It's a question that will almost have certainly crossed your mind at some point: how many times should you be farting over the course of a day?
Well, lucky for you, a doctor has now revealed the average amount of expulsions a person should be making in any 24-hour period.
Dr Zac Turner has been answering people's burning questions, and has explained what kinds of foods make people more gassy - and how to curb the results.
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When asked about the causes of increased farting from someone who had recently embarked on a health kick, Dr Zac said: "Flatulence is very common in my patients who kickstart a healthy lifestyle, and there are a multitude of factors that come into play that causes it.
"It's perfectly normal to fart and the average person farts up to 10-18 times a day and could fill a party balloon with the gas.
"Exercise doesn't cause gas so let's rule that out of what's causing your dilemma."
But what are farts and why do we do them?
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"Firstly, when we eat, we swallow small amounts of air that eventually needs to be released either by burping or farting," said Dr Zac.
"I'll assume you are dieting to lose weight, which is great, but usually tends to mean meals are being wolfed down due to insatiable hunger. This causes gas and so I recommend you eat slowly which will help limit swallowed air.
"The best way to describe the second cause of gas is to think of our digestive system as a fermentation jar.
"Inside our colon we have up to two kilograms of microorganisms which ferment on average forty grams of complex carbohydrates every day."
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He added: "Digested food in our digestive tract releases gas, mainly hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide. Food that decomposes in our stomach releases sulphur, which is the lethal ingredient in foul smelling gas."
And this whole process is affected by an improved diet. A greater variety of complex carbohydrates can cause us to pass wind more than usual.
Dr Zac explained: "Complex carbohydrates are one of the most common factors in all healthy diets that causes flatulence. This includes you would've guessed it: beans. Any type of legumes, oatmeal and sweet potato too.
"Complex carbohydrates also have a long scientific name, oligosaccharides, and the oligosaccharides called raffinose, stachiose, and verbicose are found in legumes, such as beans.
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"The microorganisms in our gut love these oligosaccharides and eat them right up causing large amounts of gas to be released.
"Yes, science does prove beans make you pass wind like a water buffalo."
But Dr Zac also has a trick that could help us all reduce the amount that we do a bottom burp.
He said: "My secret ingredient to stop farts (which has been around for centuries and commonly used in the vegan community) is hing.
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"It's a spice found commonly in Indian cuisine that has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-flatulent properties.
"You can find it in health food stores and online. Adding a teaspoon to your healthy meals high in complex carbohydrates should limit the unsavoury gas you've been expelling."
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