Gas.....a good thing....

Okay I was looking up intestingal gas because since I have changed my diet to incorporate more fruits and vegetables I have been experiencing ALOT more gas. According to this article, gas is a good thing:

"Because the colonic gas is produced by the action of bacteria on undigested material in the colon, the nature and quantity of the gas is largely dependent upon the contents of the diet. A diet which contains a lot of indigestible material, such as fiber, will result in more gas production. A healthy diet will contain abundant fiber, and therefore gas is to be considered a sign of a healthy diet. It has been shown that the average healthy young male will pass gas per rectum approximately thirteen times per day. A diet which includes more than the average amount of fiber will result in more gas production."

Well, I feel the need to share a bit of the information I found absolutely hilarious:

"As previously stated, intestinal gas is not usually dangerous, or a sign of poor health, but can be a source of some discomfort, and sometimes embarassment. Rarely, however, intestinal gas can be a true hazard. It must be remembered that methane is one of the gasses present in the colon, and that methane is combustible. This is why teenagers can "light their farts" as a way of entertaining one another. At least one case has been reported, however, of a badly burned youth whose pants ignited when he engaged in this practice. Explosions have occurred in surgery when electrocautery was employed through a sigmoidoscope or proctoscope. Careful bowel preparation can help to avoid this, as can insufflation with carbon dioxide gas (to displace oxygen) before electrocautery is employed. This is quite important, because injuries have been sustained in such explosions, both to the patients, who sometimes have sustained bowel perforations, and the surgeons, who were thrown across the operating room by the blast."


The full thing can be found at:

http://members.tde.com/alford/gas.htm