[WaPo] Try a ‘fart walk’ to ease the pressure after that big Thanksgiving meal

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Try a ‘fart walk’ to ease the pressure after that big Thanksgiving meal
Whatever you do, resist the urge to lie down.

https://wapo.st/4riF9sC

excerpt:

The science on ‘fart walks’
Walking to relieve bloating and gas had long been advocated by doctors, but for years, we had no real experimental proof that it works. So in the mid-2000s, researchers from Barcelona decided to end the speculation and test whether even mild exercise could propel gas forward … and outward.

The group first looked at healthy volunteers who pedaled on an adapted bicycle going at the equivalent of around 7 mph. The scientists infused gas into the people’s small intestines — mimicking what happens with meals — and then measured how much gas was expelled both during exercise and at rest.

At rest, the result was a net gain in gas. Not fun.

But after exercise? Things got juicy. After short bursts of mild physical activity, the scientists found that the amount of gas evacuated was greater than the amount infused. Exercise forced the removal of the added experimental gas and then some — meaning, it also pushed out gas hanging around even at baseline.

So after a fart walk, you’ll be better off than you started.

Walking may even help with bloating: In a second experiment, the researchers focused on people who were especially prone to abdominal discomfort and bloating, like in irritable bowel syndrome. Among these people, the amount of gas retained in the gut decreased with mild exercise, and symptoms like pressure, bloating and gurgling all improved as well.

And yes, the methods were … thorough. To precisely measure gas, participants wore a leakproof rectal catheter connected to a barostat, a special tool to measure changes in volume in the gut. You see why this had to be done in a lab and not in your local public park.
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more at the link

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