Quick Fact: What Gas Makes Your Flatulence Smell
Quick Fact: What Gas Makes Your Flatulence Smell
Nope, it is not methane. Methane is not smelly. About 99% of human flatus contains non-smelly gases such oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen and methane. Methane makes up to 4% of the volume (in a person with healthy digestive system). Individual ability to produce methane in their flatulence is genetically determined, so some people never produce methane at all. If both your parents produce methane then there is 95% chance that you will also produce it. Also, according to 2009 study conducted by scientists from Arizona State University, it appears that many obese people tend to produce much more methane than average*** - the research found out that some people who produce methane have higher energy harvesting efficiency when it comes to converting methane into fat, which can lead to obesity.
So what makes our gas smell?
Sulfur. Precisely, volatile sulfur compounds or VSC. VSC make up less than 1% of our flatulence, and are product of breaking down of hardly digestible polysaccharides by our microflora bacteria in the colon. These polysaccharides are found in lentils, cabbage, cauliflower or pulses. Another type of food that increases production of smelly flatulence is food rich in protein that includes sulfur-containing amino acids, such as fish, poultry, meats, eggs, nuts and legumes.
*** basically, fat people fart more.
[Traditional "Full English Breakfast" - pride of English cuisine.Picture Source]
References:
"Our Microbes, Ourselves: Comparison of microbial communities in average, obese, gastric bypass subjects offers clues to body weight differences", Arizona State University 2009.
"Explainer: The chemistry of farts", Chemistry World, 2016.
"Flatulence", Wikipedia article.
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This explains why Sulfur Springs, Texas, smells like a port-a-John!
:-D
I found out that chicks who eat out more often, also have to blow air biscuits!
Taco fart hah :-)
Great info. Is this the same case with our sweat?
I would need to research that first. Maybe I will post about it in the future :-)
Ok
So basically smelling someone's stinky fart means you just ate their poop? LMFAO!!!
;-)
I can't cope :D:D:D
:-)
lmao!
Maybe more...But I don't think it is worse lol.
More methane but smell is as potent ;-)
gas analyser
Anal yser haha Nice one
awesome xD
Thanks lol
Cheers for that!
I went to ASU, small world. lol :P
Maybe you know them :-)
Well....there's roughly 70,000 people at ASU each year. I'd be truly surprised if I did! lol
Depends on if you studied on those faculties mentioned in the study 🦄
Some of it's actually Hydrogen sulfide which, as anyone related to oil and gas knows, is incredibly toxic and our noses can pick it up in even the smallest concentrations! I was once an inspector on a construction site where we had to wear gas monitors/alarms (to warn us about Hydrogen sulfide among others) and was taking a lunch time nap in my car. Must have been farting in my sleep because my monitor went off and scared me half to death!
Haha that is interesting