What are farts? Why do they smell? And can we light them on fire?

What is the fart made of?

The composition of the gas is highly variable. Most of the air we swallow, especially the oxygen component, is absorbed by the body before the gas reaches the intestines. When the air reaches the intestines, most of what is left is nitrogen. Chemical reactions between stomach acid and intestinal fluids can also produce carbon dioxide, which is also a component of air and a product of bacterial action. Bacteria also produce hydrogen and methane. But the relative proportions of these gases that emerge from our anal opening depend on several factors: what we eat, how much air we swallow (remember that aerophagia, or eating too much air, can be considered a disturbance of the digestive tract or provoke them. You swallow more air when you eat fast), what kinds of bacteria we have in the intestines, and how long we hold the fart. The more a fart is insured, the greater the proportion of inert nitrogen it will have, because the other gases tend to be absorbed into the bloodstream through the walls of the intestine. A nervous person who swallows a lot of air, and who makes things go very fast through his digestive system, can have too much Oxygen in his farts, because his body did not have time to absorb all the Oxygen. Encyclopedia Britannica, after all, offers information that some people's fart may have no methane. For this, the reason is unknown. Some researchers suspect genetic influence, while others think this is due to abnormal environmental factors. However, all methane in people's farts comes from bacteria and not from human cells.

What makes farts smell bad?

The fart smell comes from small amounts of hydrogen sulfide (hydrogen sulfide) and "skatole" in the mixture. These compounds contain sulfur. The richer the sulfur in your diet, the more of these gases will be produced by the bacteria in your gut and the more your farts will stink. Dishes such as cauliflower, eggs, and meat are notorious for producing stinky farts, while beans produce large quantities of farts not necessarily stinky.

Is it even possible to "light" farts?

The answer to this is YES! However, you should be warned that lighting a fart on fire is dangerous. Not only can the flame rise back into your colon, as your clothing and whatever is around can catch fire. About a quarter of the people who have done this suffer from burns. There are also cases in which intestinal gases with a higher than normal oxygen content exploded during surgery when some type of electric cauterizer was used by the surgeon.