What Are Sulfur Burps and How do they Happen?

If you have ever tried to let out a bit of gas that has bubbled itself up from your gut, hopefully, while you were alone, and it smelled of solid sulfur. This substance has been described as the same smell that Satan’s fiery lair emits to all of the damned who are unfortunate enough to pass through his door, to begin an eternity of painful fire and brimstone. Anything as nasty as a “Sulfur Burp” would be a sad enough event to happen while alone, when one can reflect upon the event and frantically begin a frenzy of googling to diagnose what incubus may have just seized control of the upper GI tract to squeeze out a cloud of awful (offal?) mist. If this dreadful thing happened while with someone you have a crush on… I can’t imagine the fallout of that terrible moment in time.

The only suggestion I can make in that instance is to pretend that the whole thing was a bad dream and hope that you might convince the other party of the same. If that person has not forever scoured your number from the contacts, list permanently, begin an immediate campaign of deceit and lies to try to convince that person that The Burp Incident was nothing but a bad dream that they had after getting a burrito that contained some beans that had turned bad in some un-dated container in a walk-in cooler at a truck stop diner. It will be your only chance at redemption, and I wish you luck.

What are Sulfur Burps?

Now comes the part where we try to figure out if the olfactory phantasm that escaped your gullet is of this world or a byproduct of a Voodoo curse placed upon you. 

You’re in luck! There is finally some good news in this sad story! The Sulfur Burp is a natural occurrence. You aren’t even the first to have it happen to them. Some causes of malodorous belches include:

  • The natural digestion process of many foods. Eggs are a frequent culprit of the rotten egg smell that might come from a belch. Other foods naturally high in sulfur include cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and kale, high protein foods like meat and seafood, and naturally aromatic vegetables like garlic, leeks, and onions.
  • An overabundance of intestinal flora (bacteria that is usually useful and lives in your colon) might cause this kind of issue by pumping out stinky methane gasses and other types of gasses that are apt to cause bloating, farting, and belching. An excellent probiotic might help to get your natural flora back into a healthy balance. 
  • Your quest to eat more fiber might have backfired on you: literally. High fiber foods like chia seeds, whole grains, and legumes – or even a fiber supplement – might be to blame
  • You could be sensitive to lactose, gluten, or other common cause of sensitivity to food. If you are also experiencing nausea, abdominal cramping, diarrhea, flatulence, or diarrhea – this might be the answer to the riddle. Call your doctor ASAP and figure out what is making your guts churn.
  • GERD, or chronic reflux of acid into your esophagus that causes heartburn, might be to blame for stinky burping. This should also be addressed by a physician, as you might need to get an endoscopy to take a closer look down your throat.

Practical Ways To Prevent Terrifying Burp Issues

There are over-the-counter medicines like Gas-X or anything that contains simethicone to help take excess gas from the GI tract. Suppose you want to go a more natural route. In that case, you can try a product called “Bye Bye Bloat,” which contains digestive enzymes combined with other natural remedies to work against bloating in the gut and any harmful gasses that result from minor intestinal issues.