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From probiotic supplements to continuous glucose monitors, hacking gut health has become an obsession for many wellness enthusiasts. It’s not without reason: Doctors are just beginning to understand the importance of the microbiome and digestive system for overall health.
One strategy that’s gone viral on social media, however, is deceptively simple: going on ‘fart walks’ after dinner. And darn tootin’ there just might be something to it.
What are ‘fart walks’?
The fart walk is a practice coined by Mairlyn Smith, a 70-year-old cookbook author, who evangelizes on social media about eating lots of fiber and walking after dinner to pass gas.
@mairlynthequeenoffibre The #fartwalk lady is me. I’m mostly on instagram as Mairlyn Smith so I didn’t know i was that cool over here 😂 #fartwalk #fartwalker #farts ##hearthealthy #guthealthy #diabetesawareness #agingwell #aging ♬ original sound - mairlynthequeenoffibre
Her fans started sharing videos of their own #fartwalks, and the practice went viral.
Of course, cultures around the world have been going on walks after dinner for centuries, from Italy, where they call it la passeggiata, to China, which has the ancient proverb: “If you take 100 steps after each meal, you’ll live to 99.”
But are there really health benefits from strolling after supper? It turns out there are.
Fart walks help get your digestion going
First and foremost, moving around after eating helps kickstart your digestion.
“The bowel does move well on its own, but it moves better when you move,” says Dr. Christopher Damman, a gastroenterologist at the Digestive Health Center at UW Medical Center – Montlake and an associate professor of Gastroenterology and Medicine in the UW School of Medicine.
“Moving your body will help stimulate and open up your bowels," he says. "Whether or not you’d rather pass the gas while you’re outdoors or inside or exercising or not, that is your prerogative.”
Getting your bowels moving after you eat helps your stomach empty more quickly, which helps mitigate bloating and could even reduce acid reflux.
Fart walks help moderate your blood sugar
So are the claims on social media that fart walks lessen your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes true? It turns out there is something to that, too.
“There’s actually some decent literature that suggests that exercise immediately after meals can be disproportionately beneficial to regulating blood sugar levels,” says Damman. “Some studies have suggested even just five minutes of getting your heart rate up — going for a stroll around the neighborhood, doing some jumping jacks — is sufficient to blunt the post-meal spike in blood sugar levels.”
One review of seven studies found that light-intensity walking significantly reduced “postprandial glucose and insulin,” or the blood sugar spike you get after you eat, compared to sitting.
In addition to making you tired and foggy, sharp blood sugar spikes, especially from processed or sugary foods, can increase insulin resistance over time and lead to prediabetes or diabetes. If you have diabetes and take medication to manage your blood sugar levels, after-dinner walks can still be beneficial for helping you stay within your target blood sugar range (though exerting yourself too much could cause hypoglycemia, so it’s important to keep tabs on your levels).
Tips for getting the most out of your fart walk
There are a few important things to keep in mind to get the benefits of walking after eating.
Timing is key
Your blood sugar spikes within 60 to 90 minutes of eating, so it’s important to get your fart walk in an hour or so after you’ve finished your meal.
“When you do the exercise is critical,” says Damman. “If you wait too long, you’ll miss the spike because it starts going up within minutes after you eat when the stomach starts to empty into the small intestine where all of the nutrients, including glucose, get absorbed into the blood.”
Pay attention to what you eat
While post-meal walks can help maintain blood sugar levels, preventing spikes starts with what you put on your plate. Eating foods rich in fiber and skipping ultra-processed foods will prevent your blood sugar from spiking so much in the first place.
“Eating whole foods is your best bet because they have all the things packed together that we’ve evolved with to regulate the absorption of glucose,” says Damman.
Processed foods remove nutrients like fiber and phytonutrients like polyphenols, which help regulate blood sugar in the gut.
Of course, foods high in fiber and phytonutrients can also produce a lot of gas, making those fart walks even more crucial.
Take care of your well-being throughout the day
While paying attention to what happens at mealtime is important, your overall well-being also affects your digestion and blood sugar levels. That includes how active you are, how much rest you’re getting and how much stress and anxiety you’re experiencing.
“The level of stress that we have dramatically impacts our blood sugar levels,” says Damman. “If you’re acutely stressed, your blood sugar’s going to spike.”
That’s because when we’re stressed, our body releases stress hormones like cortisol, which increase blood sugar levels. So don’t underestimate the importance of getting good sleep and reducing stress in your life.
Finally, it’s important to move and get exercise throughout the day, not just after meals — the more you exert your muscles, the better your body will regulate your blood sugar.
Address any underlying conditions
If you’re experiencing regular bloating, it might be something more than a stroll can fix.
“It’s more often related to the types of food that people are eating, or it can be related to small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or irritable bowel syndrome,” says Damman. “Those conditions are not going to improve with just walking.”
Don’t hesitate to see a doctor if your digestive symptoms persist or get worse.
But if you’re getting gassy from eating lots of fiber-rich, whole foods and then going on a walk to let it loose, that’s a virtuous — if stinky — cycle that any GI doctor would get behind.
