“FART” is a common term for a recognized presence of gas in the digestive system called “flatulence.” The buildup of gases results from swallowing of air with food (water, saliva etc.) and food digestion. The smell in flatulence comes from the digestion of sulfur-containing substances.
This gas build-up is released either through burping, which is formally referred to as belching, or farting. The United Kingdom National Health Services (NHS) consider farting as a normal biological process, which healthy people do five to 15 times daily.
While the worst of farting is social embarrassment when any intention to control it is ignored, excessive buildup of gas in the gastrointestinal track can be a symptom of something more sinister. The condition is called “bloating.”
Bloating is a symptom of an underlying problem in the digestive system. These underlying gastrointestinal diseases can be recurring indigestion (RI) or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A study in 2009 (Ringel, Williams, Kalilani and Cook) noted that 82.5 percent of patients with IBS experience abdominal bloating.
However, in a 2018 report in the Korean Journal of Gastroenterology, Hong Sub Lee, Jai Keun Kim, Joo Sung Sun, and Kwang Jae Lee, all from the Ajou University School of Medicine in Suwon (Korea), insisted that the disease origin and physiological mechanism of bloating remains complex and poorly understood.
The UK NHS recommended to see your physician if the gas buildup in your digestive system becomes troublesome and shows these symptoms: persistent abdominal pain (i.e. with bloating); recurring diarrhea (or constipation); unexplained loss of weight; recurring urgency to defecate; blood in the feces; and signs, at least two, of infection (e.g. fever, chills, vomiting, joint pain or muscle pain).
Control of gas buildup can also be done in four ways: avoid sulfur (and other gas causing)-containing foods; eat smaller, more frequent meals (instead of large meals); eat and drink slower than usual; and exercise with regularity.