TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) - Everyone farts. It's only natural. But, not everyone lets the air puff freely from their bottom all the time and that can be problematic.
New research shows clenching your cheeks together won't get rid of the stinky issue. In fact, it may only leave the airy odor to leak out elsewhere.
Nutrition and dietetics professor, from the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Clare Collins wrote an essay for The Conversation explaining a new phenomenon about gas.
Holding in a flatulent doesn't make it go away, the self-proclaimed "Fart-Expert" explained.
Apparently, the gas can become reabsorbed in the bloodstream, which with nowhere else to go, will end up escaping out of your mouth.
Professor Collins gave this mortifying warning:
Trying to hold it in leads to a build up of pressure and major discomfort.
A build up of intestinal gas can trigger abdominal distension, with some gas reabsorbed into the circulation and exhaled in your breath. Holding on too long means the build up of intestinal gas will eventually escape via an uncontrollable fart.
The research is not clear on whether the rise in pressure in your rectum increases your chance of developing a condition called diverticulitis, where small pouches develop in the gut lining and become inflamed – or whether it doesn’t matter at all.
The professor said there is something you can do though to remedy the situation. Move to a more acceptable location and let it rip.
"The best thing for your digestive health is to just let it go," the professor said.
Because one way or another the smelly blast will be flowing right out of you.