People Can Decide The Smell Of Their Fart; Study Reveals Why Farts Stink

Tripti

First Posted: Dec 29, 2016 05:13 AM EST

How many times did some people have to face public humiliation because they did a stinky expulsion of gas? Researchers have been working for years to understand the science behind the stink of the farts. Recently, a group of international scientists revealed that the stink of the farts largely depends upon the content of hydrogen sulfide in the discharged gases.

The findings were presented at the Gastroenterological Society of Australia conference, held in Adelaide. The findings suggest that the content of the foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide gas in farts depends upon the intake of food items rich in cysteine.

Cysteine is an amino acid that contains sulfur atoms and is the major constituent of proteins found in meat and milk proteins. When such food items are digested in the stomach, they produce the hydrogen sulfide gas. This is the reason why the farts followed by a meal dominated with meat and dairy products stink more, according to The Sun.

According to a report, cysteine "uses a seven-fold increase in the amount of hydrogen sulfide gas in stomach and it is this gas, which makes your farts so anti-social."

Chu Yao at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, and her team have been working on this subject for quite some time now. According to Yao, "with all that rich food doing the rounds and all those sprouts, this time of year is particularly ripe for some pungent expulsions."

Thankfully, scientists also came up with the solution to make farts less stinky. Intake of starch-rich food items including potatoes, cereals, bananas, artichokes and legumes can reduce the foul smell of the farts up to 75 percent, Ummid reported.

Do not expect that consuming starchy food will add scent to the farts, but it can sure reduce the level of pungency. With Christmas and New Year Holidays parties going on, the recent discovery will surely help in avoiding public shaming for many who just love to feast on the roasted turkey, juicy steaks and cheesy delights.