After a few years or even months in a new relationship, it often feels like all rules and boundaries vanish. Yes, we’re talking about your partner’s farts. Whether your partner finds the ‘Dutch Oven’ prank funny, or they’ve just become so comfortable around you that they don’t hold in their farts anymore.
Unfortunately, recent research may provide partners with the justification they’ve been seeking for. Researchers at the University of Exeter discovered that smelling your partner’s farts might have several health advantages. The research showed that hydrogen sulfide, one of the gases in farts that smells like eggs, can reduce the risk of several serious diseases. Yes, it’s true.
According to the report, this gas can lower the chances of heart attacks, strokes, dementia, and cancer.
While hydrogen sulfide is present in various proportions in farting, there is no solid scientific evidence to claim that intentionally smelling farts, whether from a spouse or someone else, has any health benefits.
Research on the potential health effects of hydrogen sulfide has primarily concentrated on controlled laboratory conditions and high concentrations of the gas, rather than on casual exposure to low amounts of it in everyday life. So, while the issue may be humorous or interesting to some, it is critical to rely on scientific data when discussing health and well-being.
What Was the Study About?
The origin of this claim can be traced back to a 2014 study conducted by researchers from the University of Exeter in the UK and the University of Texas. The study found that hydrogen sulfide, a gas produced in small amounts in farts, might have some potential health benefits.
This study was based on the idea that mitochondria, which help produce energy in cells, could benefit from hydrogen sulfide gas.
Researchers found that when cells in arteries or veins get damaged or stressed due to certain conditions, the body’s enzymes make hydrogen sulfide. This gas helps the cell manage oxidative stress, which often causes inflammation that can kill the cell. But as the condition worsens, mitochondria can’t make enough gas, and the disease gets worse.
Researchers tested if artificial hydrogen sulfide could help keep mitochondria strong and prevent diseases from worsening. They created a compound called AP39 that mimics hydrogen sulfide and exposed blood vessel cells to it.
Hydrogen sulfide has been shown by laboratory settings to protect cells and lower the risk of various illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, and dementia, by sustaining mitochondrial activity. However, these findings are based on controlled, high-concentration applications of hydrogen sulfide at the cellular level, rather than smelling farts in normal life.
Initial studies show that when mitochondria are treated with AP39 gas, around 80% of them remain unharmed. This could greatly impact various health issues related to cell death due to mitochondrial problems.
Further studies are necessary to understand how AP39 or hydrogen sulfide interacts with other parts of the body, but the early signs are hopeful.
This outcome wasn’t merely chance. In the same year, a group, including some of the same scientists, discovered that AP39 shielded mitochondria from harm caused by inflammation.
Is It Scientifically Proven?
No, there is no scientific evidence that smelling your partner’s farts is beneficial to your health. While there have been some interesting studies into the possible advantages of hydrogen sulfide, a gas present in farts.
It’s worth noting that the amounts of hydrogen sulfide in farts are quite low, and there is no scientific proof that breathing them has any substantial health advantages. The assertion that smelling farts is advantageous is a gross exaggeration and oversimplification of the research findings, here’s why smelling farts isn’t a health hack:
- Limited Research: The studies done so far have been on cells in a lab setting, not on actual people. These studies indicate that ‘very particular concentrations’ of hydrogen sulfide may have some protective benefits on cells.
- Real Life vs. Lab: The quantity of hydrogen sulfide in a fart is far too low to have any discernible health effects in people.
- Not Recommended Practice: There is no scientific evidence that inhaling farts is healthy, and it may certainly be unpleasant.
Right now, there isn’t any scientific proof for this. But as scientists continue their research, we’ll learn more about it in the future.
References
- HealthLine – https://www.healthline.com/ – Is Smelling Farts Healthy? Research Says Maybe
- Royal Society of Chemistry – https://pubs.rsc.org/ – The synthesis and functional evaluation of a mitochondria-targeted hydrogen sulfide donor, (10-oxo-10-(4-(3-thioxo-3H-1,2-dithiol-5-yl)phenoxy)decyl)triphenylphosphonium bromide (AP39)
