Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

5

Can you tell what type of gut flora you have by fart smell? And can you change the smell of farts?

flag	asked Mar 14 2012 at 18:53 primallykosher 4,360●1●9●23

3

The last thing I needed was another discussion about farts - since I live in a house of all boys! However, I could not resist clicking on through, so you get a +1 for luring me in. :) – none Mar 14 2012 at 19:21

Obviously you need to post here here. As for the house of boys, this thread is almost all women except me and Thormy. Are paleo women more obsessed with their rectal odors? – primallykosher Mar 15 2012 at 0:37

There is a new type of filter for underwear that has charcoal in it, which supposedly istantly nukes the stinks into no smell from a fart. Just some food for mental digestion. – primallykosher May 8 2012 at 3:04

1

My guess is that you probably have bad gut flora if you're passing gas anything more than rarely. – foreveryoung Jun 27 at 22:29

Poop Master MC · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-27 22:24:41Z UTC

1

Mine smell like warm pumpkin pie

answered Jun 27 at 22:24

Poop Master MC
2,773●1●6

Lol. How do you make your farts smell that good?!? – primallykosher Jun 28 at 4:06

Mambo · Answer 2 · 2012-06-27 21:46:41Z UTC

I think this is a relevant issue. I happened to cure my constipation and I'm exploring whether it came about because of my heavy consumption of ripe plantains. Anyone who's eaten raw, ripe plantains know that if anything, they create gas. Tremendous gas. Them black-eyed peas are nothing compared to the ripe plantains.

After eating them for a week, I noticed I no longer have constipation, which I believed was due to my ongoing gut dysbiosis which I had for 3+ years. So the question is, what did the plantains do? I think they had something to do with it: they created tremendous havoc within my gut that literally, they wiped out whatever was causing constipation!

So chalk one up for breaking wind. As for the smell, it wasn't very noticeable. But my hypothesis is that contrary to common belief, foods that cause gas, when introduced to an environment that may be lacking in good bacteria, may be curative for some unknown reasons.

Crowlover · Answer 3 · 2012-06-27 21:28:05Z UTC

4

If you are farting more than rarely and at times other than when you need to have a bowel movement AND especially if your gas smells, then in my opinion from experience and what I have learned about leaky gut and dysbiosis - you have a problem. You have some sort of a GI issue. Digestion is poor and or leaky gut.

Once I got my gut healthy and cured my leaky gut and started using HCL with meals I have ZERO gas. This has been the same for all my family members and several friends and clients who have embarked on diet and supplements to cure their ailing gut.

answered Jun 27 at 21:28

Crowlover
4,443●5●12

1

I also noticed that gas production went way down after I started eating paleo. Also, less bloating. Can't tell you how much better I feel now! – MiMintzer Jun 27 at 21:56

Yes! Good for you and as it should be MiMintzer... all this farting is a sign of poor digestion and or other dysbiosis. Lots of denial here (IMO) that farting all day is normal and healthy. – Crowlover Jun 27 at 23:28

How do you know your gut is healed? I'm more complicated than usual due to Chrohns and redundant colon. The second one actually being worse now. – primallykosher Jun 28 at 18:23

primallykosher - for you it makes sense to do a follow up GI Permeability test. My first go around I did before and after treatment testing, the second time I was treated for L. G. My ND felt that based on my pre and post blood work and comparison of levels of things like Calcium, magnesium, potassium, Lithium (I take 20mg of LiOrotate) and also protein, that my gut was healed. But I didn't have a serious GI diagnosis to begin with (well L.G. is serious enough!) I suggest you test via Genova Diagnostics Intestinal Permeability Assessment - www.gdx.net/product/10122 – Crowlover Jun 29 at 15:13

Renee · Answer 4 · 2012-03-14 23:36:44Z UTC

I think the smell of your farts says more about what you're eating than your gut flora. My own...aroma... changed dramatically when I went Paleo, to more sulphuric-smelling. I assume because I introduced eggs and/or red meat which both contain sulphur.

Lindsay · Answer 5 · 2012-03-14 21:41:32Z UTC

1

I have a vague recollection of my microbiology professor telling us that people either had hydrogen or methane producers, methane being the smellier, and you get them from your mother initially. I suspect it could change though, since we can also introduce bacteria through probiotics and fermented foods.

answered Mar 14 2012 at 21:41

Lindsay
310●1●6

	On a side note, I once had another professor say that he thought methane and ethane were great names for kids. I had wacky professors, who were apparently obsessed with gasses. – Lindsay Mar 14 2012 at 21:44
	Yeah, my microbiology prof talked about this and how you share a lot of the major flora with your family members, close friends, colleagues etc, so you can literally have groups of people that hang out together and just have bacterial flora that smells nastier just based on their natural compositions. It was pretty interesting stuff! – JeJ Mar 14 2012 at 22:41
	That's nice, I suppose. If someone's smelly than it's likely their friends and family are too so they won't be ridiculed :) – Lindsay Mar 15 2012 at 12:55

Nance · Answer 6 · 2012-03-14 19:34:36Z UTC

0

The only time I notice 1) having farts and 2) any odor from them is after a splurge such as a large dish of ice cream.

Otherwise, I probably pass gas 2 or 3 times per day and there's no significant sound/pressure or odor.

answered Mar 14 2012 at 19:34

Nance
29.8k●1●8●52

	I thought it was normal to pass gas 14 times a day. Perhaps paleo makes you abnormal. – primallykosher Mar 21 2012 at 1:10
	@primallykosher: Normal perhaps.. think about what people are eating. The norm is this country is unhealthy. So average/normal perhaps but optimal? NO WAY. I would bet that if you did a comprehensive stool test and/or a test for GI Permeability and/or cured your leaky gut if you have one, then this will go away. – Crowlover Jun 27 at 21:31
	Actually I think the exact opposite might be the case. Unless you're VLCing, you should break wind a dozen times a day. This is completely Paleo and would have been acceptable back yonder, when we didn't work in enclosed environments with still air. – Mambo Jun 27 at 21:50
	Unless you were eating a meal together or passing by each other, this would not have been noticed at all. So a dozen or 3 dozen times would have been completely normal; plus, there would be less stress from trying to hold it all the time like people do in offices. – Mambo Jun 27 at 21:52
	uhmmm No Totally disagree. – Crowlover Jun 27 at 23:26

Thomy · Answer 7 · 2012-03-14 19:34:07Z UTC

4

Well if it actually has a smell there are most likely sulfur compounds involved. Sulfur is present in amino acids, therefore there must be some reason why the body doesn't digest all of it's precious protein (however, the gut bacteria definitely will). So my take is: if it smells, digestion isn't working properly. (sensitivities, allergies, etc)

edited Mar 14 2012 at 19:34

answered Mar 14 2012 at 19:28

Thomy
3,124●2●5●18

The big problem is smell. Especially in confined areas. The non problem is noise level. That part is hilarious. I'm not so sure that sulfur is the smell component. – primallykosher Mar 14 2012 at 20:02

2

What's your guess? I think it's mostly hydrogen sulfide. CO2 and methane are odorless. Ever tried an elimination diet? your stomach might be angry about some foods. – Thomy Mar 14 2012 at 20:37

2

I've only had nasty smells when eating at restaurants. Food quality absolutely has an effect on digestion. – raydawg Mar 15 2012 at 10:54

Can you tell what type of gut flora you have by fart smell?

7 Answers