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The Gas We Pass:
Exercise Really Does Help
People who have problems with excess
intestinal gas are often advised to exercise, even though the
benefit is unproven. Now research from Spain suggests that this
may be good advice.
In a small study, physical activity
sped the clearance of excess gas.
"We have shown that physical exercise
facilitates intestinal gas evacuation, and may thus prevent abdominal
symptoms related to gas retention, such as bloating," study author
Dr. Fernando Azpiroz of the Hospital General Vail d'Hebron in
Barcelona told Reuters Health.
"The importance of this study is
that it provides experimental support for a heretofore unproven
recommendation frequently made by physicians," Azpiroz added.
Although the study shows that exercise
can help reduce excess gas in healthy people, the effect of exercise
in people with irritable bowel syndrome or bloating is still unknown,
Azpiroz and his colleagues point out in the April 15 issue of
the American Journal of Medicine.
In the study, 8 healthy adults
had a gas mixture pumped into the small intestine. A catheter
was placed in the rectum to collect and measure the release of
gas.
The researchers measured how much
gas was evacuated at rest and when participants pedaled on a modified
exercise bike.
During a 2-hour period of rest,
participants released 10 percent less gas than was pumped into
them. During exercise, however, more gas was released than was
pumped in, meaning that participants were releasing some gas produced
by the body, too.
What's more, swelling of the gut
caused by excess gas diminished during physical activity, the
researchers report.
Whether exercise can relieve symptoms
of excess gas is uncertain, however, since people in the study
did not report much discomfort while resting or exercising.
Azpiroz and his colleagues are
not certain how exercise relieves excess gas, but one possibility
is that exercise gets rid of gas by increasing pressure in the
abdomen.
SOURCE: American Journal of Medicine,
April 15, 2004.
Reference
Source 89
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