What your poop says about your health & How to improve it naturally 💩
A bit a fun and lot of practical information
Hello Friends,
Let’s have some fun diving into all things fecal matter!
There is plenty more to dig into than I could include here, so let me know in the comments if you would like a part 2.
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In a recent bookstore visit, I came across Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi in the children’s section. If you’re not familiar, it’s a bestselling children’s book helping small humans far and wide with potty training. As I flipped through it, it occurred to me that this (and a surprising amount of poop-genre reading material for kids) doesn’t address stool as an important part of physiology. Then again, most people wish to avoid the topic of bodily functions altogether, much less make a study of it. Still the fact remains…
…part of owning a body and taking care of it, is to know how it functions… and, everyone poops.
Why pay attention to your bowel movements
As a kid growing up on a farm, fecal matter/scat/manure/cow pies and horse picky was just a normal part of life… whether mucking stalls, fertilizing the garden, or taking care of a sick animal, one learned to pay attention to not only quantity but quality of dung and to view it as a vital sign. If an horse, suddenly becomes constipated or has the runs, it’s no laughing matter but rather a signal that something has potentially gone seriously wrong. Plainly put: poop provides feedback on health status and can give insight to things like: illness, digestive function, hydration, diet quality, and may be used to diagnose certain conditions.
Gross as it can be, excretion is an essential aspect of physiology which the body depends upon to eliminate waste, toxins, and even excess hormones, like estrogen – which is getting a lot of attention recently as more and more women are suffering from estrogen dominance related conditions, such as certain cancers, fibroids, endometriosis, and polycystic ovarian syndrome.
…now are you getting interested in poo?
Did you know: Bowel movements help rid the body of nasties like arsenic, lead, and mercury!
Note: Just so we’re clear: This blog is NOT intended as medical advice or to take the place of care from a qualified healthcare provider. A change in your bowel movements once or twice is less of a concern than persistence changes but it’s never a bad idea to check in with your healthcare provider. If you experience a sudden drastic stool change, other serious symptoms, or pass blood, please seek medical attention.
What’s considered “normal”
While stool varies between people and may also fluctuate a little from day to day, generally speaking, it should be similar to a ripe banana in consistency and brown in color.
But there’s more to it than that…
Things to check and what they mean
While there are several things to look for, stool consistency (texture) is first and foremost. In 1997, Dr. Kenneth Heaton developed the Bristol Stool Scale (BSS) at a teaching hospital in, you guessed it, Bristol, England, and it is now being used in medical offices (and bathrooms) all over the world as a helpful tool to quickly assess fecal matter. Has your doctor asked you at a checkup, where you fall on this chart?
While types 3, 4, and 5 are considered variations of normal and indicate healthy digestive function, type 4 is said to be the “best”. Types 1, 2, 6, and 7 are undesirable. Types 1 and 2 (constipation) are typically related to lack of gut motility, poor diet, dehydration, or stress. Types 6 and 7 (diarrhea) are most often due to viruses, though for some, stress can also cause loose stool. Food allergies, whether known or subclinical (aka “hidden”), can also be at play and a person may then experience both constipation and diarrhea on a regular basis.
After nearly 20 years in use, research continues to assert that the BSS is reliable (Chumpitazi et al., 2016) although it does omit some key doo-doo characteristics which are also quite important, such as: timing, floatation, odor, color, amount, and frequency. Let’s talk about those…
Timing ⏰
The most natural time of day to have a bowel movement (BM) is in the morning. This is due to several converging physiological processes going on but primarily something called the gastrocolic reflex that is largely controlled by your circadian rhythm. As I’ve discussed in other posts, the circadian rhythm is REALLY important as it is the body’s internal clock that determines the timing of things like BMs, waking up, hunger, hormonal changes, and other necessary functions throughout the day. That said, this clock is sensitive to changes in the external environment, so if you travel, experience stress, change your diet, or are getting too much artificial light, it may cause shifts in BM timing.
This isn’t to say that pooping at other times of the day is bad but if you’re not going in the morning, it may be worth looking into better supporting your circadian rhythm.
Floatation ⛵️
In short: it should sink and rest at the bottom, not unlike the Titanic. If it floats once in a while, that’s not a problem, however regular floaters can be due to certain health conditions, such as a gastrointestinal infection, poor absorption of nutrients, or just too much gas.
Odor 🐽
Poo is not supposed to smell great but should be tolerable and familiar to you, if it suddenly starts to reek or smell strange, it could be due to a sudden dietary change, poor digestion, or malabsorption.
Color 🌈
Color changes can be due to certain medications, dietary shifts such as increased fat in the diet or eating a lot of leafy greens, and can also indicate certain medical conditions, like celiac disease or a biliary obstruction. For any of the below, it’s a good idea to talk with your healthcare provider.
Stool colors and meanings:
Green: If food passes through the gut rapidly, such as in the case of diarrhea, there may not be time for bilirubin, a compound made by the liver, to undergo the chemical changes which give stool its usual brown color. Eating lots of greens or food dyes can also cause green stool.
Yellow: While this color is normal in babies, yellow poop from an adult may indicate undigested fat from a lack of necessary pancreatic enzymes, or a malabsorption syndrome, such as celiac disease.
Gray, White, or Clay colored: Medications can cause this but so can infections, liver and gallbladder disfunction.
Black, maroon, or red: These can all indicate bleeding along the intestinal tract, however, red veggies such as beet, cranberries, blueberries, and food dye also can also be the cause.
Amount 💩💩💩
Sometimes having a larger BM is due to a period of constipation or increased food intake. Stool size varies by individual but there is evidence to suggest that bigger is better and this may have a lot to do with a proper diet and healthy gut microbiome (more on that in a minute).
Frequency 📆
Going “number 2” anywhere from 3 times per day to 3 times per week is considered normal however going once per day is ideal. This is because daily excretion maximizes the removal of wastes including potentially harmful metabolites and other stuff that can be problematic if allowed to build up. Also, research has shown that countries that poop more regularly, like India, have lower rates of colorectal cancers. Additionally, faster transit time tends to prevent constipation and create those high quality Bristol number four’s that we’re aiming for, because less fluid is reabsorbed.
Frequency will usually have a set pattern for an individual unless something changes with their circadian rhythm, stress, diet, or hydration status etc.
The importance of the microbiome
Poop health and digestive function largely come down to the health of your gut microbiome - a large collection of microbes living in the gut, now being called an “organ” because it’s so essential to life. It performs many functions, ranging from the production of essential nutrients, immune function, and poo production. Research has observed that the robustness of the microbiome is positively correlated with better BSS scores (Vandeputte, D., et al., 2016) - meaning that part of keeping things going smooth in the bathroom, is making good choices in the kitchen.
Now that you have some reading material in addition to knowing your stuff about poo characteristics… you may be interested to begin connecting the dots between your lifestyle choices and the quality of your poo. The next time you’re on the porcelain throne, take note of what you find. And, if you happen to struggle with health issues, it may be of great benefit to track your stool along with other symptoms as this information can help you and your provider to get to the cause.
Below, I’m going to give you some tried and true, research-backed advice on improving your poo situation. That said, if you are dealing with symptoms, irregularities, suspect a food allergy, or just feel you need more guidance, I suggest making an appointment with your functional medicine provider, naturopath, or holistic nutritionist. These professions have additional study in nutrition and disease prevention - in essence, they are often better equipped to help you navigate lifestyle changes or get functional testing for more information about what’s going on and how to fix it naturally.
And, without further adieu…
🌟The poop fix!🌟
Now that you have determined where you are on the Bristol scale and considered other factors highlighted above, here are some tips and 7 keys to help restore and support healthy bowel movements!