However, its consequences may have social implications due to our inability to control its passage. Intestinal gas can be extremely painful. The abdomen can become painfully distended, especially right after eating. Sometimes bloating can be so severe that clothing becomes tight, and may no longer fit. Because of its severity, sufferers can be overly concerned regarding its seriousness.
All people have gas in the intestinal tract, although proportions vary from person to person.
Studies on young adults have shown that the average person generates 1 to 3 pints of gas a day. Studies have shown that intestinal gas is composed of various amounts of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane. Oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide come from swallowed air while hydrogen and methane are produced in the colon by bacteria acting on food residue. Careful analysis of intestinal gas has shown that about ninety percent is ingested air and only ten percent is actually formed in the intestine. Although less than one percent of gas is odorous, intestinal bacteria produce several sulphur containing compounds that are the primary odour culprits.