-
Visit
Opening hours From Tuesday to Sunday
October to March:
10:00 - 17:00
April to September:
10:00 - 18:00Contact emailEntrance feesAdults: CHF 15.00
Reduced rate: CHF 12.00
Children 6-15: CHF 6.00
Children 0-5: FreeAddressQuai Perdonnet 25
CH-1800 Vevey
Switzerland - Learn & Play
- About us
Welcome !
Think. Learn. Interact.
Create an account in seconds and discover the amazing Alimentarium experience !
- Home
- Learn & Play
- Academy
- Teachers
- The digestive system
- Digestive phenomena
Digestive phenomena
The aim is to understand the role our five senses play in our relationship to food.
Lessons on this topic
The organs in the digestive tract
The stages of digestion
Historical representations of digestion
Intestinal wind
Intestinal wind is expelled at both ends of the digestive tract.
- When expelled through the mouth, it is called belching (or burping).
- When expelled through the anus, it is called flatulence (or farting).
Intestinal gases are produced by bacteria in the colon when there is fermentation of leftover food.
WHAT IS INTESTINAL WIND?
The digestive tract contains intestinal gases. Release of these gases through the anus is quite normal and is actually a sign that the digestive tract is functioning well. On average, a person releases 0.5 to 1.5 litres of gas each day, over the span of 12 to 25 episodes. These gases are released at the two ends of the digestive tract – either at the mouth (through burping) or at the anus (through flatulence).
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES?
Intestinal gases consist of nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide produced by the bacteria present in the digestive tract. These bacteria ferment food residues and gas is released during this breakdown process.
There are also hydrogen, methane and sulphur-containing substances. These sulphated gases have a distinct odour, and the human nose can easily detect concentrations of hydrogen sulphide, even low ones.
Fermentation of certain kinds of food generates more gas than others, namely pulses such as kidney beans. Their outer shell has a large amount of sugar, which the intestinal flora easily ferments. Starchy food such as pasta, corn and wheat can also generate gas during fermentation.