Farting Is Good

October 27, 2008

The real hero of this ground breaking study.
Johns Hopkins brings you what could possibly be the greatest use of government funding of scientific research: a medicinal purpose behind the wonderfully awful smell of flatulence.

In a study recently published in the journal Science, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) scientists have identified that hydrogen sulfide gas (the culprit behind the less-than-pleasant flatulence smell), which is naturally made by cells that line the intestine track of mice, can also help prevent hypertension (high blood pressure).   Besides being champion of aromas, this gas also causes blood vessels to relax, thus lowering blood pressure.   Though the study was conducted in mice, the researches have stated that this gas is “no doubt” created in the human system as well.   This finding loosely translates to this:   You never have to excuse yourself from flatulence again.   After all, that horrible smell you're emitting is just a sign of good health.

For this study, the researchers looked at two different mice: one normal (or wild type) and one that lacked the gene that is essential for the production of hydrogen sulfide.   When the mice were subjected to higher blood pressures that are comparable to humans suffering from severe hypertension, those mice which were able to create hydrogen sulfide better responded to methacholine, a chemical that naturally relaxes blood vessels, than those which could not produce the gas.   This led the researchers to the conclusion that hydrogen sulfide is essential to the regulation of blood pressure.

Snyder states, “Now that we know hydrogen sulfide’s role in regulating blood pressure, it may be possible to design drug therapies that enhance its formation as an alternative to the current methods of treatment for hypertension.”   New therapeutic treatments for hypertension are highly sought after, as the current treatments all have side effects, some of which are as dangerous as contributing...