How much waste is trapped in your intestines. What are the health consequences of carrying excess fecal matter. How can you improve your digestive health and overall well-being. Why is the Standard American Diet problematic for digestion.

The Shocking Amount of Fecal Matter in Your Body

Many people are unaware of the significant amount of waste that can accumulate in their intestines. Depending on factors like height, age, and diet, an individual could be carrying anywhere from 5 to 20 pounds of fecal matter in their digestive system at any given time. This startling fact raises important questions about digestive health and its impact on overall well-being.

Factors Influencing Fecal Accumulation

• Height and body size
• Age and metabolic rate
• Dietary habits and fiber intake
• Frequency of bowel movements
• Digestive health conditions

Is it normal to have this much waste in your body? While some fecal matter is expected as part of the digestive process, excessive accumulation can lead to various health issues and discomfort.

The Hidden Dangers of Poor Digestive Health

Carrying excess waste in your intestines is more than just an unpleasant thought – it can have serious implications for your health. Harvard Medical School has identified several symptoms associated with poor digestive health:

• Chronic constipation or diarrhea
• Abdominal pain and bloating
• Excessive gas
• Nausea and vomiting
• Unexplained weight changes
• Fatigue and weakness

These symptoms are not just minor inconveniences. According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 70 million Americans suffer from digestive-related issues. Even more alarming, digestive diseases claim the lives of 236,000 Americans annually, with an additional 1.9 million experiencing disabilities due to these conditions.

The Standard American Diet: A Recipe for Digestive Disaster

Why are so many Americans burdened with excess fecal matter in their digestive systems? The answer largely lies in the Standard American Diet (SAD), which is heavily reliant on processed foods.

A 2016 study published in BMJ Open revealed that the average American derives 57.9% of their daily caloric intake from ultra-processed foods. These products are often low in fiber and high in artificial ingredients, making them difficult for the body to digest and eliminate efficiently.

Common Ultra-Processed Foods to Avoid

1. Carbonated soft drinks
2. Fast food items (burgers, fries, pizza)
3. Processed meats
4. Sugary breakfast cereals
5. Packaged snacks (chips, crackers, cookies)
6. Artificial sweeteners and preservatives

Can ultra-processed foods really cause digestive issues? Indeed, these foods often lack the necessary fiber for proper digestion and can lead to a buildup of waste in the intestines. They may also contain additives that disrupt the natural digestive process.

Understanding Your Intestinal Anatomy

To grasp the full impact of fecal accumulation, it’s essential to understand the structure of your intestines. The digestive tract is a complex system designed to process food, absorb nutrients, and eliminate waste.

Key Components of the Intestinal System

• Small intestine: Approximately 20 feet long and 1 inch in diameter
• Large intestine (colon): About as long as your height and as wide as your wrist
• Rectum: The final section before waste exits the body

How much waste can the intestines hold? According to some estimates, for every foot of colon, the body can store between 5 and 10 pounds of feces. This means that someone just over five feet tall could potentially have up to 25 pounds of waste in their colon alone.

The Formation of Mucoid Plaque: A Hidden Health Hazard

When waste accumulates in the intestines, it can form a substance known as mucoid plaque. This material consists of layers of encrusted mucus mixed with fecal matter, which can adhere to the intestinal walls.

Natural health expert Richard Anderson, N.D., N.M.D., describes mucoid plaque as resembling “hardened blackish-green truck tire rubber or an old piece of dried rawhide.” In extreme cases, autopsies have revealed intestines weighing up to 40 pounds due to this accumulated waste.

Potential Health Risks of Mucoid Plaque

• Impaired nutrient absorption
• Increased risk of infections
• Chronic inflammation
• Weakened immune system
• Disrupted gut microbiome balance

Is mucoid plaque dangerous to your health? While the concept of mucoid plaque is controversial in mainstream medicine, many alternative health practitioners believe it can contribute to various digestive and systemic health issues.

The Transformative Benefits of Improved Digestive Health

Addressing the issue of trapped waste and improving digestive health can lead to numerous positive outcomes for your overall well-being. When you successfully eliminate excess fecal matter from your intestines, you may experience:

1. Increased energy levels
2. Enhanced immune function
3. Improved nutrient absorption
4. Reduced bloating and discomfort
5. Better weight management
6. Clearer skin and improved complexion
7. Enhanced mood and mental clarity

How can you improve your digestive health? Adopting a diet rich in fiber, staying hydrated, exercising regularly, and managing stress are all effective strategies for promoting better digestive function.

Strategies for Optimizing Digestive Health

To combat the accumulation of waste in your intestines and improve your overall digestive health, consider implementing the following strategies:

Dietary Modifications

• Increase fiber intake through whole grains, fruits, and vegetables
• Reduce consumption of processed and ultra-processed foods
• Incorporate probiotic-rich foods like yogurt and kefir
• Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day

Lifestyle Changes

• Engage in regular physical activity to promote bowel motility
• Practice stress-reduction techniques like meditation or yoga
• Establish a consistent sleep schedule to support digestive rhythms
• Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption

Supplementation and Natural Remedies

• Consider probiotic supplements to support gut health
• Explore herbal teas known for digestive benefits (e.g., peppermint, ginger)
• Discuss potential digestive enzyme supplements with a healthcare provider
• Investigate natural laxatives for occasional use, under medical guidance

Are there any risks associated with detoxifying your digestive system? While gentle, natural methods are generally safe, it’s important to consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new health regimen, especially if you have pre-existing medical conditions.

The Role of Gut Microbiome in Digestive Health

Recent scientific research has highlighted the critical importance of the gut microbiome in maintaining overall health, including digestive function. The gut microbiome refers to the trillions of microorganisms that inhabit your digestive tract, playing crucial roles in digestion, immunity, and even mental health.

Key Functions of the Gut Microbiome

• Breaking down complex carbohydrates
• Producing essential vitamins and short-chain fatty acids
• Supporting the immune system
• Maintaining intestinal barrier integrity
• Influencing mood and cognitive function

How can you support a healthy gut microbiome? Consuming a diverse range of plant-based foods, limiting antibiotic use when possible, and incorporating fermented foods into your diet can all contribute to a thriving gut microbiome.

The Connection Between Digestive Health and Systemic Well-being

It’s becoming increasingly clear that digestive health is intricately linked to overall systemic health. The concept of the gut-brain axis, for instance, illustrates how the digestive system communicates with and influences other bodily systems, including the nervous system and immune function.

Areas Impacted by Digestive Health

• Mental health and cognitive function
• Immune system strength and responsiveness
• Skin health and appearance
• Hormonal balance
• Cardiovascular health
• Inflammatory responses throughout the body

Can improving digestive health have far-reaching effects on overall well-being? Indeed, many health practitioners now recognize that addressing digestive issues can lead to improvements in seemingly unrelated health concerns, from mood disorders to autoimmune conditions.

The Future of Digestive Health Research and Treatment

As our understanding of the digestive system and its impact on overall health continues to grow, new avenues for research and treatment are emerging. Scientists and medical professionals are exploring innovative approaches to enhance digestive health and address related conditions.

Promising Areas of Research

• Personalized nutrition based on individual gut microbiome profiles
• Targeted probiotic therapies for specific health conditions
• Fecal microbiota transplantation for treating digestive disorders
• Development of prebiotic compounds to support beneficial gut bacteria
• Investigation of the gut-brain axis for mental health treatments

What potential breakthroughs might we see in digestive health care? As research progresses, we may witness more personalized and effective treatments for digestive issues, as well as a greater emphasis on preventative strategies to maintain optimal gut health throughout life.

Empowering Your Digestive Health Journey

Understanding the potential for excess waste accumulation in your body is the first step towards improving your digestive health. By recognizing the impact of diet, lifestyle, and environmental factors on your digestive system, you can take proactive steps to optimize your gut function and overall well-being.

Action Steps for Better Digestive Health

1. Assess your current diet and identify areas for improvement
2. Gradually increase your fiber intake and water consumption
3. Experiment with probiotic-rich foods and consider supplementation
4. Incorporate regular physical activity into your routine
5. Practice stress-reduction techniques daily
6. Monitor your bowel habits and address any persistent issues with a healthcare provider
7. Stay informed about new developments in digestive health research

How can you maintain long-term digestive health? Consistency is key. By making sustainable lifestyle changes and remaining attentive to your body’s signals, you can support your digestive system for years to come.

Remember, your digestive health is a cornerstone of your overall well-being. By taking steps to optimize your gut function and reduce the burden of excess waste, you’re investing in a healthier, more vibrant future. Whether you’re dealing with digestive discomfort or simply looking to enhance your health, focusing on your digestive system can yield profound benefits for your entire body.

How Much Poop Is Trapped In Your Body?

How much waste (poop) is in the human body at any given time?

Much more than you probably think.

Depending on your height, age, and diet you could be carrying anywhere from 5 to 20 pounds of poop in your intestines.

It’s not a pretty picture.

The stinking waste that piles up in your intestines can seriously harm your digestive health.

According to Harvard Medical School [1], symptoms of poor digestive health include:

The National Institutes of Health reports that as many as 70 million Americans are suffering with these and other symptoms of poor digestive health. [2]

236,000 Americans die of digestive-related disease every year.

And another 1.9 million are disabled.

Poor digestive health is much more than a problem in America. It’s a nationwide epidemic.

You need to understand WHY millions of Americans are carrying 20 pounds (or more) of feces around in their digestive system.

And what YOU can do to protect your health…

Why You Might Have 20 Pounds Of Poop

Trapped In Your Body

Do you eat the Standard American Diet of heavily processed foods? Then it’s practically guaranteed you’re lugging around unwanted pounds of poop.

Processed foods are made from refined ingredients and added substances like salt, sugar, high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and preservatives.

Some of the most common processed foods include soda, microwavable meals, cereal, lunch meat, fast food, bread, chips, crackers, cookies and candy.

A lot of these foods are marketed to you as healthy. And as a result we eat a TON of processed food in America.

A 2016 study published in the journal BMJ Open found that the average American gets 57.9% of their daily calories from ‘ultra-processed foods’. [3]

These ultra-processed foods are the worst of the worst:

Pepsi and Coke. Greasy burgers and fries. Pizza. Fried chicken. Sugary drinks from your neighborhood Starbucks.

They’re loaded with artificial ingredients. Hard-to-pronounce chemical agents like pyridoxine hydrochloride, sucralose, and dipotassium phosphate.

They’re low in fiber. So they sit in your gut for days. Weeks. And can lead to severe constipation.

These ultra-processed foods aren’t found in nature. They’re cooked up in labs run by mega-rich food companies.

And they slam the brakes on your body’s natural ability to digest and eliminate waste.

And we’re gorging on these foods in America!

No wonder the average American has 20 pounds of poop trapped in their intestines!

Your body cannot properly digest and eliminate these ultra-processed “Frankenfoods”.

As a result they get lodged in the lining of your intestinal tract in the form of old, rotten feces and mucus.

And when your intestines are crammed with putrid feces your belly bloats like a balloon.

You feel fatigued. Tired all the time. 

You seem to catch every little bug that goes around church or the office.

And your health is seriously compromised.

Unless you do something about it…

The Silent Problem Inside Of You

The intestines are a long tube running from the stomach to the anus and includes the small intestines, large intestines (colon), and rectum.

Your body absorbs most of its nutrients in the intestines.

The small intestine is about 20 feet long and about an inch in diameter. It’s responsible for absorbing nutrients from the things you eat and drink.

The large intestine, or colon, is about as long as you are tall. And it’s roughly as big around as your wrist. The colon absorbs water from waste. This creates feces.

For every foot of colon the body can store between 5 and 10 pounds of feces.

So if you’re just over five foot tall you could easily have 25 pounds of poop stuck in your colon. And that estimate is on the conservative side!

“The intestines can store a vast amount of partially digested, putrefying matter,” says natural health expert, Richard Anderson, N.D., N.M.D.

“Some intestines, when autopsied, have weighed up to 40 pounds and were distended to a diameter of 12 inches with only a pencil-thin channel through which the feces could move.

“That 40 pounds was due to caked layers of encrusted mucus, mixed with fecal matter, bizarrely resembling hardened blackish-green truck tire rubber or an old piece of dried rawhide.”

Doctors refer to this poisonous waste as “mucoid plaque”. I considered including a picture of it in this article. But, frankly, the images are too graphic.

And I want to make sure not to scare you off. Because you can’t afford to miss out on the exciting health news I want to share with you…

4 Amazing Benefits

Of Good Digestive Health

When you flush trapped poop out of your intestines, your digestive health improves.

And when your digestive health improves, you gain better head-to-toe health.

You surge with more energy. You fight off cold and flu. You have a much easier time burning fat and shedding pounds.

You experience these health benefits (and more) because your digestive system is responsible for:

1. Vitamin, Mineral and Nutrient Absorption

All of your vitamin, mineral and nutrient absorption takes place in the intestines.

If your gut is burdened with 20 pounds of toxic waste, you can’t absorb the nutrients you need from the foods you eat.

And this will leave you tired, run down, and at risk for illness.

And that’s not all…

Research suggests that poor gut health could be a major contributing factor to obesity. [4]

If you’re trying to lose weight it’s essential that you purge rotten feces from your colon.

This will quickly lead to weight loss and a flatter stomach. And, it will improve your digestive health which makes ongoing weight loss easier and more effective.

2. Metabolism

Do you struggle with slow or no metabolism? Do you find it difficult to lose weight? Have you tried diet and exercise in the past but still can’t seem to get rid of unwanted pounds?

Blame it on your gut.

Scientists are now convinced that the good bacteria that live in your gut impact your metabolism and your body’s ability to lose weight. [5]

These good bacteria, known as “probiotics”, need to live in a clean, healthy environment. Not a toxic swamp filled with pounds of decaying, undigested food.

Flush the trapped poop out of your digestive system. And your good bacteria will fire up your metabolism and restore your body’s natural fat burning abilities.

3. Protection Against Illness and Disease

New research suggests that as much as 80% of your body’s immune cells are located in your digestive system! [6]

You don’t need me to tell you that poop is crawling with nasty bugs, bacteria and pathogens.

If you’ve got 20 pounds of poop sitting in your gut do you think you’ll look and feel healthy? Not a chance.

Do you find yourself getting sick more often than usual? Do you suffer from allergies? Do you feel like your health is slowly going downhill?

These are all signs that your digestive health has been compromised. And you need to act fast to flush the toxic poop that’s poisoning you from the inside out. I’ll show you how to do that in just a second…

4. Emotional Well-Being

We all want to feel happy and live life to the fullest.

Purging your digestive system of harmful waste will make you feel like a million bucks! That’s because 90% of the body’s serotonin is made in the digestive system. [7]

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter known as the “happy hormone”. It influences how happy and relaxed you feel. If your digestive system is toxic and unhealthy, you’re not going to get adequate levels of serotonin.

And insufficient serotonin levels have been linked to mood swings, stress and depression.

Purge the nasty waste from your digestive system. You’ll be amazed at how much happier it makes you feel!

The benefits of a healthy digestive system are amazing.

But if you’ve got 20 pounds of toxic poop lodged in your colon, you’re not able to enjoy these health benefits the way you deserve.

You’re missing out…

70,000,000 Americans Suffer, Needlessly

Remember: the National Institutes of Health estimates that 70 million Americans experience poor digestive health.

And some experts believe that number could be closer to 100 million.

100 MILLION…

Good men and women. Who are being cheated out of the fun and vibrant health they deserve. All because the so-called “healthy” foods they eat are anything but healthy.

The mega-rich food companies load our plates with their ultra-processed junk and promise, “Dig in! It’s good for you!” But so many of these foods rot in our gut for days. Weeks. Even longer.

These foods fester and decompose in our colon. Until we’re burdened with 20 pounds of toxic poop trapped in our bodies. Harming our digestive health.

And forcing us to suffer from constipation, gas, bloating, weight gain, heartburn, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, acne, fatigue, depression and a host of other health issues.

Don’t let trapped poop rob you of your precious health!

Flush Toxic Poop From Your Body Quickly…

Painlessly… Permanently!

Could you be one of the millions of Americans with 5 pounds, 10 pounds, 20 pounds — or more — of rotting poop lodged in your colon, poisoning you from the inside out, and stealing away the precious gift of health?

Take our short Gut Health Quiz and find out:

1. 1. Do you regularly suffer from constipation?

1. 1. Do you experience gas, bloating or indigestion after meals?

1. 1. Are you a woman? (Women are three times as likely to experience constipation as men. )

1. 1. Have you eaten fast food at least once in the past 14 days?

1. 1. Do you sometimes feel run down and worn out for no good reason?

1. 1. Do you suffer from allergies or asthma?

1. 1. Is weight loss difficult for you even with diet and exercise?

1. 1. Do you have a swollen “pregnant-looking” stomach?

1. 1. Have you used a laxative in the past 3 months?

1. Do you consider yourself open-minded and health-conscious?

Can you honestly answer “Yes” to two or more of those questions? If so, I urge you to watch this special free presentation.

You simply can’t afford to ignore the WARNING SIGNS your body is giving you right now.

Discover how to rid yourself of the trapped poop that’s making you sick… how to restore your digestive system to good health… how to quickly (and easily) lose your fat, bloated belly… and the #1 thing you MUST DO if you’re serious about experiencing the radiant health you desire and deserve!

Watch this short presentation now to discover the secret.

Now It’s Your Turn

I understand that this can be an embarrassing topic for many people. But, your body’s ability to quickly and properly eliminate waste — POOP — is critical to your health. It is the Golden Key to looking and feeling your best.

Today, millions of Americans silently suffer from poor digestive health. They don’t realize that rotting feces trapped in their colon could explain their rapid weight gain, gas, bloating, fatigue, constipation and other symptoms.

If you found this information helpful, would you please consider sharing it?

You can share this article by clicking on one of the social media icons (Facebook, Google+, etc. ) below. Thank you!

Your turn: Why do you think 70,000,000 million Americans suffer with poor digestive health? What steps are you taking to regain control of your digestive health? Let us know in the comments section below!

How Much Toxic Waste is Trapped in Your Body Colon?

Long term toxic waste buildup can quickly turn into a serious health problem and risk factor for a number of different conditions. The scary truth is that most people are walking around with toxic waste trapped in their body.

We’re talking about poop, and how not having regular bowel movements can lead to long term health issues, digestive system imbalances, and even weight gain. 

In this article, we are also going to explore what happens if you hold in your bowel movements too much, and the importance of detoxing toxic waste from your body to help cleanse your colon, and also assist in weight loss. 

How Much Poop is in Your Intestine?

Let’s start by talking about the problem with having this toxic waste sitting around in your intestines.  

The average adult has

2-9 kg of Poop trapped in their digestive system 

Yup,  you heard that right, and with that much trapped 💩 poop just sitting inside your digestive tract, it is bound to lead to some pretty serious health problems. 

How Much Waste Can Your Intestines Hold?

In the book The Truth About Poop, author Susan E. Goodman states that people produce one ounce (~28 gr) of poop for each 12 pounds (5.4 kg) of their body weight. This means the more you weigh, the heavier your poop will be.

American women aged 20 years and above weigh an average of 170.6 pounds (lbs) / 77 kg, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Your intestines can hold

2 to 18 kg of waste in your body

This 💩 toxic sludge is literally just hanging out the small and large intestine which can lead to fecal toxicity and a whole host of other problems such as. 

» Irritable bowel syndrome
» Constipation
» Diarrhoea 
» Leaky gut 
» Eczema and other skin-related health issues 

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The Problem with Infrequent Bowel Movements in Relation to Toxic Waste Buildup 

As you can see, having a buildup of toxic waste rotting away inside your intestines can lead to a whole host of health problems. But, that’s not all. 

With gut health at the center of the overall health of our bodies, having any type of digestive health imbalance can lead to conditions such as:

» Obesity 

» Mood imbalances
» Weight gain 
» Inflammation 
» Sleep disruption

And, many people wonder what can happen if you hold in your bowel movements too much. Will it actually cause this toxic waste buildup? Over time, the answer is yes, and it doesn’t take very long for that 2 to 9 Kg to pile up. So, in addition to increasing the toxic waste sitting in the intestines, holding your bowel movements too much can make your stools too hard which can make it difficult to pass a bowel movement when you eventually do go. Hard stools can then lead to anal fissures and hemorrhoids…not fun. (1)  

Not passing regular bowel movements is defined as constipation which is when you pass fewer than three stools per week. 

And, as if toxic waste build-up isn’t bad enough when it comes to not going to the bathroom enough, constipation can also lead to other uncomfortable side effects such as bloating and stomach pain. 

Constipation Risk Factors

So, who’s at risk for constipation and thus at a bigger risk of this toxic waste build up in the small and large intestines? Adults are at a bit of a higher risk than younger children as the gastrocolic reflex which is the reflex that brings on that urge to have a bowel movement after eating, tends to diminish as we age. (2) Most adults are living much busier and more distracted lives than children, so they may ignore that urge to use the bathroom after eating. This can lead to holding a bowel movement in for too long and leading to that toxic waste build up.  

The Importance of Detoxing Toxic Waste From Your Body 

We know that toxins, in general, are downright harmful to our overall health, and having them just sit and fester in our intestines is certainly a motivating factor to detox this toxic waste from the body. We want to flush out these toxins to help reduce the chance of pathogenic bacteria from taking hold of our digestive tract, to help prevent diseases related to poor gut health (obesity, diabetes, depression, poor immune health, and even cardiovascular disease,) and detoxing toxic waste from your body is also essential to successful weight loss. 

One of the best ways to start gently detoxing this waste from your body is to make sure you are having a bowel movement daily. This brings us to the next question of what is the best way to have a clean stomach in the morning and why is having a clean stomach first thing in the AM so important? 

Starting your day by training your body to have a bowel movement first thing after breakfast is a great way to prevent constipation, while also giving your digestive system a boost. When you flush out some of that built up waste in the morning, you also boost your overall digestive health and may experience a boost in energy as you start your morning. You may also be less bloated, gassy, and irritable as the day goes on. 

One of the best ways to have a clean stomach in the morning is to start your day by taking a probiotic supplement and also drinking a warm glass of water with some freshly squeezed lemon juice. This will really help get things moving in a gentle yet effective way. Moving your body gently through yoga or a brisk walk is also super beneficial for daily, morning bowel movements. 

Once you start detoxing your body from these pounds of built-up toxic waste, you may also notice how much easier it is to shed excess weight. So, how exactly does detoxing make you lose weight? Detoxing your body of these toxins can literally help you shed extra pounds your body has been holding onto in the form of stool buildup. Detoxing your body is also a great way to flush out any built up toxins in your body that may be clinging onto fat. Once you flush out these toxins, your body may have an easier time letting go of built up fat. 

So, if detox and cleansing your stomach first thing in the morning is beneficial for overall health and weight loss, is it true that cleansing your colon is good? A good colon cleanse is not only beneficial for cleansing the body of toxins, but it can also help support weight loss. 

A colon cleanse, when done properly, such as through supporting natural detoxification by supporting optimal digestive health may help reduce fatigue, improve the immune system, and assist in weight loss. (3) Keep in mind that radical colon cleanses are not recommended. Taking a gentle approach by supplementing with a probiotic, having daily bowel movements, and using our tips below to support optimal digestive function are all great ways to help keep your colon clean and toxin-free. 

Tips to Improve Digestive Health to Help Support Toxic Waste Removal

Ok, so what exactly can you do to improve the body’s digestive system and thus help support natural detoxification and toxin removal? Here are seven tips to help you get started.

High Fiber Diet

A high fiber diet is a great way to bulk up your stool, and make it easier to have a bowel movement daily. Fiber-rich foods are also great for feeding the healthy bacteria in the gut, an essential part of supporting proper digestive function. Try adding more oats, quinoa, dark leafy greens, chia, and flax seeds to your diet for a fiber boost.

Drinking Plenty of Water

As we have already talked about, drinking a cup of warm lemon water in the morning is a great way to get the bowels moving and the metabolism revved. Drinking plenty of water throughout the day is another key part of making sure the toxins are being flushed out of your body regularly, so you can prevent the buildup of waste in your intestines.

Eliminate Processed Foods

Processed and artificial foods can really put a burden on the body, including your digestive system. They can lead to inflammation, and inflammation is at the root of nearly all disease seen today including certain autoimmune diseases that can affect your digestive system like Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis. Be sure to eliminate as many packaged and processed foods from your diet as you can and replace them with whole and natural foods like fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds

Boost Vitamin and Mineral Reserves

Being nutrient deficient may lead to constipation. Things like magnesium can help support regular bowel movements, so try getting plenty of magnesium-rich foods into your diet like pumpkin seeds, almonds, and dark leafy greens.

Have a Bowel Movement Daily

This one goes without saying as this is essentially the whole basis of talking about the topic of cleansing your colon and removing toxic waste buildup daily. However, it’s important to reiterate the importance of having a bowel movement daily, not only to help support digestive health but to also help cleanse the body of built up toxins that can affect different organ systems. Long term constipation can lead to things like anal fissures, hemorrhoids, or even fecal impaction which is the accumulation of stool that gets stuck in your intestines. (4) 

Supplement with a Probiotic

Supplementing with a probiotic is a great idea for so many different reasons, and supporting regular bowel movements and proper digestion is a big part of why everyone should consider adding one to their supplement routine. If you suffer from constipation regularly, probiotics may help promote regularity by boosting the beneficial bacteria in your gut and supporting those with a slower digestive system.

Exercise Regularly

Last, but certainly not least is to exercise regularly. Now, you don’t need to go to the gym daily, a simple brisk walk or at home yoga practice will do. The body was not designed to be sedentary, and with a sedentary lifestyle comes a blocked and slower digestive system. Try to move on a daily basis to get that toxic waste moving out of your body. 

The Bottom Line 

Toxic waste trapped in your digestive system can cause a whole slew of health issues, and there’s no denying that. The great news is that there are things you can do to gain better control of your gut health and promote bowel regularity to actively flush out these built up toxins on a daily basis.  

If you suffer from poor bowel habits, consider adding a probiotic to your supplement routine, exercise daily, adding more fiber-rich foods to your diet, and starting your day with a glass of warm lemon water. Once you start eliminating some of these toxins, you would be shocked at how much more energy you have, and how much better you feel every single day.

Buy ProBion for any digestive situation

24 May 2021

I’ve suffering a lot with irregular bowel movements, IBS & diarrhoea, specifically during travelling. After 3 weeks my digestive system has regulated very much and I feel a lot of new energy.

15 Apr 2021

I take one Probion Clinica tablet a day. It has lowered my occurrence of stomach acid and decreased the amount of gas in my stomach. The good bacteria in Probion wins the fight with the bad bacteria, it makes my stomach feel alot better. I highly recommend this product.

Asides from the great products, I have had a pleasure dealing with the company. They are always very helpful and prompt in replying. Great customer service, keep it up! Thanks Mike for being helpful

07 Oct 2019

I am not a personal user of the product, but my entire family takes it. They will often share to their friends and other family members about how the product has helped with their digestion and their general health as well. It has also helped me grandmother’s stomach issues. I would recommend ProBion Daily if you are thinking of trying a probiotic product or already are using one.

14 Aug 2019

My mother in law has been taking the Probion Clinica since she finished her chemotherapy for colon cancer. Previously she has taken other brands of probiotics, however Probion Clinica seems to be more suitable for her. Ever since taking it, her tumour marker results has gone down from 4.5 to 2.3. On top of that, she has better tolerance towards gluten food, hence she can enjoy more variety of food.

Your poo is (mostly) alive. Here’s what’s in it

If you’ve ever thought your poo is just a bunch of dead cells, think again. Most of it is alive, teeming with billions of microbes. Here’s what studies in healthy adults reveal makes up our poo.

Water

Our faeces is largely (75%) made up of water, although this differs from person to person.

Vegetarians have a higher water content in their stools. Those who consume less fibre and more protein have a lower water content. Fibre has a high water-carrying ability and makes our stools more bulky, increases the frequency of bowel movements and makes the process of passing bowel motions easier.

Read more:
Health Check: what your pee and poo colour says about your health

The other 25% of faeces is made up of solids, which are mainly organic (relating to living matter) materials. A small proportion of solids is made up of inorganic material such as calcium and iron phosphate as well as dried constituents of digestive juices.

Around 25-54% of the organic material is made up of microbes (dead and living), such as bacteria and viruses.

Our poo is teeming with microbes, most of them alive.
www.shutterstock.com

Microbes

Bacteria in faeces have been extensively studied. It’s estimated there are nearly 100 billion bacteria per gram of wet stool.

One study that looked at a collection of fresh stools in oxygen-free conditions (as oxygen can damage certain types of bacteria) found almost 50% of the bacteria were alive.

The different types of bacteria present in faeces can influence how hard or loose stool samples can be. For example, Prevotella bacteria, which can be found in the mouth, vagina and gut, are more commonly seen in those with soft stools. In fact, a high-fibre diet is strongly associated with these bacteria.

Ruminococcaceae bacteria, which are common gut microbes that break down complex carbohydrates, favour harder stools.

Viruses have been less studied than bacteria as components of the gut microbiota – the population of bacteria and viruses that live in our gut. It is estimated there are 100 million to 1 billion viruses per gram of wet faeces in most of us.

This number can change considerably when people become sick with viral gastroenteritis, such as in norovirus infections, where levels of more than a trillion viruses per gram of stool can be found.

What is the human microbiome?

Certain types of viruses that infect bacteria, called bacteriophages, have been linked to diseases of the gut like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Read more:
So you think you have IBS, coeliac disease or Crohn’s? Here’s what it might mean for you

Archaea are bacteria-like microbes that can inhabit some of the most extreme environments on Earth such as hot springs, deep sea vents or extremely acidic waters. Archaea that produce methane are known to live in the human gut and account for around 10% of non-oxygen-dependent microbes.

Such methane-producing archaea like Methanobrevibacter are associated with harder stools and constipation as methane can slow down intestinal movement. It is believed there are around 100 million archaea per gram of wet faeces.

Single-celled fungi (yeasts) are present in the gut of about 70% of healthy adults. They occur in estimated concentrations of up to a million microorganisms per gram of wet faeces but comprise only a small proportion (0.03%) of all microbes.

Other organic material

Some of the organic material includes carbohydrates or any other undigested plant matter, protein and undigested fats. Faeces does not contain large quantities of carbohydrates as the majority of what we eat is absorbed. However, undigested amounts remain as dietary fibre.

Our faeces don’t contain a large proportion of carbohydrates as most are absorbed in the body.
from shutterstock.com

Some 2-25% of organic matter in faeces is due to nitrogen-containing substances such as undigested dietary protein, and protein from bacteria and cells lining the colon that have been shed.

Fats contribute 2-15% of the organic material in our faeces. The amount of fat excreted into our stools is highly dependent on dietary intake. Even with no fat intake, though, we do get some excretion of fat into our faeces. Fat in faeces can come from bacteria in the form of short-chain fatty acids when they ferment foods, in addition to undigested dietary fat.

Plastic particles

A recent study has found that microscopic plastic particles can appear in our faeces when we drink from plastic bottles or eat foods that have been wrapped in plastic.

This small study of eight participants who were exposed to plastics in their food and drink identified up to nine different types of plastics in their stools. But we need larger studies and additional analytical research to understand the clinical significance of this.

Poo is different in disease

Not everyone’s poo is going to be the same. Diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease can lead to changes in the type of bacteria in our gut and result in raised inflammatory proteins that can be detected in our stool. Contact). Feces (poop) accumulates in the large intestine which is typically ~5 ft. long. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, /u/dwThread and his Military Grade Laxatives experience. I tell him I wasn’t that drunk. How much will you poop and pee in a lifetime? How much toilet paper have you used? Assuming a constant rate of poop generation (median of 106 g/day for men in the U.K. 1) and a purge of 100% of the poop at every defecation, the average amount of poop inside an average U.K. male would be equal to one half defecation (the average number of defecations worth of poop in a person at any given time) times the rate of poop generation divided by the frequency of defecation … Even though it can be embarrassing to talk about bowel movements, they can offer valuable clues to what is going on in the body. So that means that our intestines are basically cleared out after each poop? So, 9 pounds confirmed. It depends what you eat, so if you eat a burger with very low nutrients, you will poop out most of … Yes, this is true. Normally, feces are made up of 75 percent water and About 100 to 250 grams (3 to 8 ounces) of feces are excreted by a human adult daily. Poop consists of waste products that are being eliminated from the body. Like, what about water weight? According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) the average man in the U.S. weighs 195.7 pounds, and the average woman weighs 168.5 pounds. Depending on ones diet and current weight, the human body will hold anywhere from 5 to 25 pounds of feces. The appearance of your poop and any difficulties you might have in the act itself can be huge signals that something is wrong. Question by 
Surely it feels great to be a big shitter, but according to Evan Goldstein, a surgeon who specializes in rectal rejuvenation at Bespoke Surgical, heavier poop doesn’t necessarily mean anything “good or bad.”“When someone is on a keto diet, they’re on a high-protein, low-sugar diet, which can defi… You may have heard there’s poop bacteria getting sprayed all over people’s hands by bathroom hand dryers. The intestines can hold as little as 5 pounds and as much as 25 pounds of waste at any given time, varying greatly depending on your weight and diet. Try weighing yourself before you poop and after. She drives me to the hospital, more nervous than I am, because I’ve: Coughed up blood (smoking while having a lung infection). Congradulations!! Everybody poops. What is the most abundant element in the human body? Pee is Easy! One morning I woke up, after a long night of drinking, and went to use the restroom. Kiona N. Smith – Feb 8, 2021 6:09 pm UTC Always use human waste compost on non-edible plants only, or bury it. I’m probably passing blood for X number of reasons. Depending on the weight and height of the person, the average person holds between five and twenty-five pounds of feces. I tell him I eat basically junk food nonstop and I had just gotten done drinking heavily. How many bones are there in the human body? Assuming a constant rate of poop generation (median of 106 g/day for men in the U. K. 1) and a purge of 100% of the poop at every defecation, the average amount of poop inside an average U.K. male would be equal to one half defecation (the average number of defecations worth of poop in a person at any given time) times the rate of poop generation divided by the … That’s right. However, fat cells can increase and decrease in size depending on the amount of fat that the body is storing. These cookies do not store any personal information. During the survey it was found that 50% of the respondents pooped once daily, which they thought of to be the normal rate, however, the ideal rate can be anywhere in between … 1. Sea Cucumber Poop Could Revitalize Coral Reefs In one reef, three million sea cucumbers released 64,000 metric tons of nutrient-packed poo back into the ecosystem I guess I had figured that, since food takes so long to digest, that there would always be some in there. https://www.livescience.com/61966-how-much-you-poop-in-lifetime.html they average human cn hold up to 1,000,000,000 pounds of poop at a time. According to the EPA, the average American person will produce about 5.91 pounds of trash, with about 1.51 pounds being recycled; 4.40 pounds is the rough average daily waste per. Here’s what happens in your body when you get a case of constipation, in hopefully reasonably-palatable detail. That said, the normal range spans three times a day to once every three days, meaning the average person poops approximately once a day—about 1 ounce of stool for each 12 pounds of her or his body weight. How Much Does Poop Weigh in Your Body? Diet will greatly affect this because there are some foods and chemicals the body is unable to break down. Oldest DNA from poop contains a Neanderthal’s microbiome The Neanderthal microbiome wasn’t so different from ours, a recent study suggests. It may include undigested food particles, bacteria, salts, and other substances. So if the average weight of someone in North America is 80.7 kg (177.9 lb), and Triangleman83 said that 12lbs of body mass generally generates 1oz of poop, Than the average person is carrying 14. 825 oz of poop…usually…texas might be double. She said “Oh my god, dwThread, we need to go to the hospital. The doctor made me stay in the hospital for 2 fucking days because my asshole kept bleeding. You may have heard there’s poop bacteria getting sprayed all over people’s hands by bathroom hand dryers. Chinese doctors had to remove the bowels of a man who was carrying 28 pounds of feces in his constipated tract. About 100 to 250 grams (3 to 8 ounces) … The average human being poops between one and three times a day. That’s right. That’s $3.17 per … Once inside the human body, can plastic … “I’d say microplastics in poop are not … “But nobody ever investigated if microplastics also reach the human gut. The conclusion to this story is that I’m an engineer who previously ate Taco Bell every day. M oney definitely doesn’t grow on trees, but it might be growing in your bowels. The average person can have between 4-25 pounds of built-up intestinal matter in their colon- factors effecting this number are your metabolism, diet, genetics and rate of bowel movements. Here’s what happens in your body when you get a case of constipation, in hopefully reasonably-palatable detail. What is the biggest bone in the human body? Feces contains a relatively small amount of metabolic waste products such as bacterially altered bilirubin, and dead epithelial cells from the lining of the gut. Fibre helps the poo to travel easily through your body. That means a person weighing 160 pounds produces an average of just under a pound of poop each day. Find out more from WebMD. If so, your body can take a couple of weeks to start producing enough lipase, the enzyme you need to break down fat. Thank you for sharing! To make this long story short he lubed up his fingers and searched inside my asshole for a solid minute or two to determine that their is no sign of anal blah blah blah (tearing) and no sign of hemorrhoids. It was horrible. This is because your body is physically unable to completely digest all the foods you consume and some of them can get stuck in the lining of your intestines. 8lbs in two days (while remaining hydrated). : When I’m at the gym and weigh myself, I always wonder if I’m getting an accurate weight. I was not afraid of blood coming out of holes anymore. So, the doctor asks what I’ve been up to. In the book The Truth About Poop, author Susan E. Goodman states that people produce one ounce of poop for each 12 pounds of their body weight. Like, a lot. All of your vitamin, mineral and nutrient absorption takes place during the digestive process. Answer by 
Ugh. Wheat, for example, can contain up to an average of 9 rodent poop pellets per kilogram (or about 4 pellets/pound). But that doesn’t mean everybody’s aware of all there is to know about it. After being in the military, putting “military grade” in front of a lot of things is no longer impressive. If your poop is oily once in a while, it could just be that you ate too much fat. Other than that it sounds like your doing great with your weight loss plan! Based on those factors you can have anywhere from just a few ounces of poop all the way up to twenty five pounds of poop in your body at any given time. November 21, 2012. But did you know there’s poop bacteria everywhere!? The human race produces about 640 billion lbs. Health Hazards Present in Manure. And to think I was going to have Taco Bell tonight, too haha. The medical team and I discovered I am allergic to Taco Bell’s queso-burrito and that it makes my intestines swell up. You must never put composted human waste on edible plants, because of the small chance that dangerous bacteria is still alive in the waste. Click to see full answer Similarly, it is asked, how much human waste is produced each day? So 160 lb person – 160 lbs * 1 oz/12 lbs * (1- 2 days * 1 lb/16 oz =.85-1.7 lbs of poo. How did the complex body mechanism, specially the human, come into existence? That must suck man, just from hearing it made me shocked a bit (started drinking more water ever since), and wow hearing from you and saying you popped 8lbs. I heard once in class about when you don’t poop your ass drops blood. Fecal matter can survive for days or sometimes even weeks on surfaces, according to Reynolds. Bright. Feces are normally removed from the body one or two times a day. http://greatist.com/health/poop-health-embarrassing-questions. You can prevent this from eating more fiber or by taking fiber supplements. I’m a bot, bleep, bloop. Poop comes from the digested food material you eat, and it can come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Your body’s source of nutrition comes from the foods you eat, combined with your body’s ability to absorb the vital nutrients it needs! He then tells me he is concerned that I may have been sexually assaulted. Without the lime, the time frame is much more uncertain, and varies from 6 month to 2 years, according to various sources. I handle colons quite a lot in my work (I am a forensic pathologist and have performed over 1600 autopsies). It cost me almost $6,000 to discover that I shouldn’t eat Taco Bell everyday. On average, we will do 1.2 poops every 24 hours. The end product is just waste. Said Doughty, “It depends on how much poop you have to give… I don’t have an exact scientific percentage of how many people poop when they die, but it does happen. ” Unfortunately, as far as we can find, nobody has ever done a scientific study on the frequency of pooping after death (and peeing, as it turns out, which also happens with some measure of frequency). With a mix of proven technologies, award- winning prototypes and an eye-catching entry at Maker Faire Africa this year, we present ten ways to put poop and pee to good use. Too much of a good thing can sometimes turn bad, as is the case with food supplements. I was more irritated than scared. Answer by 
Kryslyn (40). jessicaknudtson (58). I want to be able to subtract that (if only just to lie to myself about my weight, haha). Answer by 
If it happens regularly, check your diet. So the poop graph will drop to almost nothing immediately after a poop, then as the day goes on and they eat meals, poop will slowly be formed until they are at a pound of poop, then they will poop. How did you feel when you were done pooping? If it happens regularly, check your diet. After adding pictures, videos, games, etc., we reach the volume of 34 Gigabytes of information per day on average. Security code is wrong! Feces (or faeces or excrement), more commonly referred to as Poo, poo poo, or poop is the solid or semisolid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Take this guy who reports to be on the keto diet, and weighs himself after every poop, averaging half a pound per squat. up to 15 lbs. If the body stores more fat then it uses, the fat cells will expand causing weight gain. If the body is forced to rely on stored fat reserves for energy, whether because of diet or exercise, the fat cells will shrink causing weight loss.

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Everybody poops.

But here are 9 surprising facts about feces you may not know.

Everybody poops.

But that doesn’t mean everybody’s aware of all there is to know about it.

Poop is not just a laughing matter. The scientists and doctors who study feces have found that it’s the byproduct of a diverse community of bacteria in your gut that impacts your health in all sorts of ways. Paying closer attention to your stool can tell you about the condition of these vital bacteria — and your overall health.

With that in mind, I spoke to Robynne Chutkan, a gastroenterologist at Georgetown Hospital and the author of Gutbliss and the forthcoming The Microbiome Solution: a pair of books about the gastrointestinal tract, the microbes that live in it, and the stool that comes out of it.

Here are some facts about poop you might like to know.

1) Poop is mostly bacteria — not old food

Lactobacillus johnsonii, a beneficial species of gut bacteria. (Kathryn Cross, IFR)

It’s tempting to think of feces as simply the used-up remains of the food you ate — the stuff that makes it through after digestion.

In reality, this stuff is present, but 50 to 80 percent of your poop (excluding water) is actually bacteria that had been living in your intestines and was then ejected as food passed through. Many of the bacteria in poop are still alive, but some are dead — carcasses of species that bloomed as they fed on the indigestible plant matter you consumed, then died shortly afterward.

But it’s not all bacteria. Your poop also includes some of this indigestible plant matter — like the cellulose in vegetables — with the exact proportions dependent on your diet. Your poop also contains small amounts of your own tissue: intestinal lining cells that were sloughed off during digestion. And, of course, there’s water.

2) Poop is brown because of dead red blood cells and bile

(Nina Helmer)

Your feces’ color is the result of a chemical called stercobilin. That chemical ends up in your poop in two ways: it is byproduct of the hemoglobin in broken-down red blood cells, and it also comes from bile, the fluid secreted into your intestines to help digest fat.

Chutkan says that in a person with an optimally-functioning digestive system, “the ideal stool is a deep chocolatey color — like melted chocolate.”

Without stercobilin present, poop would be a pale grey or whitish color. We know this because people who have liver disease or clogged bile ducts (causing little or no bile to get to their intestines) have light-colored feces, a condition known as acholic stool.

Other colors of poop can be a sign of other conditions. Yellow stool can be the result of a parasitic infection, or pancreatic cancer. Black or dark red poop can be an indication of bleeding in the upper GI tract — or of eating beets. Green feces can also be the sign of an infection. If your poop is blue, it’s probably just because of blue food coloring.

3) Men and women poop differently

(Hey Paul Studios)

Because of anatomical differences, men and women’s GI tracts work a little differently. These differences are so significant, in fact, that Chutkan says she could perform a colonoscopy and correctly guess the patient’s sex without knowing it beforehand.

For starters, women have wider pelvises than men, as well as extra internal organs (such as the uterus and ovaries) in the region. As a result, their colons hang a bit lower than men’s, and are a bit longer: on average, by ten centimeters. Finally, men have more rigid abdominal walls that help push food through the GI tract more effectively.

All this, Chutkan says, “makes the passage of stool much more challenging for women.” Food takes longer to transit through most women, she says, making them more prone to bloating. Men, on the other hand, are generally much more regular.

4) The ideal poop is a “continuous log” — and sinks to the bottom of the toilet

Although Chutkan cautions that there’s no single “ideal poop,” she notes that there are some characteristics that are a sign of a healthy digestive system and microbiome.

There are some doctors that say pooping three times a week is sufficient, but Chutkan says that you should probably make a bowel movement every day — assuming you’re eating food every day. (In some cases, irregularity can actually be caused by extreme stress, as hormones like adrenaline and cortisol can slow down the digestive process.)

Under ideal conditions, she says, “it should be very easy to pass — almost effortless.” And it should take the form of a continuous log or two, with a diameter similar to that of a circle you can make with your index finger and thumb.

Finally, poop should sink, not float. Floating stool is usually a sign of poor nutrient absorption or excessive gas.

Of course, poops come in all shapes and sizes — as shown in the Bristol stool scale, created by the University of Bristol’s Ken Heaton, at right — but Chutkan says the ideal poop is a three or four on the scale.

If your poop isn’t a perfect, easy, continuous log, it’s not necessarily a sign that you’re sick. But it may be a sign that you’re not eating enough fiber, or that your gut microbiome isn’t in great shape.

5) Gut bacteria and plant fiber are essential for good poop

So much fiber. (Shutterstock.com)

The key to good poops, Chutkan says, is straightforward: “What really makes a good stool is large amounts of the indigestible plant matter that feed gut bacteria.” This plant fiber — mostly cellulose — also directly adds bulk to poop, so a plant-heavy diet is critical for nice, solid bowel movements.

But having a diverse and healthy community of gut bacteria is also essential — and for many people, overuse of antibiotics is a problem. Research has shown that a single course of ciproflaxin, for instance, can disrupt a third of the microbe species naturally present in our gut, and other work has suggested that in some people, the microbiome might never really recover. Over-the-counter probiotic products, meanwhile, usually just have a single species of bacteria, and can’t replace the diversity of microbes that have been lost.

Killing your gut bacteria can lead to many problems, in some cases giving harmful bacteria, like C. difficile, more space to proliferate. But it can also lead to overly soft, unpleasant poops. For these reasons, Chutkan recommends thinking carefully before asking for (or accepting) a case of antibiotics, and making sure that the infection you’re seeking to treat really needs it.

6) You can see corn in your poop because of cellulose

(Shutterstock.com)

The explanation for the widely-observed corn-kernel-in-poop phenomenon is pretty simple: the outside of a kernel of corn is made of cellulose, that indigestible plant fiber. We can digest the inside of the kernel, but the hull makes it through us unscathed.

This is also true for lots of other parts of plants — like, for example, kale stems — but corn’s bright yellow color stands out, making it easy to spot.

There’s a benefit to this phenomenon. If you’re interested in tracking how long it takes food to transit through your body — whether to gauge the health of your digestive system, or just to satisfy your curiosity — you can use corn kernels as a tracker.

7) People living in different parts of the world have different poop

Shutterstock

(Shutterstock.com)

It might not be a huge surprise, because different diets lead to different types of poop. But Chutkan says that the feces of most people in the developing world are noticeably different from those of people eating a Western diet, mostly because the latter contains so much less fiber.

A very fiber-heavy diet — the type eaten by many people in developing countries, and by some vegetarians in the US — leads to much denser and bulkier poops. “They’re bigger movements that come out more easily,” she says. “And there’s very little need to wipe — it’s a much cleaner evacuation.”

Western-style stools, by contrast, are much softer, and the colon has to push harder to get them out.

8) Baby poop is really, really weird

Post-meconium bliss. (Shutterstock.com)

The first few bowel movements of a newborn infant are called meconium — and if you’ve never seen it before, it’s pretty bizarre.

It’s the result of nutrients consumed by the infant inside the womb, and it’s a dark green, tar-like substance. It looks so different from normal poop because of the sorts of things the baby was consuming in the uterus: amniotic fluid, blood and skin cells, and mucus.

Strangely, meconium is also usually odorless. The baby’s poop will not stay that way.

9) Poop transplants can be an effective medical treatment

A doctor prepares for a fecal transplant in a North Carolina hospital. (Todd Sumlin/Charlotte Observer/MCT via Getty Images)

It might seem crazy, but research increasingly tells us that the most effective way to treat C. diff — the harmful bacteria that can proliferate in your intestines if beneficial bacteria are wiped out — is by taking a healthy person’s poop and putting it in your own GI tract. The formal name for this is a fecal transplant.

That doesn’t mean you should try it at home. But controlled studies have found that fecal transplants have success rates around 90 percent, higher than any antibiotic. This makes sense: a C. diff infection is often caused by an antibiotic indiscriminately killing beneficial bacteria in someone’s intestines, so re-colonizing them with healthy bacteria is a means of crowding the C. diff out.

This is becoming an increasingly mainstream procedure, and researchers are currently working on alternate means of fecal transplant deliveries, like frozen poop or pills that can be taken orally.

Further reading: Everybody farts. But here are 9 surprising facts about flatulence you may not know.

WATCH: ‘The fascinating process of human decomposition’

Is my Poop Healthy/Normal? – Canadian Digestive Health Foundation

Ever looked in the toilet and wondered, hmmm, is my poop healthy/normal?

Everybody poops, but nobody likes to talk about it! We get it, poop is gross, it’s stinky, it’s embarrassing, and for many of us, it’s a huge source of anxiety! Any other nervous public poopers out there 🙋‍♀️? Because same.

Despite all of this, we need to start really paying attention to our poops, because let’s face it, they’re a pretty good indication on whether or not our insides are functioning properly! Colour, texture, and frequency should all be monitored carefully because any drastic changes in any for these properties can actually indicate some pretty serious health concerns that you’ll want to address right away.

The Healthy Poop

Before you can recognize an unhealthy poop, you need to know what a healthy poop looks like! To ensure you don’t lose your lunch, we figured showing you an illustration would be best and refrained from sharing a pic of the real deal!

Here you can see the holy grail of poops. This is what we all should strive for. This poop type is number 4 on the Bristol stool chart. Notice how smooth the sides are? This poop should slip out easily and hold its form in the toilet, even when flushed. It is described on the Bristol scale as ‘sausage or snake-like’ and should be around the diameter of a banana. The colour is your standard brown, which indicates it has the correct amount of moisture and nutrients in it as it is passed.

This is another example of a healthy poop. It’s still not
quite as perfect as the previously discussed specimen, as there is still
cracking which indicated not quite enough moisture. But it’s still sausage
shaped, holds its form and is easy to pass. The Bristol Stool chart classifies
this kind of poop as ‘normal.’ So, no need for concern if your poop has a
couple of cracks in it! This poop is type 3 on the Bristol scale.

Constipated Poops

Type 1 and Type 2 on the Bristol chart are your typical run of
the mill constipated poops.

Type one is small hard round balls, as shown below.

The above is type 1. These types of poops are the WORST if you’re the type of person that looks forward to your daily bowl movement. We’ve all been there, there’s a lot of straining involved and very little reward. If you’re having these types of poops it’s a sign of extreme constipation, which can lead to a bunch of health problems if left untreated. To avoid these nuggets of doom, make sure you’re getting your daily dose of fibre, and drinking the commonly recommended 2 litres of water per day. If there is still no change and your constipation persists, you need to talk to your doctor or pharmacist about over the counter options.

Type 2 is a bit better. This poop is at least one cohesive
mass, but it is still a sign of constipation. See how the nuggets seem to have
been glued together in your intestines?

Just like type 1, more fibre and water will likely help
smooth this lumpy poop out and make your next poop easier to pass.

Watery Poops

Type 5, 6 and 7 are watery poops, more commonly referred to
as diarrhea. Type 5 is described by the Bristol chart as ‘Soft blobs with
clear-cut edges (easy to pass).’

This one’s not too bad, but it’s not great either! Much like
type 1 and two, these poops are a warning that you need to get more fibre in
your diet. Fibre is a magical thing that both helps soften and bind stool. There
are different types of fibre with different benefits so read up on what types
of fibre you may need and where you can get them from here.

Type 6 is your body sending red flags! SOS we have a bug,
evacuate!

This poop is described on the Bristol chart as ‘Fluffy
pieces with ragged edges; mushy’ This poop comes with feelings of urgency and
concerns of incontinence. Feelings of high stress can instigate a type 6 poo
along with dietary issues.

And finally, type 7. Type
7 is the worst kind of poop, as it’s not really a poop at all at this point!

This poop has no solid matter at all. It is entirely liquid and frankly, these are the types of poops that like to masquerade as ‘gas’ which can lead to some messy situations. Typically, if you’re having very regular type 7’s, there is cause for concern. Prolonged diarrhea can lead to dehydration and even death if not treated properly, so make sure you see a doctor if you and type 7 are getting a little too well acquainted if you know what I mean.

Colour

Onto colour! This is a tricky one because often the colour
of our poops is influenced by the things we eat. For example, a bright red poop
is definitely cause for alarm, but not so much so if you had a beet salad for
lunch! So just keep this in mind when monitoring your poop colours.

Brown poop

The classic brown poop. This is the best colour your poop could possibly be. If your poop is similar to the colour of milk chocolate just keep doing what you’re doing.

Green Poop

Green poops. You poop can turn green if you have a diet high in green leafy vegetables such as spinach. If this is the case, you get a huge thumbs up from us! However, if you haven’t been eating a lot of green foods, green poop is cause for concern. Your poop can be green due to a round of antibiotics, or parasites and bacterium such as salmonella, which might be causing your gut to work faster than normal. If stool moves too quickly through the digestive tract bile pigment can’t break down properly and your poop doesn’t have time to turn from green to brown.

Black Poop

Black poops. Black poops are typically cause for alarm. A
black poop usually means there’s an excessive amount of dried blood in your
intestines. These are often caused by hemorrhoids but can also indicate much
more serious conditions such as IBD. Typically a black poop means you have some
sort of GI bleed and you should absolutely talk to your doctor.

Red Poop

Red poops? More like red flags! If your poops are red it is likely due to the presence of blood. Again, if you’ve eaten a lot of beets or something with red food dye this could be the issue, but if not, make sure you seek medical help right away. Red poops are a sign of an internal bleed

White or Clay Poop

 If you have a white or clay coloured poop, go to a doctor immediately! This is not a normal or healthy colour for poops. This colour is caused by a lack of bile excreted by the liver and is usually an indication of a more serious underlying issue. This could mean anything from a blocked bile duct to liver disease. Some medications can also cause white poops, so make sure to consult your doctor and inquire if this is a potential side effect of any kind of treatment you might already be on.

Yellow Poop

 Yellow poop can indicate liver or gallbladder issues and often indicates that your digestive system is not digesting nutrients properly. It can also indicate chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, celiac disease and other possible underlying issues. If this colour is coupled with an especially foul smell, it could mean you have a malabsorption disorder. If your poop is yellow, do not let it mellow. See a doctor as soon as you can!

So now that you know the possible poop colours to watch out
for, make sure you’re taking a peek when you have a bowel movement. Poops really
are a good indication if something is going wrong in your body, so pay close
attention! Though, before you panic, run through a list of foods you’ve been
eating recently! If you chugged a gallon on blueberry juice the day before,
that’s likely why your poop is blue! But if something doesn’t seem right, make
sure you see a doctor as soon as possible.

Frequency

There seems to be a lot of debate about what a healthy
amount of poop is! Is it once a day? Twice a day? How many poops are too many?
How many poops are not enough?

There is no magic number, however, doctors consider it healthy
and regular to poop one or two type 4 poops a day. This is usually a good
indication that everything is working as it should.

Most people have a regular pooping pattern if you will, and typically go around the same time each day and the same number of times.

There’s no cause for alarm if every once and a while you deviate from your regular pattern, however, if suddenly you aren’t pooping at all, or spending the entire day on the toilet, this obviously means something is wrong, and you should start thinking about talking to a healthcare professional.

How often should you poop? It’s all about the “three and three” rule — Quartz

Some days you might find yourself in and out of the toilet, and some days might go by without a single visit for a Number Two. Should this be a cause for concern?

We asked five experts if we have to poop every day.

Five out of five experts said no

Here are their detailed responses:

Christopher Hair, Gastroenterologist

The human body is complex, which helps to explain why so many “normal” functions differ between people, including sleep, urination, and defecation. What is perceived as normal for many, is out of normal for others. Pooping is one such example of this range. What is normal is well defined yet broad. In many studies into normal ‘healthy’ defecation, normal pooping ranges from three times per day to three times per week. Less than 40% of healthy people poop once a day.

Pooping out of the normal for an individual might signify illness such as infection (pooping more) or cancer (pooping blood). Sometimes not pooping at all might indicate illness, such as a metabolic condition.

Damien Belobrajdic, Research Scientist

Opening your bowels every day is not essential for the proper functioning of your digestive system. However, long periods without bowel movements (fewer than three three stools per week) can cause a number of complications such as haemorrhoids, anal fissures, or faecal impaction. Constipation can be caused by many factors, including a range of medical conditions, some medications (such as opioids, some antacids), nutritional supplements (such as iron) and of course, a diet low in fiber.

The best way to promote optimal digestive health and regular bowel motions is to drink plenty of water and consume high fiber foods at every meal. This can be achieved through a varied diet including wholegrain breads and cereals, legumes, nuts and seeds, vegetables, and fresh fruits.

Dan Worthley, Gastroenterologist

In a recent large study of 4,775 people reporting “normal” bowel patterns, it was found that about 95% of people move their bowels between three and 21 times weekly. So between three times a day and three times a week is what I like to call the “Goldilocks zone for pooping.”

But just as important as frequency, is form. To describe our stool consistency, we use the Bristol Stool Form Scale which uses a seven-point scale ranging from Type 1 “separate hard lumps, like nuts” to Type 7 “watery no solid pieces.” Type 4 (“Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft”) is the Nirvana of all bowel actions, but 50% of normal patients report some variation from this.

Jakob Begun, Gastroenterologist

Stool is the end product of our gut metabolizing our food, and it consists of non-absorbed material, microbes and water. Each week the average person produces between 500 and 1,100 grams of stool. The frequency of defecation is governed by many factors including diet, the intrinsic motor activity of the gut, the rectal capacity, behavioral factors, as well as the gut microbiome. Studies have generally confirmed the “three and three” rule—that normal bowel frequency varies between three times a day, and once every three days.

When assessing whether people have constipation there’s an emphasis on symptoms in addition to stool frequency. So a person who moves their bowels less often than once a day, but does not have any discomfort, straining, or other symptoms, is normal.

Vincent Ho, Gastroenterologist

Studies in the UK and Sweden found almost all patients had a frequency of bowel motions between three times per week and three times per day. So this is thought to be the normal range for how often you should go to the toilet. Experiencing temporary changes in bowel frequency or consistency is normal. Many non-disease factors are known to affect the frequency of bowel motions including fluid intake, physical activity, diet, age, and social factors such as embarrassment in going to the toilet at work.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

90,000 ➢ How much stool do we produce and where to put it? (entry of 11.11.2013)

Human life is unthinkable without food. Adequate nutrition is necessary for the normal functioning of the body. But as a result, our body turns the consumed food into feces. What amount of a product with a specific smell does a person produce per day from the moment of birth to the last breath? The mass of feces is an individual parameter, and varies widely among representatives of different nations, depending on the characteristics of nutrition.It is higher in people who eat mostly plant foods, and less in meat lovers. Let us give as an example some data reflecting the results of special studies. The daily weight of feces for residents of the United States and Great Britain is on average 100-200 g, and often less than 100 g. For people living in rural Uganda, the average weight of feces per day is about 470 g, and for the adult population of India – 311 g. In Ukraine, the population sends 250-300 g to the bathrooms. It should be noted that 1/3 of the mass of feces are bacteria, some of which remain alive, and the other part – dead unicellular.One gram of feces contains about 25,000,000 live putrefactive intestinal bacteria. It is these bacteria that are the producers and causative agents of poisonous, fetid and explosive gases – ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and methane.

It is not difficult to calculate the mass of feces of one of our fellow countrymen, which the sewage system should take in a year, or in 70 years of work of his healthy stomach. Let’s make simple calculations: 300 grams x 365 days (1 year) = 109.5 kg, that is, the mass of feces produced by one person per year is 109.5 kg.We multiply this number by 70 years of life and we get already 7665 kg.

Now the question for those who are not united by the centralized sewage system, and who themselves solves the problems of sewage disposal, is a question for private homeowners. What to do with the daily arriving undigested organic matter that left our flesh when we sat down on the toilet? The answer is ready, in a cesspool, septic tank, local treatment plant (VOC). But feces gradually clog the bottom of the cesspool, the water ceases to drain, the pit, the septic tank overflows, and cannot cope with the overload of VOCs.We need drastic measures – unique bacteria are needed that exist to consume feces for food and instead release purified water (h3O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) into nature. Such bacteria are part of the biological product “Vodogray” and “Alligator”. Bacteria – destructors produce enzymes, break down the fibers of fecal organic matter, bringing it to digestible substances, and then feed on them. Biological products “Vodogray” or “Alligator” are introduced into the local sewerage system once a month. The questions often arise, why do you have to replenish the sewage system with bacteria all the time, because bacteria, having settled in the sewer drains, can themselves multiply? But let’s remember the above.Feces are 1/3 bacteria, some of which are alive. A lot of bacteria every day from our body with feces enters the sewer and, of course, fight for life in the confined space of a cesspool or septic tank. Life is a struggle, and the strongest wins in it. That is why there is a need to monthly enter into the sewer system, like to the front, reserves from a box with a biological product, and the bacteria “Vodogray” or “Alligator” are immersed in their usual monotonous work – they process feces, fat, starch, protein, fiber, food waste into purified liquid capable of draining into the ground and harmless carbon dioxide.This stops the decay processes and finally removes the unpleasant fetid odor that was exuded by the bacteria contained in the feces and other organic products that got into the sewage system.

Knowing the technology of stool disposal, now you can enjoy your meal.

Be healthy, live long, and biological products “Vodogray” and “Alligator”

are always ready to be helpful!

Simplified structure of the digestive tract | Tervisliku toitumise informatsioon

In the process of digestion, the food macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates) contained in food are broken down into smaller components that are absorbed into the blood or lymph.

Normal nutrition, followed by digestion and absorption of nutrients, are vital for maintaining metabolism in the human body.

Oral cavity

The oral cavity is the initial section of the digestive system, the walls of which are the lips, cheeks, upper and lower palate. In the oral cavity, with the help of canines and incisors, food is mechanically crushed into as finely dispersed mass as possible.

The structure of our teeth allows us to grind food of both plant and animal origin.Dental health is essential for digestion, so proper dental development and oral hygiene contribute to our health.

Various salivary glands enter the oral cavity and produce large quantities of food-thinning saliva. Food is mixed with saliva and some nutrients are partially digested. The more the swallowed food mass is crushed, the easier it is for the body to digest food, so you should chew food thoroughly, with concentration and as long as possible.

Pharynx

The pharynx is an approximately 12 cm funnel-shaped canal that starts from the nasal cavity and runs inside the neck into the esophagus, being a common part of the digestive tract and respiratory tract.

Swallowing occurs as a result of a complex reflex initiated by the pressure of the tongue, which directs food and drink through the esophagus into the stomach and prevents them from entering the respiratory tract. The first stage of swallowing is conscious, the subsequent stages are reflex.

If the swallowing reflex is impaired (for example, attention is focused on some other activity that is not related to food intake) and food enters the trachea, the person begins to cough to get rid of pieces of food. If the trachea becomes clogged with poorly chewed pieces of food, the person may suffocate. Therefore, it is extremely important that we focus on this process while eating and do not do things that interfere with it.

Solid food enters the stomach from the mouth through the esophagus in about 8-9 seconds, liquid food in about 1-2 seconds.

Esophagus

Esophagus is an approximately 25 cm hollow muscular tube, part of the digestive tract, under the influence of contractions and relaxation, i.e. peristalsis in which food moves from the pharynx to the stomach.

Vomiting is a protective reflex caused by unpleasant taste or smell of food, eating spoiled food, overeating or touching the pharyngeal mucosa.

Stomach

Stomach is a reservoir of the upper part of the digestive tract, formed from smooth muscle tissue, in which food is partially broken down and liquefied and its regular movement in suitable volumes (portions) into the small intestine.Liquefaction is achieved through gastric juice and strong mechanical stirring (grinding).

The stomach of an adult usually contains 1.5 liters of food mass. When empty, this muscular organ contracts and shrinks to a very small size. The volume of the stomach of a newborn is about 30 ml, for those who drink large quantities of beer for a long time, it can even reach 10 liters.

Since the glands in the stomach produce strong hydrochloric acid, the inside of the stomach is lined with mucous membranes.Gastric juice has a pH of about 1. This means that the environment in a normal stomach is highly acidic.

Gastric juice (gastric secretion) is secreted by the cells of the glands (of which there are about 30-40 million), and 2-3 liters are produced per day. The secretion of gastric secretions is stimulated by the type of food, its taste, smell, mechanical irritation of the oral mucosa and glucose deficiency.

The rate of food excretion from the stomach depends on the amount of food and its properties. Food is in the stomach from 2 to 6 hours.

More solid food stays in the stomach longer, drinks almost immediately enter the small intestine. In case of fluid deficiency, some of the water can be absorbed through the stomach. Certain medications (such as aspirin), alcohol and caffeine are also absorbed in the stomach.

At the border of the stomach and duodenum is the pylorus, which periodically opens and passes small portions (5-10 ml) of chopped food into the duodenum. Normally, the stomach empties within four hours.

An empty stomach makes powerful undulating movements, with the help of which it is freed from insufficiently crushed food particles (for example, in the case of plant foods rich in fiber). With long intervals between meals, strong peristaltic waves can occur, manifested by gurgling in the abdomen and in the worst case, abdominal pain.

Pancreas

The pancreas is an extended, up to 15 cm long, organ that weighs 100 grams and is located behind the abdominal organs.The cells of its tissues secrete digestive enzymes and hormones into the intestines. Thus, the pancreas works as both a digestive gland and an endocrine gland.

Produced by the pancreas, insulin and glucagon are two of the most powerful hormones in the human body that provide homeostasis. They both influence a very large number of processes and have opposite functions to each other. For example, insulin helps to normalize sugar levels after food has been digested, i.e.That is, it lowers blood glucose levels to normal (helping the liver to synthesize glucogen). Glucagon, on the other hand, helps the liver release glucose to keep blood glucose levels at a normal level (for example, during long breaks between meals and at night).

Homeostasis means maintaining the biological parameters of the human body within certain limits. Even small changes in the chemical or physical properties of the intracellular environment can disrupt the biochemical processes in the body. Homeostasis is the body’s ability to create a stable balance in the internal environment.

Thus, homeostasis is the process by which a practically stable internal environment is provided so that cells can function at maximum efficiency. Each organism tries to maintain the correct temperature, acidity, etc. in its internal environment. Homeostasis is achieved by coordinating a complex of physiological reactions using chemical or electrical signals that are exchanged between tissues.Hormones play a key role in this communication and are therefore essential for maintaining homeostasis.

Insulin and glucagon regulate carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism. They have the greatest effect on carbohydrate metabolism. For example, blood sugar, i.e. glucose levels are kept under control on the one hand insulin, on the other side glucagon. Inside cells, insulin is used to break down glucose to release energy. When blood glucose levels drop, glucagon breaks down the glycogen stored in the liver and glucose is released into the bloodstream.Since both hormones regulate the entire metabolism and especially powerfully carbohydrate metabolism, when problems arise with their synthesis, metabolic problems arise (for example, in the case of insulin, diabetes).

The pancreas produces 1.5–2 liters of pancreatic juice per day, which is very rich in enzymes. Pancreatic juice contains large amounts of sodium bicarbonate, which is alkaline and neutralizes highly acidic food in the stomach.

Pancreatic juice along with bile enters the upper part of the small intestine – the duodenum.The secretion of pancreatic juice is partially regulated by the nervous system, but mainly due to hormones. When an acidic food mass (chyme) enters the duodenum from the stomach, the duodenal mucosa releases secretin into the blood, which causes the secretion of sodium bicarbonate in the cells of the pancreatic ducts, which in turn neutralizes the acidic environment. The more acidic the semi-digested food mass comes from the stomach, the more sodium bicarbonate is released.

Liver

Liver is the “chemical laboratory” of our body. It can be conditionally called the largest human gland, the weight of which can reach 1.5 kg. The liver has two lobes of different sizes. The liver is a vital organ in which most of the protein, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism takes place.

Also, the liver helps to remove from the circulation in the human body residual substances formed during normal metabolism.In addition, the liver cleans the blood from toxic substances – detoxification occurs, i.e. processing of natural and artificial poisons from the environment and food, unused components of drugs, heavy metals, residues of bacterial metabolism, etc. After that, the remnants of the processing are sent through the blood to the kidneys and are excreted from the body.

Video about how the liver works:

The liver processes and stores nutrients (such as glycogen and iron) to maintain the body’s performance between meals and for longer periods, and also acts as a depot for some ( mainly fat-soluble) vitamins (A, D, B ₁₂ , K).

The human body functions as a whole, and this holistic process helps to keep the liver in good working order. The widely advertised methods of liver cleansing on the Internet do not.

In connection with digestion, the liver plays a decisive role as a producer of bile. Bile acids enter the digestive tract through the bile ducts and the gallbladder. The liver synthesizes bile acids from cholesterol.

Basic functions of the liver:

• emulsification of fats (under the influence of bile)
• By producing bile, the liver removes residual substances from the body, working as an excretory organ
• accumulation of nutrients (fat-soluble vitamins, metals)
• synthesis of nutrients (for example , plasma proteins) 90 130 90 129 blood accumulation (incl.including the site of hematopoiesis in the fetus)
• blood glucose management

Gallbladder

The gallbladder has a volume of 50 ml. Within one day, in the thin bile capillaries located between the liver cells, a total of about 1 liter of bile is produced in a continuous mode. The amount of bile depends on the composition of the food. If the food is fatty, more bile is produced.

Entering the intestines rich in fats and proteins of the food mass causes emptying of the gallbladder.The secretion of bile increases during digestion, and its release from the gallbladder occurs under the influence of food. Here, the factors of influence are the appearance and smell of food, the process of eating itself, irritation by the food mass of the receptors of the stomach and duodenum, as well as the hormone secretin secreted in the small intestine.

The bile acids in the gallbladder are produced by the liver cells from cholesterol, it is necessary for the absorption of lipids, because bile salts emulsify lipids, increasing the surface of their contact with enzymes.Under certain conditions, stones can form in the gallbladder and bile ducts, which prevent the flow of bile into the duodenum, leading to painful conditions of varying severity.

Duodenum

Duodenum – a horseshoe-shaped upper section of the small intestine, 20-25 cm long and attached to the posterior wall of the abdominal cavity. The walls of this intestine are permeated with blood and lymph vessels, as well as nerve tissue.Here, the “analysis” of the food mass coming from the stomach takes place and the influence on the digestion process is carried out both through the activation of nerve connections and the production of hormones. The acidic food mass that has entered the duodenum is neutralized, and the carbon dioxide released as a result mixes the food mass.

Small intestine

The small intestine is an approximately 3-meter (6–9-meter extended) annularly folded hollow organ that occupies most of the middle and lower levels of the abdominal cavity.The upper part of the small intestine is the duodenum (duodenum), followed by the jejunum and the ileum.

Antibodies are formed in the lymphoid tissues of the ileum. The processed food mass is further processed in the small intestine for 3–6 hours. The glands of the mucous membrane of the small intestine secrete a secret rich in enzymes (for example, amylase, sucrase, maltase, lactase, peptidase, lipase) in an amount of several liters per day.The main factors stimulating secretion are mechanical irritation of the intestinal walls and chemical irritants (gastric juice, protein breakdown products, seasonings, milk sugar).

Chyme moves through the small intestine due to peristalsis.

In the intestinal wall, there are many folds or annular grooves and finger-like villi, which in turn are covered with microvilli, that increase its surface area and thereby enhance the absorption of nutrients.Thanks to this, its total surface involved in digestion is more than half the area of ​​a tennis court.

In some people, gluten in food can damage the lining of the small intestine, resulting in inadequate absorption of nutrients. This is called gluten intolerance, or celiac disease.

Large intestine

Large intestine is located in the abdominal cavity around the rings of the small intestine, is a little more than a meter long and thicker than the small intestine (diameter 5–8 cm).The colon is divided into three sections: the cecum, the colon, and the rectum. From the rectum there is a vermiform appendix, a rudimentary part of the intestine, an appendix, in which there is a large accumulation of lymphoid tissue.

The walls of the colon are furrowed, without villi, contain a large number of glands that secrete protective mucus so that the indigestible food mass can move further. The large intestine receives about a liter of the contents of the small intestine per day. The glands of the mucous membrane of the colon, under the influence of local irritants, secrete digestive juice, which is relatively poor in enzymes.The most important role in the colon is played by mucus, which makes the discharge slippery and protects the mucous membrane.

When the contents of the intestine pass the large intestine, it enters the rectum, and a defecation reflex occurs. The importance of the large intestine in the digestion process is associated with the intestinal microflora.

Rectum

The rectum is the last section of the large intestine that ends in the anus. Stool is made up of a certain amount of undigested and unabsorbed food (for example, fiber like cellulose, etc.)etc.), biomass of microorganisms and water. Despite the fact that cellulose has no energy value, it promotes intestinal peristalsis and the movement of food mass through the intestines. When intestinal contents move from the colon to the rectum, a defecation reflex occurs. 100-200 g of feces are formed daily. Most of the composition of feces is water.

The number of bowel movements increases with the use of whole grains, bran, vegetables and fruits. The reproduction of favorable microflora in the colon is most facilitated by water-soluble fiber (pectin, oligo- and polysaccharides, such as fructoligosaccharides, modified starch, arabinoxylans, galactoligosaccharides, etc.).which are mostly found in oats, rye, barley, vegetables, fruits and berries.

In some diseases, there may be problems with the absorption of water in the intestine, which manifests itself in the form of diarrhea. With constipation, the peristalsis of the large intestine is slowed down, the undigested food mass moves in it very slowly, which is why a lot of water is absorbed back, which makes the feces dry and hard.

Cost of stool analyzes in Lipetsk in the Health of the Nation laboratory

Analysis of feces is prescribed for the study of pathological conditions of the gastrointestinal tract.

A general clinical study, or stool coprogram, helps to assess the ability to digest food consumed by the organs of the gastrointestinal tract. As a result of this study, you can find signs of a functional disorder of the liver, pancreas, intestines and other organs.

In the Health of the Nation Laboratory, in the list of studies, there are other types of fecal analyzes that allow to determine the presence of parasites in the body.And also the most frequently prescribed fecal occult blood test. Detection of occult blood in the stool indicates possible bleeding in the stomach or intestines.

Feces must be collected in a clean and dry specialized container, which was obtained without the use of laxatives and enemas. When testing for occult blood, it is recommended to exclude foods that contribute to a false positive result 3 days before the test: meat, fish, green vegetables, tomatoes and eggs.You also need to inform your doctor about the medications you are taking.

The analysis of feces will turn out to be accurate if you follow the rules listed below:

• A few days before collection you must adhere to a diet. If the material is submitted for the purpose of detecting occult blood, foods containing iron are excluded from the diet. These include meat, fish, liver, tomatoes, buckwheat, apples. Medicines containing this substance should be excluded.Porridge, certain vegetables, fruits are allowed to eat;
• it is not recommended to donate biological material to women on critical days. Cleansing, oil, hypertensive enemas lead to inaccuracies. Errors are noted after colonoscopy;
• feces collected immediately after the act of defecation are suitable. Foreign impurities – bloody discharge, urine – are excluded;
• biological material is collected with a wooden spatula (spatula) in a special container.It should be taken to the laboratory immediately.

Symptoms of diseases detected in the study

Fecal occult blood test helps detect bleeding from various parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Pathological changes accompanying it: ulcer, colitis, Crohn’s disease. Thanks to this study, it is possible to suspect tumors that cause vascular expression. They are the ones that cause minor bleeding.

A general analysis of feces can confirm a malfunction of the stomach, pancreas, and small intestines.With its help, it is possible to determine the lack of enzymes, hydrochloric acid.

Bacterioscopy allows you to determine the intestinal microflora, to identify the causative agents of typhoid fever, dysentery, cholera.

As a rule, the received answer helps the specialist to make a diagnosis. Together with him, an instrumental method can be prescribed, for example, colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy.

90,000 A significant numerical preponderance of bacteria in the human body turned out to be a myth

Photo: Eric Erbe / Christopher Pooley / USDA / ARS / EMU / Wikimedia Commons

It is generally accepted that the number of bacterial cells that make up the microflora of our body is ten times the number of the body’s own cells.However, a new study by a group of biologists from Israel and Canada refutes this popular statement: there are only slightly more microbial cells in us than human cells, and after defecation, they may even become smaller. The results of the new work are being reviewed, but the article was previously published by the bioRxiv preprint service.

The authors of the publication note that the “canonical” ratio between the number of cells of human microflora and the organism itself 10: 1 appeared more than 40 years ago.In 1972, such an estimate was given by Thomas Luckey, who indicated that about 100 trillion bacteria should live in the gastrointestinal tract alone. The following figures, in one way or another, are based on Lucky’s calculations, and today it is generally known that our body consists of about 10 trillion eukaryotic cells and contains an order of magnitude more prokaryotic “inhabitants”. However, in recent years, these figures have begun to be questioned by some experts.

Having considered the current data on the number of cells in the human body and its microflora, professor at the Weizman University in Israel Ron Milo and his colleagues decided that this skepticism is more than justified.The authors concluded that the average person (weight 70 kilograms, height 170 centimeters, age from 20 to 30 years) should contain approximately 30 trillion of their own and 39 trillion of bacterial cells. The ratio is completely different, about 1.3: 1. These numbers are fairly approximate, and may differ from person to person by up to 52 percent – but still not by orders of magnitude. Moreover, the dubious numerical advantage of bacteria in our body is easily lost.

Even Thomas Luckey estimated their number by the content of microbial cells in feces (100 billion per gram).However, such a high concentration of bacteria is found only in the rectum, which is more densely populated than others. And if Lucky multiplied this figure by the total volume of the gastrointestinal tract, then, according to Ron Milo and his colleagues, it can only be applied to the rectum, which has a much smaller volume. As a result, the number of microbes is not so large, and with each bowel movement, so many of them can be excreted that the balance of forces temporarily changes in favor of the eukaryotic cells of the body.

As the authors write, among our own cells, the absolute leader in number is occupied by small numerous erythrocytes and their hematopoietic precursors, which account for about 24.9 trillion (84 percent) of the cells in our body.Data on the content of bacteria in it are also given. There are 10 of them per milliliter of rectal volume, saliva – 100 billion, of the small intestine – from 1 thousand to 100 million, depending on the department. Dental plaque is extremely “densely populated”, but the volume of this substance is quite small. In addition, there are fewer than 10 million bacteria on every square centimeter of skin.

As a result, rectal bacteria dominate in the microflora of our body (according to Milo and colleagues, 100 trillion per liter with a volume of 0.4 liters), and in the body itself – red blood cells (5 trillion per liter with a volume of 5 liters) …This gives a ratio of 1.3: 1 – much more moderate than previously thought.

Roman Fishman

90,000 Echinococcosis of the kidneys: description of the disease, causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

Echinococcosis of the kidneys is a cyst that forms in an organ as a result of damage to parasites from the cestodosis group.Adults do not carry such a destructive force on the human body, unlike larvae. They settle on internal organs, infect them and destroy tissues. Most often, the left kidney is affected. When infected, it changes its anatomical position and shape.

Echinococcus is a parasite from the group of cestodoses that can inhabit almost any organ of a person, causing a disease called echinococcosis. Problems are created not by a sexually mature individual of the parasite, but by its larva, which, settling in the internal organs, parasitizes them and violates their integrity.

The kidneys are an integral part of the urinary system. They perform a very important function in the body – cleansing. The efficiency of the whole organism directly depends on the condition of the kidneys. This paired organ is located near vertebra 11 and 12. The right kidney is located slightly below the left. An anatomical deviation is a prolapse of more than 2 cm. The weight of one kidney is up to 200 grams. The shape resembles a legume crop. The adrenal gland is located near the organ. The work of the kidneys depends on the circulatory system and lymph nodes, and this is a direct route of infection with echinococcus.

Echinococcosis occurs mainly in agricultural areas. Helminth Taenia echinococcus is the causative agent of this disease. Pets such as cats or dogs are the main carriers of the parasite. It can penetrate not only the kidneys, but also any other human organs. Young women are mostly at risk of infection; men seek medical help with this disease much less often.

The eggs of the parasites come out together with the faeces of animals, settling on plants and soil.The disease rate varies from one person to a hundred thousand or more. The most common areas with infection of the population are the central parts of America, the south and east of Europe, the Middle East and China. In Russia, the Krasnodar Territory suffers the most from parasitism. Race does not affect the disease in any way.

Echinococcus belongs to tapeworms. There are 9 such species known today. When we get infected, we play the role of a carrier. There have been cases when a person has been an intermediate owner for more than 50 years.The final hosts of the helminth are predatory animals. The worm lives in the small intestine and throws its eggs out with the feces.

The average length of this species is about 1 cm. An adult consists of a head with suckers, there are 4 of them. Next comes the neck and the proglottid, at the end there is a proglottid with a developed uterus, from which eggs emerge. 400 eggs can be produced per day. Once in the body, the worms begin to be active, while the cyst itself can be huge.

The life cycle of echinococcus is divided into several stages.A mature worm, about half a centimeter long, lives in the intestines of carnivores such as a lion, dog, wolf or fox. Together with emptying, these worms enter nature. Then, through food, it enters the body of a herbivore, for example a horse, goat, cow, pig.

The human is also present in the role of an intermediate host, bringing in the helminth through food or dirt. After being in the body, oncospheres are transported through all systems, getting stuck in a certain place, including the kidneys.Localizing, the larvae form cysts and continue their existence inside it. Further, the predator eats the herbivore, which was infected with this cyst. With the help of suction cups, they are attached to the walls of the intestine and continue to grow and develop for up to 50 days. After that, the circle closes and everything starts again.

The entry of the parasite into the human body becomes the last stage in the development of echinococcus. A person does not spread helminth eggs through feces and is not able to infect another person.

The lesion occurs through the lymph nodes or through the blood. Cases of connective tissue perchymitis are quite rare. The cyst is located in the cortex under the kidney capsule. The cortical layer interacts with the medulla. These layers are connected to tubes through which filtered urine flows. Then urine enters the cups and is excreted into the ureter.

A cyst forms on the organ, which maintains a favorable habitat. The cavity is filled with a liquid that protects its inhabitants from an aggressive environment.The amount of liquid can reach more than two liters. The manifestation of symptoms during the course of the disease may be completely absent. It depends on the location of the formation, the degree of damage.

Causes and course of the disease

The disease has been known since ancient times, then it was interpreted as an increase in lymphatic vessels, but now the level of development of diagnosis and treatment is very high.

Middle-aged women and children in whom pathology is discovered by chance are most often at risk.Areas with livestock production are more at risk. A person is a carrier of larvae, but he cannot transfer them to other people. The main barrier in echinococcal damage is the state of the patient’s immunity, his age and the number of parasites that have penetrated inside.

The most common way of infection is the ingestion of eggs through human-animal contact. The larvae are found on the coat, and upon contact, they spread to human skin.Then they get inside by not observing the rules of personal hygiene. If there was a scratch or abrasion on the body, defeat is guaranteed. Mature worms do not inhabit the human body. But their larvae develop only in humans. For normal functioning and vitality of cystic “inhabitants” the temperature of the human body is excellent.

Eggs live in temperatures ranging from -30 to +38 degrees Celsius. Echinococcus lives in warm soil, which is in the shade.From exposure to direct sunlight, the parasite dies within 24 hours. Therefore, there is a possibility of infection through poorly washed vegetables and fruits, as well as unfiltered raw water. These factors significantly increase the chances of unpleasant neighbors settling in your body.

With alimentary parasitism, eggs enter the digestive system along with berries, mushrooms, and water. This applies most of all to hunters, livestock breeders, berry and fruit pickers. Through dirty hands after contact with an animal, the embryo enters the food.

Aspirated contamination is caused by inhalation of feces affected by the larvae. The larvae can settle in the respiratory tract. Further, the path of following the blood or lymph leads them to the kidney, they settle there, and can also develop on the lungs, liver and heart if the larvae have reached the systemic circulation.

After the eggs enter the human body, the disease begins to develop. Entering the digestive system, gastric juice provokes the hatching of cells.Then they enter the intestines. Through the circulatory system or lymphatic channels, parasites enter other internal organs.

The cystic congestion develops within a few weeks. The resulting capsule is constantly increasing in size. A yellow liquid accumulates inside. Helminth in the process of life poisons the body. This causes various inflammations, and the growing capsule puts pressure on nearby organs.

There are several stages in the development of pathology:

• Hidden.It is caused by the primary ingestion. It can last for a very long time and stops the moment the first symptoms appear.

• Primary. Cyst enlargement, manifestation of symptoms and foreign body sensation. The cavity begins to grow in size due to the accumulation of fluid.

• Expressed. The manifestation increases, the patient’s condition worsens.

• Widespread defeat.Severe pain is accompanied by intoxication.

Types of infection of renal echinococcosis

There are two forms of infection:

1. Hydatidous unicameral cyst.

2. Multicameral cyst.

A unicameral cyst exerts pressure on the renal parenchyma. As it grows, it compresses the organ, which leads to its death. Connective tissue grows around the cyst, and it turns into a fibrous capsule.The chitinous membrane of the cyst is in contact with the capsule. There are bubbles with scolexes inside. When bubbles do not form from the upper parts of the worm, the cyst is considered simple, acephalotic. This rarely happens. When the growth is tightly attached to the kidney elements, there is a chance of emptying the cyst. Also, there is a possibility of tissue suppuration, then the contents of the capsule can enter the renal parenchyma.

Multicameral alveolar cyst. It is characterized by the development of a cyst through the growth and proliferation of cells.The renal parenchyma is damaged by large alveoli. Decay products accumulate in the middle of the liquid. Inside, everything is filled with fibrous scars. Visually, such a capsule completely resembles a tumor.

According to the numerical qualification, the echinococcus cyst is divided into single and multiple, depending on the number of chambers. Also, large, small and medium sizes are distinguished, up to 5 cm, from 5 to 10 cm, and over 10 cm. If several organs are affected at the same time, then this is called a multiple pathological process.With the help of research, it is determined which worms are in the fibrous chamber: live, dead or old.

Manifestation of symptoms

Signs of the disease appear only after a long time from the moment of infection. After the cyst breaks into the ureter, the first symptoms can be noticed. The main indicator of kidney damage by helminth is acute pain in the lumbar region, as well as in the kidneys and under the ribs. A foreign body can be felt. Palpation should be painless.Its surface is smooth, soft and elastic to the touch. If fusion of the cyst is observed, then its movement will be limited.

When the cyst breaks into the pelvis, the disease proceeds with renal colic. With such symptoms, scraps of chitinous tissue and vesicles can be found in the urine. This disrupts the urination process. If a single-chamber cyst has suppuration, then elements of pus appear in the urine. A breakthrough of echinococcus into the intestine or abdominal cavity is very rare.Sometimes, there are cases that it breaks into the space between the pleura, or directly through the skin to the outside. Tremor hydatid is not an accurate indicator for echinococcus. It appears extremely rarely, due to the friction of the vesicles in the cyst.

Diagnostic procedures

The correct diagnosis begins with an examination. In addition to complaints and medical examination, there are a number of other procedures and analyzes that help identify this pathology. It is more difficult to identify echinococcus in the early stages, when the course of the disease is asymptomatic.The suspicion of a disease is based on the following facts:

• Contact with animals is present or absent. In what region does a person live, in what conditions is his home, whether he is engaged in activities that require contact with animals.

• Does the disease manifest itself and what kind of character it has. Exclusion of signs similar to other diseases.

• Laboratory analyzes of urine and blood.An increase in the level of eosinophils is observed in the blood. The level of leukocytes changes, the adhesion of erythrocytes increases during inflammatory processes in the body.

• A blood test for antibodies.

• Casoni analysis.

• CT, MRI, radiography help to most accurately confirm the diagnosis. Through instrumental methods, it is possible to accurately determine the location of the renal cyst, size and number.And also, determine the spread of the disease and identify the presence of daughter vesicles.

• Microscopic examinations. A biomaterial that was taken for analysis is examined under a microscope, for example, fluid from a cyst, sputum, tissue during biopsy or probing.

The main diagnostic method is X-ray and the Casoni reaction. The combination of these methods allows the most accurate and quickest detection of the disease.And also, to assess the condition and type of cyst, the image of which is clearly visible in the picture.

Treatment and rehabilitation

Doctors always try to use the most loyal method of treatment. The most important thing is to get rid of the parasite and preserve the affected area as much as possible for further functioning.

If you seek medical help in a timely manner and follow all the instructions prescribed by professionals, then the prognosis for recovery is good.Now medical scientists are developing a vaccine against infection with these helminths of the kidneys and other internal organs.

Drug treatment is effective only in cases when the size of the cyst does not exceed 3 cm. The permeability of the walls is still preserved and it is possible to carry out therapy with antiparasitic agents. The course of treatment usually ranges from 4 weeks and can last up to six months. Also, the drug is taken after surgery to avoid re-infection.There are also special means for prevention.

For processing during surgery, special chemicals are used that prevent the spread of eggs in neighboring tissues and reduce the likelihood of re-infection.

Basically, with echinococcus, surgery is indicated. This is the only and most reliable treatment. Depending on the severity of the lesion, localization, size and severe symptoms, the doctor determines the type of intervention performed.

The most profitable option is surgery without opening the capsule and its contents. Pericestectomy is performed with complete removal of the bladder, sometimes with it partially or completely removed the affected organ. If this technique is not suitable, then the capsule is opened, the liquid is pumped out, the residues are washed with special solutions – germicides. The remains of the bubble are sewn together.

An open operation is also performed. It is performed by attaching the capsule, the cyst cavity is filled with a swab with ointment or a drainage tube is inserted.This method is used for suppuration inside the cyst.

Closed surgery consists in suturing the fibrous capsule after cleansing it from echinococcus. When drainage remains in the cavity after the walls are sewn in, this type of operation is called semi-closed. Laparoscopy is also performed using special equipment. The minimally invasive operation is performed under the control of an ultrasound machine, this method is closed and is performed through the skin.

Open surgery often carries complications; laparoscopy increases the risk of recurrence.Thus, the closed method is the most acceptable and beneficial in modern medicine. The method causes minimal trauma, the rehabilitation period does not take a long time. The minimally invasive method is used for pregnant women and children, the risk of complications is very low.

At the first symptoms, feel free to seek medical help. There is nothing shameful in this pathology, do not waste time, but get rid of the problem in order to avoid complications.To do this, you just need to go to the clinic and tell your suspicions, describe the clinical situation, so that the doctor can direct you to the tests and the necessary research.

90,000 Who lives in a man’s beard

The science department of “Gazeta.Ru” figured out whether a person’s beard is really as dirty as a toilet, who lives in a beard, and how scientists studied a beard.

A month ago, a number of Western media reported a terrible news to be aware of: they say, no less bacteria live in a person’s beard than in a sewer.”Some beards contain more excrement than a toilet, shocking research shows,” wrote the Mirror. “Some beards are as dirty as toilets,” warned metro.co.uk.

A simple Internet search led to the source of the stuffing: they turned out to be journalists from one of the TV channels in the US state of New Mexico, who took several swabs from the volunteers’ male beards and took them to the Quest Diagnostics laboratory.

Microbiologist John Golobik reported that he found intestinal bacteria in smears: “These are the types of bacteria that can be found in feces.”

The phrase thrown on the move was enough for the tabloids to “find” impurity in the vegetation on the faces of men. Meanwhile, Quest Diagnostics is not a research organization and only provides testing services for doctors and hospitals.

In any case, there is no cause for concern.

Serious scientific research on the microbes living in the human beard exists, that is, humanity has a good idea of ​​who lives there. And it has long been known that human skin is a refuge for a huge community of microbes, including E. coli, which is found in the intestines of humans and other warm-blooded organisms.

In 2000, the journal Anesthesia published a study on how surgical masks worn during surgery collect bacteria on themselves and, most importantly, how the presence of a beard affects their number.In the course of experiments, scientists found out how many germs fall from the mask when it is accidentally moved on the face by bearded men, women or shaved men.

It turned out that the masks of bearded men strew much more germs than from clean-shaven bandages.This is especially noticeable when a person accidentally moves the mask.

“They found that bearded men carry more bacteria than non-bearded men or women. And masked bearded surgeons sprinkle more organisms from the beard as they move, ”says Professor Anthony Hilton from the University of Aston (UK). According to him, there is nothing wrong with the fact that different bacteria are found in the beard. “You can find 20,000 bacteria on the skin, so there’s nothing dangerous about that,” he said.

“I thought no more about who lives there than about other surfaces and insides of my body,” he told Gazeta.Ru ”, the owner of one of the most colorful beards among the figures of the Russian scientific world, Professor Mikhail Gelfand, Deputy Director for Science of the Institute for Information Transmission Problems. “The Human Microbiome project also studied the hair microbiome, though not the beard, but ordinary hair from the head, and found a lot of cyanobacteria there.”

According to him, in order not to multiply the fauna in the beard, it is necessary to observe the usual standards of hygiene. “If you wash, there will be fewer bacteria in your beard; if you do not wash, there will be more.If you drop bread crumbs into your beard, then someone will start there, who will eat these crumbs, ”the scientist stated.

Beard as an object of scientific research does not appear in scientific publications so often. For example, in 2012, scientists from the Central Institute of Medical Service in Germany asked whether it was possible to find out how long the owner had been drinking by analyzing the hair of the beard. With the help of volunteers who were asked to drink alcohol and then shave their beard, it was possible to find out that traces of ethyl glucuronides, alcohol breakdown products, appear in the beard nine hours after drinking and remain in it for eight to ten days.

90,000 Cholera: symptoms and course of the disease

There are two types of vibrios – classic and El Tor – and both of them are dangerous to humans. They are part of the flora of many reservoirs, they are found even in the Moscow River. The defining question is the number of these vibrios per unit volume of water. To get cholera, you have to swallow between a million and a trillion microorganisms.

The causative agent of cholera is extremely unstable to hydrochloric acid, which is contained in the human stomach.However, if the acidity is lowered (for example, with atrophic gastritis) or hydrochloric acid is significantly diluted (when a large amount of liquid is consumed), the number of vibrios required for infection is reduced by 100 thousand times.

Cholera periodically spread to many countries of the world and entire continents, claiming millions of human lives; the last, seventh, pandemic of the disease began in 1961. The epidemic situation on cholera in the world remains tense, annually up to several thousand people fall ill.In the countries of South and Southeast Asia and in a number of African countries (more than half of the cases of the disease are recorded on the African continent), there are endemic foci of cholera and epidemics periodically occur.

The clinical severity of depends on many factors: the state of the body, the number of pathogens that have got inside, etc. With erased forms, a single loose stool is possible, as well as mild manifestations of intoxication. There is also an asymptomatic form of carriage – when a person does not feel sick, but releases a huge number of pathogens into the external environment.

The classic picture of cholera is frequent, up to 10 or more times a day, diarrhea. The loss of fluid is colossal – up to 20 liters per day. As a result, the blood thickens and the body dehydrates. The patient’s condition rapidly and sharply deteriorates. Due to the loss of trace elements with the liquid, muscle cramps appear, most often – starting with the calf muscles.

Facial features sharpen, eyes sink, lips and ears turn blue. The skin is cold (cholera is one of the few infections accompanied by a normal or even low body temperature).The skin loses its elasticity, easily folds and straightens back for a very long time, and the skin of the feet and hands becomes wrinkled – the so-called “washerwoman’s hands”. Shortness of breath, severe weakness appears.

In the absence of treatment with modern means, half of the patients die within the first day.

Treatment is carried out in infectious diseases hospitals, although due to the rare transmission of the disease directly from a sick person to a healthy person, WHO experts consider it possible to place such patients in ordinary therapeutic wards.It should be noted that recently up to 90% of cholera has been mild.

The basis of treatment is replenishing the loss of fluid and microelements, maintaining the water-electrolyte and acid-base balance in the body.