Fart Myths That Are Actually Based In Science

Farts. Everybody lets them out, yet very few people enjoy their existence — apart from their inherent comedic value, of course. They're just a fact of life, and a regularly recurring one, at that. In fact, you can be quite confident that no matter how refined they seem, the people you meet are liable to pass gas up to 25 times every single day — a regularity that's led to quite a few stinky assumptions.  

The byproducts of our digestive system have been studied quite extensively, of course. From why astronauts find it hard to poop in space to what it means when your poop floats instead of sinking, science has paid plenty of attention to the weird things that happen when we poop. Likewise, research has also uncovered some interesting things about the nature of flatulence ... and we've even found that there are certain myths about farting that are actually based in science. Let's take a look at some of them. 

Holding in a fart can be uncomfortable, even if it is a social necessity at times. However, there's an idea that trying to exert control on your flatulence can cause a far nastier phenomenon: The fart might come out of your mouth. It sounds icky enough to come across as the kind of playground horror story that kids are using to gross each other out. However, it's not quite as far-fetched as you might think — and the process might just be even more disconcerting than you'd expect. 

You might imagine a fart "bubble" making its way up your digestive system and turning into a particularly foul burp. In reality, however, flatulence gases that are held in for too long will be partially absorbed into your bloodstream. This way, some of the fart will eventually make its way to your lungs, and ultimately escape your body when you breathe out. Much like life, flatulence finds a way. 

Dead bodies farting is such an inherently offbeat and grimly humorous concept that the "Everything Everywhere All At Once" directors The Daniels based their 2016 dark fantasy comedy "Swiss Army Man" around it. It's also a very real thing — and even worse than you think.

One of the stages of a human body's decomposition is bloating, during which the body's bacteria feasts on the biological matter, which in turn causes swelling and gas buildup. This gas can be released as a fart if the body is disrupted. To make things extra unnerving, the aforementioned "mouth farts" are far more literal for a dead body than they are for a living person: Corpse flatulence can be passed through either the usual route or the dead body's mouth. 

As you can probably guess, the experience of smelling a corpse passing gas can be considerably nastier than even the worst "silent but deadly" fart a living person can release. "The smell is like flatulence or vomit mixed with decomposition," forensic pathologist Judy Melinek told Men's Health. 

You may have heard jokes and seen memes about farting vegans, but they might have a splash of truth to them. In fact, research has found that followers of a plant-based diet actually do pass gas more often than carnivores. Seven times more, to be precise.

A 2021 study that compared the gut health effects of a Western meat-heavy diet and a Mediterranean-type, plant-heavy diet that was slightly supplemented with animal protein found that the followers of the latter diet not only passed far more gas, but also produced more fecal matter than heavy meat eaters.  

That line about plant-based diet causing the men in the study to fart seven times more wasn't hyperbole, either. If anything, it was low-balling the truth. See, apart from causing a far greater number of farts than the meat-heavy diet, the Mediterranean-type diet made the subjects produce 50% more gas per fart. Don't take this to mean that farting this much is bad, though. In fact, Nutrition expert Dr. Rosemary Stanton of the University of New South Wales says it's quite the opposite. "Our Western idea that farting is a sign of something being wrong is totally false," she said, per New Scientist. "Farting is a sign of a healthy diet and a healthy colon."