Study finds women’s flatulence smells stronger on average

A new foreign study found that women’s farts are on average smellier than men’s.

The New York Post reported that gastroenterologist Michael Levitt conducted a study in 1998 in which 16 healthy adults ate pinto beans and took a laxative. Then special devices were used to collect samples, and researchers analyzed the gas composition.

Two judges rated each sample’s smell from 0 to 8, with 8 being “very unpleasant,” without knowing they were smelling human flatulence.

Results showed women’s farts had higher concentrations of hydrogen sulfide—the “rotten egg” compound chiefly responsible for foul odor— on average, they smelled stronger. 

Although men produced a greater “volume of gas,” their odor did not necessarily stand out. Sniffers consistently rated women’s samples as more pungent.

However, hydrogen sulfide—the source of the stink— was not totally bad as researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine experimented on genetically engineered mice designed to model human Alzheimer’s disease back in 2021. 

They injected the mice with NaGYY, a hydrogen sulfide donor compound, and monitored changes in memory and motor function over 12 weeks.

Tests confirmed that treated mice showed a 50 percent improvement in cognitive and motor function compared with untreated mice. 

While the findings suggested that hydrogen sulfide can reverse some behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer’s in mice, it remains unproven whether this applies to humans.