Your poop is important to understand because, guess what, we’re all full of it! Anyone who says otherwise is lying! We produce over 1,000 pounds of feces every year (approx weight of a concert piano)!
More interestingly, more than 80% of our immune system is found tied up in our guts. It’s known as G.A.L.T or gut associated lymphoid tissue. And if this tissue is unhappy, so are we!
Surprisingly, our guts are also chemically similar to our brains in that they share similar neurotransmitters. Intestines are loaded with nerves that stimulate the muscles that line your pipes to move food down the line.
There are important factors to consider when you take audit of your poop. Here they are:
SHAPE: should be S-shaped when it hits the toilet bowel (shape of your rectum as it nears your anuns)
FORM: feces need bulk so that your intestines can squeeze on it. #3 shown here in the Bristol Stool Chart is healthiest.
LISTEN: it should enter the water like an Olympic high diver – no splash. NOT like gun rounds or explosions!
SINK or FLOAT?
A slow sink is optimal. Floating means too high fat. Fiber makes it fall.
TRANSIT TIME:
Eat corn. Take note of the time you eat it and the time you see it in the toilet bowl (yes, nobody digests corn fully – that’s normal!). Your transit time should be about 24 hours.
Get over being embarrassed when talking to your doctor about your stool. If it seems unusual or it’s different, it could be a problem. Talking about it could mean the difference of life or death!
FREQUENCY:
Bowel movements among normal, healthy people varies from three a day to three a week, and some perfectly healthy people fall outside both ends of this range. I call this the 3-3 rule.
Constipation refers to infrequent or hard stools, or difficulty passing stools. Constipation may involve pain during the passage of a bowel movement, inability to pass a bowel movement after straining or pushing for more than 10 minutes, or no bowel movements after more than 3 days. Infants who are still exclusively breastfed may go 7 days without a stool.
Constipation is a relative term. Normal patterns of bowel elimination vary widely from person to person and you may not have a bowel movement every day. While some healthy people have consistently soft or near-runny stools, others have consistently firm stools, but no difficulty passing them.
When the stool is hard, infrequent, and requires significant effort to pass, you have constipation. The passage of large, wide stools may tear the mucosal membrane of the anus, especially in children. This can cause bleeding and the possibility of an anal fissure.
Constipation is most often caused by a low-fiber diet, lack of physical activity, not drinking enough water, or delay in going to the bathroom when you have the urge to defecate. Stress and travel can also contribute to constipation or other changes in bowel habits.
Other times, diseases of the bowel (such as irritable bowel syndrome), pregnancy, certain medical conditions (like an underactive thyroid or cystic fibrosis), mental health problems, neurological diseases, or medications may be the reason for your constipation. More serious causes, like colon cancer, are much less common.
Constipation in children often occurs if they hold back bowel movements when they aren’t ready for toilet training or are afraid of it.
Reference:
YOU: The Owner’s Manual: An Insider’s Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
Why would it be any other book, by any other people?! :o)