Q: Dr. Good evening. I have this problem for long now. Anytime I go to toilet or fart, It smells so bad. I am taking more fruits now but there is no change. Please has anything gone wrong in my system?

A: Hallos! Happy New Year!Farting is normal. Everyone farts…even those that look like they don’t 😀 Typically, farting could be up to 15 times a day. Some fart more and some less 🙂 What you need to do is observe what’s normal for you. If you observe a significant change in terms of smell or frequency, try the tips below. If they don’t help, then see your doctor.

Farting is your body’s way of getting rid of excess gas.‘Excess gas’ is produced in the body when we swallow it or when our body produces it as a result of what we have eaten. This is usually caused by the twin factors of what you have eaten and how you chose to eat it.

For what you have eaten, easy culprits are rich, fatty foods, beans, dairy (especially in lactose intolerant people), high fibre foods (if lots of water is not taken afterwards) etc.

How can the way you eat cause you a problem?If you tend to over-eat or rush your food (eat it very fast or like a friend of mine would say, ‘inhale’ it :D), then you are a target for bloating and farting. The reason is that you eat so fast that you don’t give enough time for signals to travel to your brain from the stomach confirming that you are full. By the time that signal arrives, you are all stuffed up and bloated to boot! Note that it may take up to 20 minutes for those signals that confirm fullness to get to the brain…sounds like a long journey 😀

Other causes of farting are swallowed air (which can happen when we eat too fast or drink too fast) and smoking.

Prevention?

This is really simple: Reduce portion sizes, limit Reduce portion sizes, exercise to improve how your body digests food, eat slowly, quit smoking and limit your intake of foods that cause this, if all else fails.

If your farting is caused by swallowed air, avoid carbonated drinks (most soft drinks fall into this category) – try peppermint tea, don’t drink with straws (at least on a regular basis) avoid chewing chord…oh, sorry! 😀 I meant to say, avoid chewing gum and stay off your candies that you suck so hard and suck in quite a bit of air too!

I hope these tips help. If they don’t, as I mentioned earlier, please see your doctor

Have a good night, y’all 😀