Bowel Movement 101

The following subject is something every single person who has ever lived on the planet Earth has done almost every single day of their life. No matter who you are or where or when you lived you have spent a few moments of everyday involved in a bowel movement. This may not seem like an interesting subject or a private matter that you feel uncomfortable discussing. The reason for this subject matter is because what you flush down the toilet is a daily "barometer" of what is going on inside your body. It is a production of what is right or wrong with your system. The next time you use the toilet stop and take a private moment to look at your feces to see the result of your diet.

First off how many times a day do you poop?

On average a healthy person will have three bowel movements everyday. All people need to evacuate at least once everyday. If you do not "go" at least everyday then you are constipated and if you go more than 3 times you have diarrhea. The diarrhea part most people understand but many do not realize how important it is to "go" each and everyday.

What about the smell?

The smell of your bowel movement is a direct result of the type of foods and drinks you consume. Generally speaking, feces will smell worse if you consume foods or liquids with many artificial flavors or chemicals. You can reduce the offensive odor by eating more natural foods that do not contain the artificial flavors or chemicals.

Does it float?

Whether or not your feces float is an indicator of a healthy diet. A good diet would result in the stool sinking to the bottom. A floating stool may be a symptom of a more serious problem but more than likely it is because you are eating too many fatty foods in your diet. Increased levels of nutrients in the stool are supplied to the normal bacteria that live in the gut, which in turn produce more gas. This results in more gas-rich stools that float. Lower the fat content of your food and your poop should sink.

How hard is it?

A good healthy poop should be like toothpaste. If you strain or have really solid poops then you need to adjust your diet. What you should do is increase the amount of fiber in the daily diet by eating foods like:

o Whole grain breads and cereals

o Fresh raw fruits with skins and seeds

o Fresh raw vegetables

o Fruit juices

o Dates, apricots, raisins, prunes, prune juice, nuts

What color should it be?

Feces will most often be light or dark brown which is natural. Consult a doctor immediately if there is blood with stools, if blood has colored a stool red, if a stool appears black and tarry, or very light or pale in color, as these changes can indicate a serious condition.

What is a good shape?

This question can bring an entire mental collage of thoughts that need no description here. So lets go straight to the description of what is healthy...
Well formed stools are soft and flexible. They have good texture, volume and weight and are passed easily (with out straining hard). They make a clean exit from the body and hold their shape. The length should be from four to seven inches.

So. if you are living a healthy lifestyle with the proper diet your bowel movements should follow a strict pattern. It is something you have to do quite often and I hope you will use this article to realize that your feces are not just something you flush away. It is a barometer of your diet and your body. So think twice before you just flush it away. I encourage you to further research this subject yourself because it really demonstrates what is going on inside your body.