Fitness Files: For health reasons, give gas a pass

In a previous article, I discussed the hygiene hypothesis, which attributes the current prevalence of autoimmune diseases to the antiseptic environment we provide for our children. This means dirt’s good. Some dirt.

But passing gas? Who’s says that’s good?

Dr. Purna Kashyap of Mayo Clinic says so.

It’s those microbes again, approximately three pounds of bacteria living in the gut, mainly inhabiting the small intestine. They help us digest food, play a part in maturation, the immune system, and more.

So, now we have to learn to love our bacteria. But flatulence? Here’s what to appreciate about the toot.

Kashyap, quoted in Jo Napolitano’s npr.org blog, says, “Eating foods that cause gas is the only way the microbes in the gut receive nutrients.”

We need to feed these microbes so they will “boost the immune system, protect the lining of the intestine and prevent infection.”

Hundreds of different bacteria eat up unused food in your large intestine, producing a whole array of molecules that “may promote growth” as well as encourage development of other beneficial bacteria.

Who can be mad at such helpful gut inhabitants if, while doing all that good work, they send out a powerful gas blast?

We all know fiber is good for us. We may not know how good, or how noisy.

So, I’ll tell you. The more fiber you eat, the “more types of microbial species can be found in the gut. And guess what! “Microbial diversity had been linked to a slimmer waistline[!]”

Are you becoming more attached to your mellifluous microbes yet?

Kashyap describes most gas as odorless carbon, hydrogen or methane. Perhaps we can muffle the non-smelling kind, gratefully understanding that it is a byproduct of good works.

But of course, Kashyap has to bring up the issue of odor. A fan of gas, of all types, Kashyap says we’re supposed to appreciate smelly toots, too.

It’s the sulfur that creates the stink factor. Brassica vegetables like broccoli, mustard and cabbage are packed with sulforaphane, “strongly associated with a reduced risk of cancer.”

Leaving Kashyap for a breath of fresh air, my next Google search exposed Meghan DeMaria’s theweek.com headline that “Smelling farts may be good for your health.”

Oh dear.

Mark Wood of the University of Exeter says that “hydrogen sulfide gas, well known as the pungent, foul-smelling gas in rotten eggs and flatulence…could be a healthcare hero.” Harmful in large doses, Wood’s study suggests that “a whiff here and there has the power to reduce risks of cancer, strokes, heart attacks, arthritis and dementia by preserving mitochondria.’” The former is a Time Magazine quote.

Wood’s lab replicates the natural gas in a compound called AP39 and delivers it in small amounts to repair damage to mitochondrial cells, a possible “key to future therapies.”

While the beneficial effects of smelling sulfurous fumes are being studied, the good works of the small intestine’s human biome are well established, and their byproduct is worth more than a snicker.

The takeaway is to face facts: Farting is a natural part of the work of microbes that contribute to growth, immunity and smaller waistlines and, if you feed them correctly, fight cancer for you.

Lets hear it for toots.

Newport Beach resident CARRIE LUGER SLAYBACK is a retired teacher who ran the Los Angeles Marathon at age 70, winning first place in her age group. Her blog is lazyracer@blogspot.com.