same "rotten-egg" sulphur of stink bomb fame.

"Time to loosen my belt": the nuts and bolts of the bloat
Bloating isn't something you hear or smell, but you will likely feel it. Bloating is the particular sensation of fullness and swelling caused by gas that builds up in the stomach and intestines. The bloating may cause some abdominal pain or discomfort, especially right after you eat. It can accompany burping or breaking wind or be caused by a medical condition that affects the digestive system. Those with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or lactose intolerance may experience frequent bloating.

Stomach Gas? Not From Lactose.

I thought The Independent was supposed to be one of Britain's better papers. Apparently the dread and mysterious brain illness that affects everyone who writes about health and nutrition in the UK has infiltrated even the highest levels of journalism. And medicine.

Dr. Fred Kavalier, a real live experienced geneticist, answers the inquiries in the paper's A Question of Health column.

Last summer I developed pain and discomfort just below the rib-cage and started producing large amounts of stomach gas... Nine months on the symptoms are still there. My GP seems baffled. Any suggestions on what is wrong and how to cure it?

You could be lactose intolerant. Lactose is the natural sugar that is present in milk products. People who are lactose intolerant cannot digest it because they are lacking an enzyme called lactase, which breaks lactose down into glucose and galactose. Undigested lactose ferments in the stomach, causing a build-up of gas.

It's hard to translate medical terminology and specialist jargon for the public. Sometimes the temptation to make things simpler than they ought to be is irresistible.

But lactose ferments in the stomach? Really? You think anybody would be confused if you said, correctly, large intestine instead? Or colon. Either one will do. Most people have heard the words before.

Stomach is flat wrong. True stomach gas will produce heartburn and comes from an entirely different set of foods and ailments than lactose intolerance, and must be attacked with different medications.

Confusion is already ripe in the world. Why add more?

Or don't you really know the different, Dr. Fred?

Gas Guzzlers Unite

Flatulence. That's the medical term for farting, to be used in polite company and newspaper articles.

There's no good polite way to talk about farting, but the science of it is important.

The Canadian Press interviewed Dr. Michael Levitt, the world's foremost expert on gas. (Levitt is probably better known as the father as Steven Levitt, the "Freakonomics" guru.)

So what wisdom can Levitt impart? Here are some pearls.

Studies in which volunteers tracked their gas passage suggest people fart 10 to 20 times a day, with some hitting the 30, 40, even 50 mark...

In the main, flatulence is made up of five gases -- nitrogen and oxygen, which are swallowed while talking, chewing or drinking fizzy beverages, and carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane, which are produced in the gastrointestinal tract during digestion of food.

Gas produced or trapped in the intestine only has three possible routes it can follow. Some will be absorbed into the body. Some will be burped out. And some will pass as flatulence.

People who lack bacteria that break down certain food components -- say lactose, the sugar in milk or some of the sugars in carbohydrates -- may produce more gas when they consume those foods.

That explains the potency of beans. They contain sugars humans can't break down. "So it's automatic that they're delivered to your large intestine, these sugars, where they churn out and make gas," Levitt says.

Levitt noted that there's really nothing you can do to cut down your normal production of gas. Swallowing less air would help, but swallowers generally don't know that they're doing so. Extremely low carbohydrate diets produce little gas, but those can be extremely unhealthy.

Of course, those with lactose intolerance can take lactase pills. And its chemical analog, Beano, will help reduce flatulence from beans.

One to Three Pints of Gas a Day - And Not in Your Car

Everybody knows that one of the symptoms of lactose intolerance is gas. Lots of gas. Foul, smelly gas. Noisome gas, for those who know the proper meaning of the term.

The gas is produced when undigested lactose is fermented in the intestines by the bacteria that naturally live there.

An article from ConsumersReports.org by their chief medical adviser Dr. Martin M. Lipman tells us more:

The average person produces one to three pints of gas per day and eliminates it in 14 to 23 passes, some while asleep. More than 99 percent of this gas mixture is odorless, and consists of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen, which we inadvertently swallow when we eat, drink carbonated beverages, chew gum, or smoke. Some carbon dioxide is made in the stomach.

In addition, the normal bacterial population of our colon (large bowel) produces a tiny amount of hydrogen gas and methane by fermenting the carbohydrates left over from the small intestinal digestive process and forming hydrogen sulfide (like the smell of rotten eggs), methanethiol (like the smell of decomposing vegetables), and dimethyl sulfide (a heavy sweetish odor). In fact, less than 1 percent of the gas we produce accounts for all of the odor.

Passing that gas mixture causes the anal sphincter to vibrate, producing a veritable symphony of sounds depending on the force with which the gas is expelled and the resistance of the sphincter. Who can forget that rousing campfire scene from Mel Brooks' 1974 masterpiece, "Blazing Saddles"?

When excess gas occurs alongside nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, or involuntary weight loss, the need to see a physician is obvious. But by and large, gas as an isolated complaint is rarely due to a serious disorder. When a patient comes to me complaining about excess gas, a careful history, a physical exam, and a few well-chosen laboratory tests can rule out those few, more notable, causes: irritable bowel syndrome, lactose intolerance, celiac disease, or gastroesophageal reflux disorder. In the vast majority of cases, flatulence indicates nothing more than that the patient is alive and eating a healthy diet.

Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do to eliminate gas once it's already begun. Far better to remember to take lactase pills at the first bite of dairy and not feel sorry later.