We are all aware of the old rhyme, which will be repeated here simply for recognition: Beans, beans, the musical fruit, The more you eat, the more you toot.
The rhyme about one of the causes of flatulence is one which is familiar to all of us from the playground when we were young.
The words are different in some places and from different individuals, but we have all heard a variation of it.
We all know the theory that eating beans is one of the causes of flatulence.
Is it true? When we sit down to Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner, to eat a full roast meal with the trimmings - potatoes and veg, including Brussels sprouts - we all know that someone will raise the topic of eating sprouts being a cause of flatulence.
The stories about Brussels sprouts making us flatulent are commonplace, and these rumors apply not only to Brussels sprouts but to most boiled green vegetables.
These vegetables - cabbage, broccoli and asparagus as well as sprouts - are from the cruciferous family, and are all rumored to be causes of flatulence.
Are they? The fact is that causes of flatulence are down to a number of different factors, and is a by-product of the digestive system doing the work it needs to do in order to break down the foods we eat.
Some foods are more likely to be the cause of flatulence, some will cause less.
The foods named above will indeed lead to flatulence on a greater scale.
Beans are difficult to break down, and the work the system needs to do in order to make sure they are digested does indeed mean that more gas will be produced.
That gas has to go somewhere, and it is usually going to be one of the causes of flatulence.
If you are concerned, then the first place to look for causes of flatulence is your diet.
If you are passing wind more than usual, then the chances are it is down to excess flatulence caused by what we are eating.
If our usual flatulence is smellier than it would be ordinarily, then the chances are that the causes of flatulence are things that we have eaten.
Scientific testing has proved that worse smelling flatulence is caused by eating more cruciferous vegetables than usual.
The causes of flatulence might be something else, but the most important thing you can remember in terms of your health is the rule of Occam's razor - the simplest solution is usually the most obvious.
Excess or chronic flatulence has many causes.
Sometimes it will be caused by a health problem and we will need to consult our doctor.
Most of the time, however, a medical solution is not absolutely necessary.
Sometimes you can over complicate a problem by going for a solution that is more aggressive than was required.
The best solution to a problem will usually be the one which cures the problem without causing any side-effects in the short or long term.
If the only solution that cures the problem is one that will cause side-effects, then you need to choose that one - but leave it for when it is needed.
Addressing the causes of flatulence is the best way to go.