At this point, I can boldly say that if nature were a man, I would have fallen head over heels in love with him because I keep getting surprised by its healing capabilities.
I have a story I would like to share. Someone close to me had not had a bowel movement for days. He took some medications, yet there was no improvement.
So, a day before he planned to see his doctor, someone brought a plant to him. It was boiled, and the water was used to make eba for him, and the miracle happened. He has been having regular bowel movements since then.
The plant is botanically called Euphorbia heterophylla, in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is called tebaje in Yoruba. It is just a weed that people often use as rabbit feed.
There is power in nature!
This week, I will be talking about farting and its health benefits.
Your body releases the gas that builds up in the digestive system after consuming food as a fart or a burp. Farting regularly is a sign of a healthy gut, but excessive farting may be a sign of another condition.
Even though it is often considered embarrassing, farting is a normal and natural occurrence. It is a by-product of the digestive system at work. In fact, farting is healthy and good for your body.
Your body produces gas as part of breaking down and processing food. You also swallow air when eating, chewing, or swallowing.
All of this gas and air builds up in your digestive system. Some of it is absorbed naturally, but the remaining gas needs to be released in some way, either as a fart or a burp.
If you did not pass gas, you could experience uncomfortable, even painful issues like bloating.
There is something called fart walks. They are short strolls taken within an hour after eating a meal that help get your gastrointestinal tract moving.
The fart walk is a practice coined by Mairlyn Smith, a 70-year-old cookbook author, who evangelises on social media about eating lots of fibre and walking after dinner to pass gas.
Her fans started sharing videos of their own fart walks, and the practice went viral.
Of course, cultures around the world have been going on walks after dinner for centuries. From Italy, where they call it la passeggiata, to China, which has the ancient proverb: “If you take 100 steps after each meal, you’ll live to 99.”
“The bowel does move well on its own, but it moves better when you move,” says Dr Christopher Damman, a gastroenterologist at the Digestive Health Centre at UW Medical Centre, Montlake and an associate professor of Gastroenterology and Medicine in the UW School of Medicine.
Let us see some benefits that farting can offer:
- Sounds health alarm
Excess gas or extremely foul-smelling flatulence may be a sign of a potential medical condition or issue. These symptoms could be your body’s way of letting you know something is not right. It might be a food intolerance. Rarely, it could be a sign of a more serious issue, such as colon cancer.
- Reduces bloating
Too much gas in your digestive tract can cause bloating, or a feeling of swelling and fullness. It can be uncomfortable, but it is rarely dangerous.
Releasing gas as the urge arises can help reduce bloating and related symptoms.
- Identifies food allergies or intolerances.
- Tells you if your diet is balanced.
- Reduces abdominal pain.
- Improves colon health.
- Signifies a healthy gut.
Let us explore the health benefits of smelling farts.
Research in animals suggests that hydrogen sulphide, one of the major components of smelly gas, the one that gives it that “rotten egg” smell, might provide some health benefits in humans, including preventing heart disease and kidney failure.
A 2014 study conducted by a collaborative research team at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom and the University of Texas provides ample support for the idea that smelling hydrogen sulphide could be good for you.
The study was based on the notion that mitochondria, the part of your cells that help produce energy, could benefit from this gas.
In the study, researchers noticed that when cells in arteries or veins experience damage or stress linked to certain conditions, these cells use the body’s own enzymes to create hydrogen sulphide.
This gas then allows the cell to better regulate the oxidative stress often caused by these conditions, which eventually results in inflammation that can kill the cell.
However, as a condition becomes more severe, mitochondria cannot produce enough of the gas to keep up, and the disease continues to worsen.
Researchers then decided to test a theory: could exposing cells to artificial hydrogen sulphide help keep their mitochondria strong and prevent diseases from getting worse?
They created a compound they named AP39, which mimicked hydrogen sulphide, and exposed blood vessel cells to it.
Early results suggest that up to 80 per cent of mitochondria exposed to AP39 are preserved by the gas. This could have far-reaching effects on many conditions linked to cell death caused by mitochondrial dysfunction.
More research needs to be done on the interactions of AP39/hydrogen sulphide with other body systems, but early results are promising.
This result was not just a stroke of luck. The same year, a team featuring some of the same researchers also found that AP39 protected mitochondria from damage caused by inflammation.
Early clinical studies on AP39 have only been done in animals. Here is what the research suggests the compound may be able to do in humans:
- Lowers blood pressure – A 2015 study found that AP39 may make blood vessel walls less stiff.
- Treats heart attack and stroke – A 2018 study suggests AP39 may widen blood vessels and help them pump blood more efficiently, which can treat a heart attack or reduce the chances of a stroke.
- Improves kidney health – A 2016 study suggests AP39 may treat kidneys damaged by inflammation.
- Protects the brain – A 2015 study suggests AP39 may protect the brain from damage after a heart attack. A 2016 study suggests it may prevent dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
- Reduces the effects of ageing – A 2018 study suggests AP39 may protect cell structures that weaken over time.
The idea at the centre of all these studies is that hydrogen sulphide reduces the effects of oxidative stress on cells, helping them stay strong and last longer.
A study titled AP39, a mitochondrially targeted hydrogen sulphide donor, exerts protective effects in renal epithelial cells subjected to oxidative stress in vitro and in acute renal injury in vivo by Akbar Ahmad et al concluded that the current study, coupled with prior studies showing that exogenous or endogenous H₂S can protect kidney epithelial cells in vitro and the kidney from various forms of ischaemic and toxic insults in vivo, supports the view that H₂S donation is a potential therapeutic approach to preserve renal function.
See your doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms along with more gas or smellier gas than normal: intense cramps, feeling extremely bloated, feeling sick, vomiting, constipation, diarrhoea, abnormal weight loss.
Merry Christmas
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