We might not talk about it often, but passing gas is a natural part of digestion. However, the frequency and smell of your farts can actually reveal a lot about your gut health.
According to Dr Vikas Jindal, Consultant in the Department of Gastroenterology at CK Birla Hospital, Delhi, different types of gas can be associated with specific digestive processes and issues. Here, Dr Jindal explains what smelly and non-smelly gas might mean and how you can support a healthy digestive system.
Smelly vs. non-smelly gas
Smelly Farts
If you’ve noticed that your gas has a strong odour, it could point to underlying digestive issues or imbalances. According to Dr Jindal, “A particularly smelly fart may suggest problems like slow transit time, dysbiosis (an imbalance in your gut bacteria), or conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).” These conditions can disrupt the normal digestion process, leading to bacteria breaking down undigested food more slowly and producing smelly gases.
Constipation, another common digestive issue, can also contribute to odour as food sits longer in the digestive tract, providing bacteria more time to release gases. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is another condition that can produce foul-smelling gas due to the excess bacterial fermentation in the small intestine.
