Internal affairs

Health Check: the ins and outs of burping and farting

Well, I didn't realise there was a gas recycling system going on in such a large scale inside me:

Imagine how much space 25 litres of gas would occupy – about one third of the interior of a small car. That’s how much gas you produce every day in your intestines. So it’s little wonder that farting, bloating and burping are relatively common.

Much of this gas production is recycled – by re-absorption and use within the gut, particularly by the almost two kilograms of bacteria in your colon. Indeed, almost 22.5 litres is absorbed by the gut, used by gut bacteria or expires through the lungs.

I think that's a useful fact to drop into my script for episode 3 of the show about time travelling fecal transplanting doctors.