Flatulence

From ArticleWorld

Flatulence is a term referring to the act of expelling gaseous substances to the outside of the body via the anus. The gas is caused by the ingestion of air and by the metabolism of nutrients by intestinal bacteria. The expelled gas is known as flatus.

Components

Flatus is produced in the colon and is a combination of several gaseous substances in various amounts. Most of the gas is actually in the form of air that is ingested by the individual during eating and is carried along the entire digestive tract. This air consists of the gaseous forms of oxygen and nitrogen and has no odor. Carbon dioxide can be a part of the air that is ingested or from the metabolism of bacteria inside the colon.

Methane gas is provided as a waste product of bacterial metabolism. Small amounts of sulfur gas, hydrogen gas and nitroglycerin can be found in flatus as well. The gases that give flatus a particularly strong odor are hydrogen sulfide, butyric acid and carbonyl sulfide, all of which are products of bacterial metabolic breakdown. Between 0.5 and 1.5 liters of flatus are released by humans every day.

Production

While 90% of flatus consists of air, the remainder is produced by the symbiotic bacteria that exist in the mammalian colon as a normal part of the digestive system. The amount and specific components of flatus are determined by the type and number of bacterial organisms residing in the colon at any given time. Certain foods, particularly those that digest into small-chain sugars (also called oligosaccharides), can promote the formation of intestinal gas. Some of these foods are milk, onions, yams, cheese, broccoli, oats and bread.

Beans contain oligosaccharides that are not digested along with the rest of the bean product but that pass through the digestive tract untouched until they are metabolized by colonic bacteria. Many of these bacteria are gas-producing organisms. In addition, those with lactose intolerance do not make enough of the lactase enzyme so that lactose passes through the digestive tract and is ingested and metabolized by gas-forming bacteria.

Treatment

An individual with excessive flatulence can minimize the amount of refined carbohydrates or other gas-producing foods in their diet in order to reduce the incidence of the problem. One can also take probiotics, formulations of living “healthy” bacteria that can recolonize the colon, resulting in a bacterial population that is less gas-forming. Charcoal tablets, taken before a meal, can help as well.

Enzymatic preparations of digestive enzymes will replace the enzymes that may be diminished in the digestive tract so that the amount of undigested carbohydrates available to the colonic bacteria is reduced. Small amounts of acidic substances like vinegar and lemon juice may stimulate the enzyme production by enhancing stomach acidity. Any medication or preparation that can allow food to be digested better in the stomach and duodenum will leave less for the colonic bacteria to digest later.