{"id":5352,"date":"2021-03-10T07:40:40","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T07:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/littlemedsch.wpengine.com\/ottawa\/?p=5352"},"modified":"2022-04-18T14:38:29","modified_gmt":"2022-04-18T14:38:29","slug":"why-do-we-burp-and-fart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/littlemedicalschool.com\/ottawa\/blog\/why-do-we-burp-and-fart\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do we Burp and Fart?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author: Layal Bou Abdo MSN<\/p>\n

Illustration: Angeline Boswell<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is sometimes loud, sometimes silent, in some instance, it is socially accepted and in other gross. It happens to everyone, and it can be embarrassing sometimes when it happens, but everyone does it! Even dogs, sheep, cows and dinosaurs Buuuuuuuurp! …and Fart!
\nThe medical name of burp is eructation and doctors like to call it, belch. Fart is called flatulence.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why do we burp?<\/h2>\n

\"Why<\/p>\n

Our digestive system’s job is to digest or break down the food into nutrients and energy for the body to use. The digestive system has different parts or organs. You can see some of those organs from the outside, like the mouth, tongue, teeth and throat. Others are inside your chest and belly that you cannot see!<\/span><\/p>\n

When you mash and swallow your food, it goes to the food tube in the chest or esophagus. The esophagus is a long flexible tube that connects your mouth to your stomach.<\/span><\/p>\n

The stomach is a big pocket, where the food stack and contains acid that helps to break down the food. The stomach can stretch a bit allowing all the food to fit in like a balloon.<\/span><\/p>\n

You swallow a bit of air into your stomach every time you eat, drink, talk, chew gum, or\u00a0<\/span>yawn<\/span><\/a>. When your belly stretches to its maximum capacity, it releases the air back up your esophagus and out to your mouth and nose. The result: Oops! Excuse me! The esophagus vibrates as it releases swallowed air from your stomach.<\/span><\/p>\n

Burps allow the stretched stomach to go back to normal.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But is it just air?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If we swallow air, we burp air!
\nIf you drink soda or sparkling water, the small bubbles inside of it are a gas called carbon dioxide is to be blamed.
\nSome kind of food gives you lots of burps as it produces some gases as it takes some time for your body to break down, like cabbage, broccoli, beans, peas, bran or bananas.
\nIn addition to this, the air that did not escape from the stomach move down to the intestines where good bacteria present in our intestines break down the undigested food, they produce various gases. These gases sometimes move upwards to the stomach, thus leading to a burp. These gases are carbon dioxide, hydrogen, methane and sulphites (that stinky one, like a rotten egg smell). That is Gross!<\/p>\n

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How often do people burp?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Between 6-20 times each day. Babies are big \u201cburpers\u201d because they gulp in too much air while nursing! Babies have to be burped by mum and dad because they are unable to sit upright!<\/p>\n

Try to burp when you are laying on your back! Could you?<\/p>\n

Just remember to put your hand on your mouth and say excuse me!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Why<\/h2>\n

Do Dinosaurs burps?<\/h2>\n

We are answering this question for Logan (5 years old).
\nDinosaurs, not just burp and fart. Their belch and flatulence may have helped keep an already overheated world warmer 200 million years ago. Scientists have discovered that large dinosaurs made a big contribution to the greenhouse effect back then. They made the Earth a comfortable place to live in.
\n*The greenhouse effect<\/a> is a process that occurs when gases in Earth\u2019s atmosphere trap the Sun\u2019s heat.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why do we fart?<\/h2>\n

We fart because of the buildup of gas in our bodies. This same air that we couldn’t belch.
\nGases are also what can make farts smell bad. Tiny amounts of hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane combine with hydrogen sulphide and ammonia in the large intestine to give the gas its smell. P.U!
\nThe medical name of a fart is flatulence.<\/p>\n

Fun Facts:<\/h2>\n