"Fiber [. . . bulks] up your stool and acts like glue to keep [it] together."
By Dr. Mercola
When it comes to toileting habits, the topic is not exactly a favorite among Americans – at least for those above the age of four. Mention poop and you can easily clear a room – or at the least, generate some unusual facial expressions, nervous laughter, and wisecracks about "too much information."
But your bodily emissions are an important health topic that deserves serious attention, regardless of the "ick factor." In fact, if you ignore what you deposit in your toilet, you could be flushing your health down the drain!
Did you know the average person generates about five TONS of stool in his or her lifetime? Turns out, there is much to be learned from this mountain of poop.
The shape, size, color, and other fecal features can tell you a great deal about your overall health, how your gastrointestinal tract is functioning, and even give you clues about serious disease processes that could be occurring, like infections, digestive problems, and even cancer. Poop comes in just about all the colors of the rainbow... and please forgive me for using the words poop and rainbow in the same sentence.
Although there is a certainly a wide variety of stool colors, textures and forms that are considered "normal," there are definitely things that, if seen or experienced, warrant immediate medical attention. With this in mind, the overview that follows covers what you need to know about what's normal and not normal in the bathroom department.
WHAT IS A NORMAL STOOL?
Your stool is about 75 percent water. The rest is a fetid combination of fiber, live and dead bacteria, miscellaneous cells and mucus.1, 2 The characteristics of your stool will tell you a good deal about how happy and healthy your digestive tract is – the color, odor, shape, size, and even the sound it makes when it hits the water and whether it's a "sinker" or a "floater" are all relevant information. If you're one to poop and scoot quickly out of the bathroom without looking in the toilet, then you might want to slow down and look down.
By Dr. Mercola
When it comes to toileting habits, the topic is not exactly a favorite among Americans – at least for those above the age of four. Mention poop and you can easily clear a room – or at the least, generate some unusual facial expressions, nervous laughter, and wisecracks about "too much information."
But your bodily emissions are an important health topic that deserves serious attention, regardless of the "ick factor." In fact, if you ignore what you deposit in your toilet, you could be flushing your health down the drain!
Did you know the average person generates about five TONS of stool in his or her lifetime? Turns out, there is much to be learned from this mountain of poop.
The shape, size, color, and other fecal features can tell you a great deal about your overall health, how your gastrointestinal tract is functioning, and even give you clues about serious disease processes that could be occurring, like infections, digestive problems, and even cancer. Poop comes in just about all the colors of the rainbow... and please forgive me for using the words poop and rainbow in the same sentence.
Although there is a certainly a wide variety of stool colors, textures and forms that are considered "normal," there are definitely things that, if seen or experienced, warrant immediate medical attention. With this in mind, the overview that follows covers what you need to know about what's normal and not normal in the bathroom department.
WHAT IS A NORMAL STOOL?
Your stool is about 75 percent water. The rest is a fetid combination of fiber, live and dead bacteria, miscellaneous cells and mucus.1, 2 The characteristics of your stool will tell you a good deal about how happy and healthy your digestive tract is – the color, odor, shape, size, and even the sound it makes when it hits the water and whether it's a "sinker" or a "floater" are all relevant information. If you're one to poop and scoot quickly out of the bathroom without looking in the toilet, then you might want to slow down and look down.
The Bristol Stool Chart is a handy tool that may help you learn what you're going for. Ideally, your stool should approximate Types 3, 4 and 5, "like a sausage or a snake, smooth and soft" to "soft blobs that pass easily." Type 4 is the Holy Grail.3
LOOK, LISTEN, AND SMELL BEFORE YOU FLUSH
What's normal and what's not when you look into the toilet? The following table will help you narrow down what to look for, so that you aren't needlessly alarmed. Of course, there are a few signs that ARE cause for concern, and those are listed too. If you have a change in stools accompanied by abdominal pain, please report this to your physician.4
DOES YOUR STOOL HAVE A REALLY BAD ODOR?
If your stool has an extraordinarily bad odor, it should not be ignored. I am referring to an odor above and beyond the normally objectionable stool odor. Stinky stool can be associated with a number of health problems, such as:7
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a disease caused by a defective gene that causes your body to produce abnormally thick, sticky mucus, which builds up and causes life-threatening lung infections and serious digestive problems. Most cases of CF are diagnosed before the age of 2, so this is more of a concern with infants and toddlers. Speaking of malodorous things, what about gas? Passing gas (flatulence) is normal. Not only is it normal, it's a good sign that trillions of hard working gut bacteria are doing their jobs. People pass gas an average 14 times per day – anywhere from one to four pints of it!8 Ninety nine percent of gas is odorless, so you may even be unaware you're passing it. Think about it – were it not for an exit, we'd all blow up like balloons!
- A malabsorptive disorder
- Celiac disease
- Crohn's disease
- Chronic pancreatitis
- Cystic fibrosis
HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU MOVE YOUR BOWELS?
Normal bowel habits vary. When we talk about regularity, what we're really talking about is what's regular for you. Three bowel movements per day to three per week is considered the normal range. What's more important than frequency is the ease with which you move your bowels. If you need to push or strain, something is off – moving your bowels should take no more effort than urinating or passing gas. The thing to watch for is a sudden change in your bowel habits. Many factors can affect regularity, such as diet, travel, medications, hormonal fluctuations, sleep patterns, exercise, illness, surgery, childbirth, stress and a whole host of other things.9
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