Grim reason you should never hold in a fart

But sometimes it might not be the right time, or place to let one rip.

Despite this, one UK doctor has revealed the real reason you should never hold in a fart, The Sun reports.

Posting to TikTok, Dr Karan Raj explained that on average, people fart around 14 times a day.

He joked: “The more the merrier. If someone tells you they don’t fart they are lying and you should disown them immediately or they have got a bowel obstruction which is a medical emergency.”

The NHS doctor explained to his 4.2 million followers that the average fart volume is enough to fill up a medium-sized balloon.

He cautioned that if you hold in a fart too long “it can be reabsorbed into your blood circulation and breathed out when you exhale”.

According to Professor Clare Collins, a nutrition and dietetics expert at University of Newcastle in NSW, holding in trapped wind could cause abdominal distension, “with some gas reabsorbed into the circulation and exhaled in your breath”.

Writing for The Conversation, she said: “Holding on too long means the build-up of intestinal gas will eventually escape via an uncontrollable fart.”

Prof Collins warned it could also lead to a condition called diverticulitis but pointed out the evidence wasn’t clear.

“That’s where small pouches develop in the gut lining and become inflamed.”

Healthline also explained on its site there was limited scientific evidence that holding in farts could cause several health issues.

But it stated that in the short-term, holding in a fart can cause immediate pain, discomfort, bloating, indigestion and heartburn

“What’s more, as the pressure builds, so may your stress levels, making it even more uncomfortable and less likely you’ll be able to hold in a fart,” it explained.

Why do we fart?

Ultimately, breaking wind is an entirely natural response to the body’s digestion of food.

As food is broken down in the small intestines, those bits that can’t be digested move further along the gastrointestinal tract, reaching the large intestines or colon.

As the bacteria in your gut breaks down the food via fermentation, gases are produced.

Some are reabsorbed through the gut wall into the circulation and are eventually exhaled through the lungs or excreted in the shape of a fart.

Prof Collins explained one study found that the smelliest farts were due to sulphur-containing gases.

“This was confirmed in a study of 16 healthy adults who were fed pinto beans and lactulose, a non-absorbable carbohydrate that gets fermented in the colon. The odour intensity of flatus samples was evaluated by two judges,” she said.

“The good news was that in a follow-up experiment, the researchers identified that a charcoal-lined cushion was able to help quash the smell of the sulphur gases.”

In his TikTok video, Dr Karan went on to explain the first fart of your day was usually the largest.

“75 per cent of farts are produced by bacteria in the large intestine,” he said.

“Digestive food that isn’t broken down is chewed up by bacteria that produces microscopic farts and these accumulate before becoming your regular farts.

“25 per cent of farts is swallowed air that your don’t burp and dissolved gas is from the blood making its way into your intestines.

“99 per cent of a fart is non-stinky gases such as hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane.”

He added that hydrogen and methane are flammable which is why you can light a fart on fire – although he was clear to point out that this was not recommended.

Another doctor also previously highlighted that you should let out your farts to avoid your burps smelling like you’ve just let one off.

Dr Faraz said: “If you hold in a fart you can cause yourself heartburn, bloating and pain.

“The gas could come out as a smelly burp and make your breath stink. Imagine doing a burp that smells like a fart.”

Parts of this story appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission