Scientifically proven: male vegetarians fart more often

If you eat more carrots and lettuce for a while and stop eating meat and fish, all sorts of things change in your gut. The result: more farts. This was scientifically researched by a group of scientists in Spain. Not only did the number of farts produced by the vegetarians increase, they also pooped much more than people who eat meat.

The scientists had a group of men follow a Mediterranean diet for two weeks, without meat or fish but with plenty of vegetables, fruit and dairy. During the trial period, the men counted how many farts they let rip. The researchers also tested the composition of the men’s poop and pee.

Male vegetarians fart more often

Rabbit food

After a break during which they had to eat normally and in a balanced way, they were given a so-called Western diet, with lots of meat, fat and fish. Another group of men did exactly the opposite: they started with meat and fish, and after the break switched to two weeks of plant-based food. This allowed the scientists to establish exactly what the consequences were of all that rabbit food.

More poop too

The consequences were considerable. Analysis of the urine showed that the gut bacteria as a result of the vegetarian food had to work harder to digest those plant fibers. Result: more farts. The gut bacteria also multiplied because of the plant-based diet, causing the men to produce bigger farts and poop more. Not surprising, since those turds contained indigestible plant fibers and dead gut bacteria.

Unavoidable

Tofu, seitan, salads and plant-based food almost automatically mean more gut bacteria, and therefore more poop and more puffs. And if you start eating less meat, you will largely replace it with plant-based food. So those intestinal gases are unavoidable. Although: only eighteen participants took part in this study, so perhaps it should be repeated on a larger scale. The effects of a vegetarian diet on women were also not investigated. Is that really necessary? They never fart anyway, do they?

Also read:

• This is why your wine sometimes smells like farts
• Snackspert’s week: Jumbo’s vegetarian frikandel roll gets a rock-solid four stars
• The latest plant-based milk is potato milk

Source: Quest