By Dr. A. Minocha,   author of  "How To Stop Heartburn: Simple Ways to Heal Heartburn and Acid Reflux" and "Natural Stomach Care: Treating and Preventing Digestive Disorders with Best of Eastern and Western Therapies"

Older people produce more gas

Is it a Myth or a Fact? Find out below

The amount of gas produced is not significantly changed as we grow older. However, our bowel wall is more rigid and less distensible or elastic. Thus, the bowel is more sensitive to the presence of smaller amounts of gas. As such, as we grow older, we are less able to hold the gas in the rectum and pass small amounts of gas more frequently.

More Facts or Myths

Flatus

Flatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The mixture of gases is known as flatus, (informally) fart, or simply gas, and is expelled from the rectum in a process colloquially referred to as "passing gas" or "farting". Flatus is brought to the rectum by the same peristaltic process which causes feces to descend from the large intestine. Depending upon the relative state of the anal sphincter (relaxed/tense) and the positions of the buttocks, this often results in an audible crackling or trumpeting sound, but gas can also be passed quietly. The noises commonly associated with flatulence are caused by the vibration of the anal sphincter, and occasionally by the closed buttocks.

The olfactory components of flatulence include skatole, indole, and sulfurous compounds. The non-odorous gases are mainly nitrogen (ingested), carbon dioxide (produced by aerobic microbes or ingested), and hydrogen (produced by some microbes and consumed by others), as well as lesser amounts of oxygen (ingested) and methane (produced by anaerobic microbes). Odors result from trace amounts of other components (often containing sulfur compounds).