If you are reading this then you have almost certainly held in a fart at some point in your life.
You'll have let plenty of bottom burps go over the years, but equally you'll likely have recognised that there are times when it's best to hold it in for a bit.
However, you'll want to be careful as experts do warn you that holding it in is not the wisest course of action.
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Dr Ellen Stein told Live Science that no matter how much you tried to hold it in 'that gas has to pass eventually' so one way or another it's coming out of you.
Fart gas is a by-product of our bodies breaking down the food we eat as gas builds up in the digestion process and can build up in the body depending on what we eat and how much of it.
How to hold back the clouds
Everyone knows that foods like baked beans and sprouts are premium fart fuel, and farting to vent the gas that's built up over digestion is perfectly natural.
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Of course it can be particularly loud and smelly, which means there are certain contexts in which farting might not be appropriate.
You might be able to get away with a 'silent but deadly' so long as you can act innocent about it, but if you're attending something like a funeral it's probably best to hold it for a bit.
Dr Stein explained that the only part of the process we have conscious control over is the 'external anal sphincter', which a human being can constrict to avoid letting a blast of gas be expelled from their ass.
A pungent snooze
On the other hand, there's only so long you can keep conscious as the doc explained that our bodies will find some way to open the vents and have a clear out.
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Most of the ones you've been holding in will be let go either while you're on the loo or when you're asleep.
Yes, you won't be awake to hear your feculent outburst or get a whiff of its pungent aroma but it's happening.
Toxic blockage
When you do hold in a fart that gas which had been ready to leave your body will 'recede back into the colon' and lie in wait for another attempt, even if it has to wait until bedtime.
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However, trying to hold in your farts for too long can cause health problems as Dr Stein warned that it would be bad for your bowels in the long run to deny them their natural farting prowess.
If your colon is regularly bloated it can cause little pockets known as 'diverticula' to form and these can become infected.
This can cause abdominal pain as well as making other bodily functions that rely on the colon more difficult, so prepare for a tough time on the toilet.
Better out than in
The doc warned that you could do yourself some serious harm by holding in your farts, and it's a warning best not ignored.
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Of course it'd be nice if you were still as polite as can be about it, but equally you should also have the manners to let people expel excess gas and avoid a potential brush with diverticulitis.
Joe Harker