Flatulence, also known as wind and farting, is a normal bodily function and is not usually something to worry about.
Everyone farts, some people more than others, with the average person passing wind five to 15 times a day.
Excess wind usually goes hand in hand with bloating, and both are usually caused by certain foods and the drinks or the amount you eat.
While farting is normal, if it begins affecting your life, there are some diet changes you can make.
The NHS suggests cutting down on six foods known to cause wind and bloating.
These include beans, onions, broccoli, cabbage, sprouts and cauliflower.
But you should make sure to still eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
Excess wind and bloating can be caused by a food intolerance. Common signs of a food intolerance are your bowel does not empty properly, the food causes gas to be trapped and too much gas is produced as a reaction to the food.
Wheat or gluten and dairy products are the usual culprits where a food intolerance is concerned, and the best way to beat it is to cut down on the foods or cut them out completely.
The best way to work out if you have a food intolerance is to keep a food diary for a couple of weeks, noting if certain foods and drinks cause you bloating troubles.
If you are thinking about cutting a particular food group out long-term you should first get advice from your GP.
Another digestive health problem is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). But the bloating of IBS is not linked with excess wind.
Instead, it is thought to be down to erratic propulsion of contents through the bowel.
You may have been confused if the IBS you experience seems to be a world away form the IBS that you read about, or that others around you suffer from.
The reason for this is actually surprisingly simple. IBS is not simply one disease but a mixture of different of different conditions.
Due to this variation, IBS is often subtypes based upon symptoms – so what subtype do you fall into?
