You're listening to Sleeptight Science.

Did you know that the average person farts 12 to 25 times every single day?

That is a whole lot of gas. Did you also know that we fart more when we are sleeping than when we are awake. The word fart comes from the old English word fjorton, which means to break wind.

You might also have heard it called flatulence, which is the medical word for gas produced in the

stomach or bowels. So why do we fart?

One reason we fart is because of the types of food we eat.

Foods like beans, fried foods, and onions can cause you to fart more often.

When we are eating or drinking,

we are not just swallowing our food and drink,

but air along with it.

The air contains gases like nitrogen and oxygen.

Small amounts of these gases travel through your digestive system as you are digesting your food.

Other gases like hydrogen and methane

are made when your food is broken down in the large intestine.

All of these gases in your digestive system have to get out somehow,

so they often come out as a fart.

Undigested carbohydrates are also a common cause of gas.

Our stomach and small intestine cannot break down these foods.

These undigested carbohydrates are things like sugars

that fruits and artificial sweeteners contain, soluble fibers or things that are able

to be dissolved in water. They can be found in dried beans, nuts, and fruits, or insoluble

fibers, things that cannot be dissolved in water, which can be found in root

...