Today on "D News," we're focusing entirely
on grown-up stuff.
We're going to talk about how your gastrointestinal tract
behaves in an altered pressure environment-- airplane farts.
Her, frequent flyers, Trace here for "D News."
Before I leave for CES today, I posed
a question to my "D News" fellows--
do we fart more on planes?
Responses were mixed.
But I'm here to say, I do.
If you ever meet me on an airplane,
you're welcome to let it fly too,
because science says that it's OK.
Also, it's national bean day.
So this is apropos.
Let's clear the air.
Flatulence results from the build up
and release of gas in the bowels.
When food makes it through the small intestine
and enters the large intestine as an undigested mass,
the bacteria living inside of you go to town on it.
As they digest the food you didn't absorb,
they release gases sort of like yeast in bread.
So your farts are actually collected
farts of millions of tiny bacteria.
A study in the New Zealand Medical Journal
sniffed out the truth about flatulence on airplanes.
The average person farts about a dozen times a day,
but the volume of your gas will vary depending
on the air pressure you're living in, they say.
On the ground, at sea level, we're
experiencing the air pressure of all of that air above us.
This is called one atmosphere.
It's roughly 14.7 pounds per square inch, or PSI.
Our bodies evolved to think that 14.7 PSI is normal.
And then we put humans on airplanes.
At altitude, airplanes have cabin pressures
so that we don't have to wear masks to get oxygen.
It varies depending on the plane,
but it's usually around 11 PSI, basically
the pressure of about 7,000 feet above sea level.
This lower air pressure is what makes
people feel bloated on airplanes.
The gases in your body expand in response to the lower pressure.
This includes the gas in your large intestine,
and then boom, more farts, or so it seems.
They're less dense, if that makes you feel any better.
The study goes on to suggest solutions for farting on high,
mainly you should filter them out, using charcoal.
Charcoal is essential for Brita water filters,
but it can also be used to filter the air.
If charcoal was introduced into the seats,
the researchers say, it would go a long way
to helping passenger comfort.
Next time you're on an airplane and have
to fart, just let it go.
Holding it in can cause stress, it can create physical pain,
and it can damage your bowels.
Letting it go might make you an airplane pariah,
but at least you'll feel at ease knowing
that it's just lower air pressure.
Thanks, science.
Be honest, though.
Do you far more on airplanes?
Tell us below, and subscribe for more videos.
You can also sniff us out on Facebook, Google+, or Twitter.
Thanks a lot for watching.