Why am I so gassy?

0:00 Welcome to Sarah has questions. We have a good one today. We're talking about gas, burps, farts, and everything in between, and we have some burning listener questions that I just can't wait to ask. So I have lots of questions and I have no dignity left, so I'm gonna ask them all. So let's get into it. I'm Sarah King and I have a lot of questions. What exactly happens when you orgasm physically? Will popping a knuckle or a joint give us arthritis? What can we learn from from our poop? The size of your body doesn't necessarily indicate your measure of health. Yes. And what are your thoughts on that? Cleansing. Do we need to do anything special to our nether regions? In this show, I get to ask all these questions to WakeMed doctors who happen to know everything about everything. Sarah has questions is a production of Capital Broadcasting Company and Mix 101.5. It's presented by WakeMed. So today, we have a, gastrointestinal physician's assistant named Jordan Meaton with us. Then we're gonna talk burps and farts today. We all do it. You know? And That's right.

1:07 Some people blame it on elephants. Some people blame it on, you know, ducks. But, really, it's us. And we're gonna get to the bottom of why it happens. So let's just start from the beginning. Where is all this air? We're gonna start with burps first. Let's start with the top half of our body. Alright. Where is all this this, gas coming from? Every time we swallow, eat anything, a little bit of air always goes down to the esophagus and down to the stomach. Mhmm. Most of the time when we burp it out, it's the air from the stomach that's coming up. Okay. Most of the time? Most of the time. Yes. Where else could it be coming from? Well, it could be coming from air that actually doesn't get all the way down to the stomach and is actually coming from the esophagus. Oh, and can you feel it when that happens? Like, can you feel that it didn't make it all the way down to your belly or is it just something that happens and we don't even notice it? Typically, the type of air that's coming straight from the esophagus is when we're eating too quickly and the air just doesn't have time to get all the way down there.

1:55 And if we're eating too fast, it tends to come back up quick. And that's why in China, it is a compliment to burp after a meal because you were so hungry and you liked it so much. And I don't even know if that's true. I apologize if that's not true, but I can't comment on that. I'm not sure. Yeah. Me neither, but I said it anyway. Where does the burp sound come from? The burp sound? Well, that's, you know, that's a good question. I don't know if I have a actual medical answer for that one. I'm guessing it would come from, just the from the vibration of the air moving up through the esophagus and out the mouth. Shaking stuff. Yeah. It's like a personal earthquake. Why do some people burp so much more than others? The average person will burp, probably at least 10 to 20 times a day.

2:37 Really? Usually, they're it's not usually necessarily an audible one. What are those little, like, you you beat your chest a little bit? I mean, it's probably something that you don't even feel or even necessarily know is happening. Our body naturally, kinda vents the air from the stomach out. Well, so some people though do belch more than others. Mhmm. I can think of a few right off the top of my head. And, it's a a lot of time, it can have to do a diet. A lot of things that, can increase belching is, eating quickly, smoking. Smoking? Why smoking? Well, it just, it it disrupts, the digestive system. It's, I don't know of any particular scientific, you know, chemical, issue that happens when you smoke, but it is seen that folks that do smoke have increased belching. Interesting. I wonder So you we're not exact the science isn't clear on why it's happening though? Not the not to my not from what I've, But you mentioned that it does disrupt the digestion. How is it disrupting digestion? And you know, it's, from what I've seen is that smoking increases risks of just about everything. It's real bad for you. And, that along with the known effects on your lungs Oh, yeah. And, you know, cardiovascular system, it also affects the gastrointestinal system. Mhmm.

3:50 So diseases like acid reflux, all sorts of GI pathologies like, cancer and Mhmm. You name it. Smoking will increase the risks of that. Got it. Based on studies they've done of people, when they've been studying belching and the they've seen that folks that do smoke have an increased risk. Can burping or belching, which I believe is the medical term belching, actually, it's irritation. Oh, irritation. Yeah. Can irritation, signify a disease sometimes? In a way, yes. Very common example that I see, gastroesophageal reflux disease, oftentimes, referred to as GERD. A lot of folks that, will report increased belching, and they oftentimes attribute that to underlying reflux disease. Now an actual pathological burping is really just when belching disinterferes with your daily life.

4:43 Yeah. I've heard that before. When it it feel when it affects your quality of life, then it's a problem. And that's that's quite rare. People that even, sense that they are belching more than others or they think they're belching more than they should, they tend to still fall within that range of normal frequency. They're just on the high end. Either on the high end or they just notice it more more. Yeah. You some and sometimes you get that thought in your head and it just makes you notice things more. Sure does. Does chewing gum and using straws cause you to belch more? So chewing gum, yes. The more swallowing that you're doing while you're chewing the gum Makes sense. Where it gets down. Straws, not I I haven't seen any information on that. I'd like to suggest that that would do it. Okay. Are there foods that trigger burps?

5:28 Yes. One that most people would probably think of as carbonated beverages. Well, that's one of the main ones. Yeah. Makes sense. You're swallowing gas. Yes. Exactly. Yes. There's a oftentimes, there are a variety of different foods and food groups that are associated with, increased gas in the digestive system. Oftentimes, that's, flatulence, though. Oh, yeah. We'll get there in a minute. We're at the top of the scene now. Yes. But, it's and not everybody gets affected the same way by a lot of these foods. Okay. So, some foods that are associated with, increased gas are lactose, see, wheat or wheat germ, whole grains, that type of thing, pork. Pork? Yeah. But not beef or chicken? Well, not necessarily. No. See. And then there's a a number of different vegetables. Oh, broccoli. Broccoli is one of them, cauliflower, garlic, onions. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Those all those sound like all the things that take a little more time to digest as well. Can burping signify an intolerance? Not necessarily.

6:26 It's I mean, intolerance, I guess, is a subjective term. Oh, okay. If if if if any type of gas is gonna disrupt you, then sure. Having increased gas would be intolerance. How about that quality of life? Yeah. Yes. But, as you know, many people seem to eat them just fine. Yeah. That's true, and they don't care. Yes. Yeah. My brother. I mean, I didn't say that. How come sometimes the like, you get gas caught in your chest? It feels like you're it it hurts. You know? Like, babies will have this happen to them where you have, like, a big bubble of air in your chest. Like, I often when that happens to my kid or when it happens to me, I'll I'll drink a a warm soda to try to get it out.

7:07 What's happening there? So that sensation you're talking about, is that like a more of a sensation of air feeling trapped in your chest or is it something that is When I burp, I feel better. Okay. Well, that that would, most likely just be in that case, increased gas either in the stomach or even just, starting to come out of the stomach or in the esophagus. You sense it there if it's, pressing on the esophagus there, the stomach. Yeah. That'll, that could hurt. So it yeah. Yeah. So just just normal gas. Oh, it's just normal. There's nothing going on there. It's like, I just don't understand why the valve doesn't let up. You know, you're just like you feel like you wanna beat your chest, like, get out of me. Well, and you know what? Yeah. It's a there's oftentimes though the esophagus connecting the stomach to the, to your mouth and throat. It's not necessarily just a big open pipe.

7:54 There's a whole lot of important things in our neck and chest, so everything's pretty packed together pretty tight. So, things have to open up to allow for the air to come up. Oh, I see. Well, then that's interesting. It doesn't just come up immediately. Okay. And then, last burp question, which is alcohol. Does it play a role in burping? Well, if it's carbonated That that would certainly do it. Yeah. As far as just, causing extraordinary belching, not to my knowledge. Now alcohol itself does increase risk of number of different GI pathologies, which may in turn then cause you to have The person belching a little more. Not necessarily from from what I've seen itself. Okay. Alright. Well, you've covered the top half. Yeah. Now it's time to go to the bottom half. We're gonna talk about farts or what's the medical term for farts? Flatus. Flatulence. Flatus. Yes. Oh, Flatus. And tell me the burp one again? Irritation. Oh, god. I love these words. There's a lot of points in Scrabble. We'll be right back because you know I have more questions.

9:03 Okay. So now we're on the opposite end of things. What causes the gas to build up down there? Now as far as gas in our digestive system, we swallow oxygen and nitrogen, from the air around us and that can pass through the digestive system, not just through the stomach but also through the intestines. Mhmm. Now, the other, gases that are most commonly found in the GI tract there are there's, methane. Okay. Alright. There's also, hydrogen. Mhmm. Alright. And a lot of these, the methane, is actually produced from the bacteria that are that's in our digestive system. Okay. The small and large intestine. A lot of this a lot of these gases are either absorbed by the bacteria and then excreted out. So the gas comes from, I guess, the atmosphere. We swallow some of it and the other is bacteria. That's, I guess, the short simple answer to your question. I like it. And, what foods make us gassy? Well, a lot of the ones that I we had mentioned before. So there's numerous different vegetables, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage. Mhmm.

10:06 They call cruciferous? Cruciferous? I think that could be. I don't know. I don't have to We'll go with it. We'll we'll go with it. I guess, Do fatty foods make us go? Yes. They can. Pork is another big one. Yeah. You mentioned pork before, and it's so funny that you picked that one meat out of all the meats available. Pork is actually associated with increased production of sulfur in the in the bowel tract, and that's actually what causes most flattest to smell. Oh, we're gonna get to that. I have so many questions. Yes. Okay. So about and you said lactose as well. Why is lactose because I'm I have to say I am lactose intolerant. Yes. This is a personal question for me. So please take your time. Alright. So, yes, lactose is another common food associated with increased gas, and it's really, not necessarily something that our own body produces. It's the bacteria in our guts that when we don't process lactose, the way they process it causes increased gas. I see. Okay. So from what I understand, it's like the bacteria is working extra hard to try to to try to to digest whatever you you know, like the lactose for me and so that in doing so produces extra gas because they're working extra hard. Is that right? That sounds right to me. Yes. Oh, it does. Okay. Great. Look at me. And why am I sometimes bloated and I can't release the gas? Oftentimes, bloating is that, I think from now correct me if I'm wrong. Do you mean that sensation of just feeling full and feeling like just Distended.

11:33 Feeling distended. Yeah. So oftentimes, if, there's a few things that can cause that sensation, one is actually, yes, increased gas volume Yeah. In your bowels. Most people tend to have pretty steady amount of gas within their digestive tract. Let's say it's if your bowels aren't moving very quickly or as quickly as they should, if they've slowed down for whatever reason, that can cause a sensation of distension and cause bloating. Certain, if you're eating certain foods that cause you increased gas, that can certainly cause that sensation, the bloating sensation. Okay. There's a variety of things that it could be. Yeah. Okay. So I have a couple questions. First of all, back to anatomy real quick. Sure. So I know, you have your rectum, you have your colon. Where are the bowels? What is a bowel? So bowel is essentially, your small intestine or your large intestine. Oh. That's that's what that's what I'm referring to. Just a different word? In a way, yes. It's just a different way of, categorizing it.

12:30 Yes. I think so. So small intestine, we sometimes refer to as your small bowel. Okay. Large bowel, large intestine. Wow. Yes. And then there's just after the large intestine is the rectum and and the anus. Okay. And so then why do why does the gas feel like it's stuck? Why won't it come out? Like I had kind of, mentioned before, it just takes time for your body to move those things through. Okay. There's a quite a lot of, length in your small intestine and some degree of your large intestine as well and it just takes time for it to, for those muscles in the small intestine and large intestine to contract and move that gas through. And are all people's, small and large intestine lengthwise the same? I'm sure there are some minor variations but, for the most part. Yes. Interesting. Okay. And you mentioned this earlier, but I wanna delve into it a little further. Why are some farts smelly and some are not? Well This is the meat of the the crux of the podcast right here. Yeah. Well, so, it's really it is the the main chemical that causes that smelly component of lettuce is sulfur. Sulfur. And so if your food contains sulfur, you're gonna pay for it later. Well, it's really not that if the food contains sulfur. It's really the bacteria in your intestines as they digest your food and help you digest the food and process it.

13:43 They produce sulfur. Okay. So, again, gonna blame the bacteria. Okay. That bacteria. Let me I'm glad that they're there. Yes. And here's one that, just gonna ask it because I do wanna know. How come some farts are hot and some farts are not? Because you have the same body temperature throughout your body, so why can you feel the heat sometimes? I should've cued Robert Palmer in that moment. Feel the heat. Oh, you could please continue. No. No. I'm good. I'm dead. With my extensive research and extensive googling, I could not actually find anything specifically about the heat, how the sensation of heat versus cool of, fart like that. So I my my best guess is just if the component, depending on the density and the components of the gas, you probably feel it a little more. You know what? A little denser gas may have. Yeah. You know, the my my in my house, we call it I was gonna say, we call it the ring sting. Oh.

14:47 Anyway, I'm that's that's all of my questions. Okay. You did well. Okay. Okay. Great. Now I have listener questions. Boy. And these get spicy. First of all, sometimes I experience painful bloating. If I wanna know what food caused it, how far should I go back and look? Is bloating caused by what I ate 20 minutes ago or, like, 3:3 hours ago? In short, it could be either. I really, if you're trying to figure out and isolate foods that affect you, as far as gas, best bet would be to try to first, eliminate all those potential cause of agents. There's a For how long? Essentially, as long as you can, but probably at least a day.

15:28 A lot of times, it can take, some material up to 2, 3 days to pass through the full digestive system for all of them. Give it a 3 day fast and whatever you think it might be. And then, and then, yes. So we start reintroducing the foods and see which one affects you. Okay. And maybe multiple, maybe none of them. Yeah. We gotta do it 1 at a time or else you're never gonna know. That's right. Okay. Number 2, my husband farts a lot. Thanks, listener. Is there a male or female component to gas? So no. Primarily, the the bacteria in your in your guts Yeah. And the food you eat And and the food you feed them. So if you're eating a lot, I mean, if you happen to have a gaseous nether region, can you take things like pro probiotics and whatnot? And do you find those to be helpful?

16:10 So probiotics are Which is a whole another podcast, I realize. Yeah. That is that's that's a whole series probably. So I get that question a lot. It's a great one. In short, probiotics, they there's not a whole lot of science behind their, efficacy for most GI Pathologies. Oh. There's one very, small area that we don't need to get into that it's shown to essentially help, improve symptoms. When patients come and ask me that, I am upfront with them and tell them that, what I told you, there's not a whole lot of science behind it yet. They're they're working on it. Yeah. And, you know, it may, one day prove to be, they may find some good information to help treat, underlying, you know, different genetic consequences. There's lots of things they say they help with. But from what I've seen, they don't hurt. So if there's if you find one that helps you, I have a lot of patients swear by them. Okay. And so, I say go for it or try it if if you want to. Right. Yeah.

17:13 Alright. Sometimes when you burp, you can taste the food you just ate. Sometimes it's just air. Why is that? I think that'd probably be because of the just the odor from the food that you ate coming back up. Okay. Yeah. Alright. This is a long one, and it feels contentious, and a marriage may be at at stake here. Oh, boy. My husband and I have an ongoing disagreement about the purpose of GasX and similar over the counter medications. He thinks it's supposed to stop you from passing gas. I think is to decrease painful bloating gas by any means necessary, which could mean it makes you pass more gas after taking it. Who's right? Do you understand that question? I think I do.

17:57 And so most gas, is produced by the bacteria in our digestive tract. Yes. Gas X does not inhibit that. It doesn't act on the bacteria or necessarily inhibit their production of gas. Uh-huh. What it's supposed to do and efficacy the efficacy of it is really not proven, I have to say. But, but but, you know, it's New flash. But if you go by symptoms, if it, If it helps you, it helps. Yeah. If it helps you, yeah. The placebo effect is strong sometimes. Oh, yeah. So the so what Gas X does is it actually, it, reduces the surface tension of these gas bubbles. So in short, just making them not I guess a poor way to describe it would be smaller, but, makes them easier to pass through and it would prevent, theoretically, the bloating or The accumulation.

18:46 Yes. It makes it easier to pass through and as opposed to building up in the digestive tract causing for just for, the description purposes, you know, like a big bubble in your intestine. It will help just diffuse it and allow it to pass through. So it doesn't actually prevent gas from accumulating. It's just supposed to make it easier to pass through. Yeah. Oh, wow. That's very informative. Thank you. Alright. Well, I think that's all. You I I learned a lot, and, I am curious to see of the probiotic studies because you hear all about that all the time, and you can spend some serious cash on those. Oh, you yes. You certainly can. And I, I I keep I get that question a lot. So I'm usually I'm usually checking, my resources. Send me, send me frequently. Okay. Great. Well, if you learn anything, please let me know. Thanks so much for coming in today. Of course. Thank you for having me. Of course. I love that I have a podcast where I can ask the burning questions. Why are some farts hot with a straight face? Or at least I tried to. I hope you got all your questions answered about gas. Jordan Meaton was my guest today. He works with gastroenterology at WakeMed, and you can find out more about the services at wakemed.org. We love listener questions. And if you have a question or a topic for a future episode, let us know at wralfm.com/sarahhasquestions.

20:07 See you next time.