How does the Bristol Stool Chart categorize different types of stool. What do various poop colors indicate about your health. Why does stool sometimes float or sink. How often should a healthy person have bowel movements. What are the key components found in human feces.

Understanding the Bristol Stool Chart: A Visual Guide to Fecal Health

The Bristol Stool Chart is a widely used medical tool that classifies human feces into seven distinct types based on their appearance and consistency. This visual guide helps both medical professionals and individuals assess digestive health and identify potential issues.

The seven types on the Bristol Stool Chart are:

1. Type 1: Separate hard lumps, like nuts (hard to pass)
2. Type 2: Sausage-shaped but lumpy
3. Type 3: Like a sausage but with cracks on the surface
4. Type 4: Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft
5. Type 5: Soft blobs with clear-cut edges
6. Type 6: Fluffy pieces with ragged edges, mushy
7. Type 7: Entirely liquid, no solid pieces

Types 3 and 4 are generally considered ideal, indicating a healthy digestive system. Types 1 and 2 suggest constipation, while types 6 and 7 may indicate diarrhea or other digestive issues.

How can you use the Bristol Stool Chart to assess your digestive health?

By comparing your stool to the chart, you can gain insights into your digestive health and make lifestyle adjustments if needed. For example, if you consistently produce type 1 or 2 stools, increasing your fiber and water intake may help improve your digestive function.

The Colorful World of Poop: What Different Hues Mean

While brown is the most common and typically healthy color for stool, variations in color can provide valuable information about your health and diet.

• Brown: Normal, healthy stool
• Green: Often caused by eating green vegetables or food coloring
• Yellow: May indicate excess fat in the stool or celiac disease
• Black: Could be caused by iron supplements or potentially indicate bleeding in the upper digestive tract
• Red: May be due to consuming red foods or could indicate lower intestinal bleeding
• White or clay-colored: Might suggest a lack of bile, possibly due to liver or gallbladder issues

When should you be concerned about stool color?

While occasional color changes are often harmless and related to diet, persistent abnormal colors, especially black, red, or white stools, warrant medical attention. These could indicate more serious underlying health conditions that require professional evaluation.

The Buoyancy of Bowel Movements: Why Some Float and Others Sink

The floating or sinking of stool is primarily determined by its density relative to water. Factors influencing stool buoyancy include:

• Gas content: Increased gas in stool can cause it to float
• Fat content: Higher fat content may lead to floating stools
• Fiber: A high-fiber diet can sometimes produce floating stools
• Density: Denser stools tend to sink

Contrary to popular belief, floating stools are not necessarily indicative of poor health. In fact, they can sometimes suggest a fiber-rich diet. However, persistently floating, greasy stools may indicate malabsorption issues and should be discussed with a healthcare provider.

Does the salinity of water affect stool buoyancy?

While saltwater is denser than freshwater, the difference in buoyancy experienced by stool in these environments is typically negligible. The composition of the stool itself is a far more significant factor in determining whether it will float or sink.

Frequency Matters: How Often Should You Be Pooping?

The frequency of bowel movements can vary significantly from person to person. While some individuals may have multiple bowel movements daily, others may only go every few days. Generally, a healthy range is considered to be anywhere from three times a day to three times a week.

What factors influence bowel movement frequency?

Several factors can affect how often you poop:

• Diet: Fiber intake, hydration, and overall food consumption
• Physical activity: Regular exercise can promote more frequent bowel movements
• Age: Bowel habits may change as you get older
• Medications: Certain drugs can affect digestive function
• Medical conditions: Various health issues can impact bowel regularity

Consistency in your personal pattern is often more important than adhering to a specific frequency. If you experience a sudden, persistent change in your bowel habits, it’s advisable to consult a healthcare professional.

The Composition of Excrement: What’s Really in Your Poop?

Human feces is a complex mixture of various substances, each playing a role in the digestive process and overall health. The primary components of stool include:

• Water: Typically accounts for about 75% of stool weight
• Indigestible plant matter (fiber)
• Dead and living bacteria
• Cells shed from the intestinal lining
• Fats
• Inorganic substances like calcium and iron
• Undigested food particles

How does the composition of stool reflect digestive health?

The proportions of these components can provide insights into digestive function. For example, excessively fatty stools may indicate malabsorption issues, while a high proportion of undigested food particles could suggest rapid transit time or digestive enzyme deficiencies.

The Scent of Health: Decoding Stool Odor

While not the most pleasant topic, the odor of your stool can offer valuable health information. Normal stool odor, though unpleasant, shouldn’t be overpowering or drastically different from your usual smell.

What can cause changes in stool odor?

Several factors can influence the smell of your stool:

• Diet: Certain foods like garlic, onions, and spices can affect stool odor
• Medications: Some drugs can alter the smell of feces
• Infections: Bacterial overgrowth or parasitic infections may cause foul-smelling stools
• Malabsorption: Conditions affecting nutrient absorption can lead to particularly smelly stools
• Liver or pancreatic diseases: These can sometimes cause a distinct stool odor

While occasional changes in stool odor are normal, persistent, extremely foul-smelling stools may warrant medical attention, especially if accompanied by other symptoms like diarrhea or abdominal pain.

Time on the Throne: How Long Should a Bowel Movement Take?

The duration of a healthy bowel movement can vary, but generally, it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. Spending excessive time on the toilet can lead to issues like hemorrhoids and may indicate underlying digestive problems.

What factors can affect the duration of a bowel movement?

Several elements can influence how long it takes to have a bowel movement:

• Hydration: Proper hydration helps soften stool, making it easier to pass
• Fiber intake: Adequate fiber can promote smoother, quicker bowel movements
• Physical activity: Regular exercise can help stimulate bowel function
• Toilet posture: Proper positioning can facilitate easier passage of stool
• Stress levels: High stress can affect digestive function and bowel habits

If you consistently find yourself spending long periods on the toilet or straining to pass stool, it may be beneficial to assess your diet, lifestyle, and consider consulting a healthcare provider.

Gut Health and Beyond: The Broader Implications of Stool Characteristics

While primarily a reflection of digestive health, stool characteristics can also provide insights into overall health and potential systemic issues. Understanding these connections can help in early detection and prevention of various health conditions.

How can stool characteristics indicate non-digestive health issues?

Several stool characteristics may point to broader health concerns:

• Blood in stool: May indicate colorectal cancer, hemorrhoids, or inflammatory bowel disease
• Pale stools: Could suggest liver or gallbladder issues
• Mucus in stool: Might indicate inflammation or infections in the digestive tract
• Changes in frequency: Could be linked to thyroid disorders or diabetes
• Persistent diarrhea: May be associated with autoimmune conditions or food intolerances

It’s important to note that while stool characteristics can provide valuable health insights, they should not be used for self-diagnosis. Persistent changes or concerning symptoms should always be evaluated by a healthcare professional.

Understanding your stool characteristics and what they might indicate about your health is an important aspect of self-care. By paying attention to these often-overlooked signs, you can gain valuable insights into your digestive health and overall well-being. Remember, while occasional variations are normal, persistent changes or concerning symptoms should always be discussed with a healthcare provider. Maintaining a balanced diet, staying hydrated, and leading an active lifestyle are key factors in promoting healthy bowel function and, by extension, supporting overall health.

buoyancy – Float vs Sink – Salt Water vs Normal Water

Asked
6 years, 2 months ago

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6 years, 2 months ago

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2k times

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My buddy was telling me a story about a long sailing trip he took where he had to drop a number 2 when swimming. He told me his biggest concern was worrying if it would float and touch him. Lucky it was a sinker.

This lead to a series of questions and discussion between us, that boiled down to if dropping a number 2 in salt water has a higher chance of a floater than a number 2 in non salt water. Hoping someone has insight.

• buoyancy

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Your poo does experience more buoyant force in sea/salt water compared to fresh water because the density of salt water is higher than that of fresh water (assuming fresh water is synonymous with pure water). 3$

(which is a decent size for a poo), the difference in buoyant force will ever only be at most $0.25$ Newtons or so compared to the weight of an average poo of ~$1.3$ Newtons. Note that what I have done here is estimate a big volume of stool, calculate the difference in buoyant forces experienced by that volume of stool in salt vs pure water and then compare that to the weight of an average stool. This means that for any volume less than that (assuming similar stool mass), the buoyant force is even less significant. Implicit is the assumption that stool does not get significantly larger than that volume without a corresponding increase in mass.

Although there might be a type of stool where the difference in densities between salt water and pure water would matter enough for the stool to float in pure water but sink in salt water, I think that this scenario is unlikely (the stool would have to have a combination of large volume and low mass that doesn’t quite qualify it as stool, much closer to diarrhoea). How salty the water is doesn’t count as much as the type of poo you’re pooing.

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Poop Types Guide: What Does Your Poo Say About You?

Maybe it’s not the most pleasant subject to think about, but you can learn a lot about the state of your health, especially gut health, just by looking at your poop. When expensive stool testing is out of reach, knowing what your poo says about you (in a strictly factual way, of course, we’re not judging anyone here) can help you make changes to improve your health and well-being, beginning with digestion and gut health.

In this article, we’ll give you the ultimate guide on poop, including what’s normal and what isn’t, the handy Bristol Stool Chart, poop colors, shapes, frequency, and more.

Table of Contents: 

• What’s Normal?
• What Poop Says About Your Health
• The Bristol Stool Chart
• Poop Color
• Poop Shape and Consistency
• Poop Odor
• How Often Should You Poop?
• How Long Should It Take You to Poop?
• Sink or Float?
• What’s in Your Poop?
• Colon Cleanses: Are They Good for You?
• Talking to Your Doctor
• Perfect Poop Tips

What Does Normal Poop Look Like?

Whether you’re in the habit of checking the toilet after you go #2 or not, you need to know what exactly it is you’re looking for to be able to identify any issues or areas of improvement. A normal poo looks and feels like: 

• Brown, snake-like or shaped like a sausage
• Smooth or with some cracks on the surface
• Easy to pass, not much effort required
• Feels complete and satisfying, like everything has emptied.

Basically, you go to the toilet, you do your business without any issues, and nothing stands out to you as strange or different. No funky colors or bits of undigested food or overbearing smells. That’s how you know it’s all good.

What Can Your Poop Say About Your Health? 

Looking at your poop and your poop habits can tell you a lot about your health in a more general way. Of course, you won’t be able to identify the specific composition of your microbiome just by looking in the toilet. But there are plenty of high-level pieces of information you can gather that will give you some actionable steps to improve your health, if you need to. 

• Dehydration: An easy way to tell whether you’re drinking enough water is to check your poo. If it looks like hard, round lumps, almost like nuts or large marbles, you’re pretty dehydrated. If it looks like a sausage but it’s lumpy, like those marbles were just crammed together, then you’re still dehydrated, but slightly less. Either way, drink up some water and make sure you’re getting enough electrolytes!
• Malabsorption: Signs of malabsorption, meaning you’re not absorbing nutrients well from your food, could be loose stools, foul-smelling stools, greasy stools, pale-colored stools, and seeing bits of undigested food in your stool. In each of these cases, the malabsorption could have many different causes, including not producing enough digestive enzymes, low stomach acid, low bile production, parasites or fungal infection, or even stress. But whatever the cause, it’s critical to address it before other symptoms, like fatigue or mood changes, begin to develop due to a lack of nutrients. It’s important to work with a functional medicine practitioner to figure out the cause and develop a treatment plan accordingly.
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): Obviously, one of the first things people who are diagnosed with IBS notice is a change in their poop, usually either more frequent and loose stools (diarrhea or IBS-D) or less frequent and harder stools (constipation or IBS-C). Again, IBS can have many different causes, so it’s important to work with a healthcare provider to discuss your symptoms.
• Stress: If you usually have normal-looking #2’s, but you suddenly go through a period of high stress and your poo starts looking a little different than usual, that’s a good sign to take a deep breath and reevaluate your stress levels. Have you been running on autopilot and high-stress hormones for a while? Do you feel constantly on edge? When was the last time you really checked in with how you’re feeling? Just asking yourself these questions can help you recalibrate how you’re handling stress and begin to normalize your digestion again.
• Inflammation: If you’re having frequent trips to the bathroom, loose stools, painful cramping, or difficulty with digestion, these are signs that your digestive system is inflamed. Fatty stools may also indicate inflammation, since that’s a sign that you’re not digesting fats and probably not producing enough digestive enzymes. There could also be a disruption in your bile flow, or a combination of these issues. 

These are just some general ideas you may be able to deduce about the state of your health by examining your poop. But let’s get into some more specifics. 

The Bristol Stool Chart

The Bristol Stool Chart was created by researchers at Bristol University and published in 1997 as a guide for identifying changes in colon transit time. It quickly became useful for gastroenterologists in diagnosing and pinpointing stool consistency in different intestinal illnesses, like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. The chart provides a simple framework of seven different stool types:

Ideally, you want type 3 or type 4 poops–-these indicate good digestion and nutrient absorption. 

Type 1 and type 2 indicate constipation, as we discussed earlier. This could be caused by a few different factors: 

1. You aren’t drinking enough water or aren’t absorbing enough water in your GI tract. This is where it’s important to get adequate electrolytes and minerals through your food and water intake.
2. You aren’t getting enough fiber. Fiber is indigestible plant material that helps give stools that ideal snake/sausage shape and makes them easier to pass. However, fiber can also make you constipated, if you consume too much too quickly. If you’re not eating enough fiber, slowly increase your intake of whole fruits, vegetables, and grains like apples, carrots, salad greens, oats, and potatoes, paired with protein and healthy fat during meals, until your digestion improves.
3. Your digestive enzymes, stomach acid, and/or bile flow are low. These are the substances that digest your food so that you can absorb what nutrients you need and expel the rest as waste. They also help to stimulate peristalsis, the smooth muscle contractions that move food through the digestive tract. When stomach acid, bile, and enzymes are low, food tends to sit for longer in the gut, causing a backup that becomes constipation. 

Types 4, 5, and 6 are the other end of the spectrum, diarrhea. Sometimes the causes behind these types may be surprisingly similar to constipation, including lack of absorption and insufficient digestive juices. But other common causes include*: 

1. Infection or dysbiosis: This could be anything from the stomach flu to fungal overgrowth to a parasitic infection. If you suspect a pathogen, it’s best to work with a doctor who can help you identify and treat it.
2. Stress: Know the feeling when you’re about to go on stage, or give a presentation, or compete against your peers, and you’re so nervous that suddenly you have to poop? It’s an extremely common reaction to stress, and after the stressor has passed, your digestion should return to normal. But if you have significant chronic stress, it can definitely trigger loose stools on the regular.
3. Food reactions or allergies: As anybody with lactose intolerance knows, eating certain foods that your body is not prepared to digest can cause diarrhea. If you’re not sure what foods might be triggering your digestive issues, trying an elimination diet (like gluten-free or Paleo) for a set amount of time can be helpful, and you can identify any trigger foods as you add them back into your diet later on.

These are not the only causes behind constipation and diarrhea, but they may identify a good place to start making changes in your diet and lifestyle.

Poop Color

Did you know your poop can be nearly every color of the rainbow, depending on what’s going on in your gut (and what you’re eating)? Here’s what you need to know about poop colors.

• Brown: The normal poop color. Stools turn brown because of the bile that breaks down fats during digestion. If you see brown, you’re good to go.

• Green: Green is generally ok too, especially if you’ve recently eaten a massive salad or a green smoothie. But seeing green stools could also indicate the presence of bile, which would normally be broken down during digestion. So you might want to consider slightly increasing your fiber intake to slow digestion and allow that bile to break down fully.

• Red: Red poops can happen after you’ve consumed bright red foods, especially beets, cranberries, and artificially colored red foods. In that case, there’s no need to be alarmed, your poop should return to a normal brown on your next trip to the bathroom. But bright red could also mean bleeding in the lower GI tract, usually from hemorrhoids or ulcers. If you continue to see red in your stools, see a doctor as soon as possible.

• Yellow: Yellow stools are usually caused by fat that hasn’t been broken down, so they may also be greasy and smell bad. There may be a malabsorption issue at play here, including possible celiac disease, so it’s best to see your doctor right away.

• Orange: Most likely you’ll see orange stools after consuming a lot of orange foods, like carrots. This isn’t a cause for alarm, just be mindful that you’re getting a variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet.

• White: White stools mean that you’re not producing enough bile, and there may be a bile duct obstruction. This is cause to see your doctor sooner rather than later. Some medications, like large doses of Pepto-Bismol, may also cause light-colored or white stools.

• Black: Black stools may also result from consuming black or deep purple foods, like black beans. However, it may also result from bleeding in the upper GI tract, including the stomach and small intestine. So if you have black stools and you’re not in the habit of eating black beans every day, see a doctor for evaluation.

Poop Shape and Consistency

If we look back to the Bristol Stool Chart, types 3 and 4–-the healthy poops–-are sausage or snake-shaped. This is the ideal goal for poop shape and consistency. It indicates that you’re eating the right amount of fiber, staying hydrated, and your microbiome and digestive juices are in good shape with digesting your food.

Straying outside of those two types indicates something is off with your water intake, fiber intake, microbiome, or digestion. See our discussion of types 1 and 2 (constipation) and types 4-6 (diarrhea) above.

How You Can Make Your Poop More Solid

While it’s certainly no fun, it’s usually easier to fix diarrhea, aka loose stools, than constipation. Barring some kind of infection that’s making you constantly run to the toilet (in which case you should see a doctor), the quickest fix to loose stools is to eat more fiber.

Fiber not only bulks up your stools, but it also feeds the probiotic bacteria in your gut, helping them flourish and proliferate. These good bacteria then create a lot of important nutrients you need, like vitamins, neurotransmitters, and short-chain fatty acids. As the microbiome becomes more balanced, digestion improves, and inflammation calms down. 

Why Is My Poop So Big?

If you’ve ever had this question, you’re not alone. Toilet-clogging BM’s can happen to anyone. This might be due to a couple of common reasons. 

1. You had a large meal. No surprises here, a large intake of food and water can cause a large stool. No worries, your body is doing what it’s supposed to do.
2. You haven’t gone in a few days. You’re backed up, so when it finally does happen… it happens. This is a sign to look into your water and fiber intake to see if you could increase the frequency of your BM’s. We’ll discuss more tips for addressing constipation below. 

Poop Odor

Your poop is never going to smell like roses, or the potpourri your grandma keeps in the bathroom. But there’s a difference between the normal odor of poop and a foul-smelling poop. If there’s a serious stench coming from the toilet, that’s a sign of malabsorption, a common issue in gut diseases like inflammatory bowel disease and celiac disease.

Just keep in mind that changes to your food intake, especially an increase in fermented foods or fermentable grains and starches, can easily change the smell of your poop. As long as you feel good eating those foods and you have regular bowel habits, this is just a side effect of increased bacterial fermentation in the gut.

How Often Should You Poop?

This is still a topic of some debate in the world of medicine. If you’re asking a conventional M.D., the standard answer is that anywhere between three times a day and once every three days is normal for how often you should poop. Anything more than that qualifies as diarrhea, and anything less than that is constipation.

However, if you’re only pooping once every three days and eating multiple meals per day, you’re probably still pretty backed up. Even every other day is less than ideal. Most functional medicine doctors will say that once a day is the ideal minimum for a normal BM. Twice or three times a day (once per meal) would be even better, as long as you’re sticking to that type 3 and 4 on the Bristol scale.

How Long Should It Take You to Poop?

Between feeling the urge to go and passing a stool, it should really only take a few minutes for the whole process to occur. You might have to push a little bit to get going, but straining on the toilet for several minutes shouldn’t be necessary. If that’s happening to you on a regular basis, you probably already know the issue: constipation.

What Can You Do About Constipation?

So if you are in that once-every-other-day or once-every-three-days range (or longer), what can you do to poop more regularly? Here are a few tips:

• Drink more water (with electrolytes!): We’ve all heard the advice to increase our water intake to prevent constipation, but what if you’re already drinking plenty of water and you’re still jammed up? The trick might be that you’re not getting enough electrolytes, which is what helps water get into your cells. Especially if you drink filtered water (which is a smart choice), adding some electrolytes back in every time you fill up your water bottle is a good idea.

• Add more fiber to your diet (slowly!): Fiber can be helpful for addressing constipation, but adding too much at once will just slow down digestion even more. You may even want to start with something like psyllium husk powder, which when mixed with water turns into a kind of gel that helps bulk up stools and may potentially soothe the lining of the intestines. It’s also a great toxin binder, so any metabolic waste or other toxic compounds you ingest will get absorbed with the stool and excreted out of the body. Just make sure to take it away from medications and supplements.

• Retrain your vagus nerve: You can think of the vagus nerve as the body’s master control nerve, running from the brain to all of the major organs in the body, including the intestines. Sometimes chronic constipation can occur because the signal from the vagus nerve to the intestines has been interrupted somehow–-by stress, getting stuck in “fight or flight” mode, or living in a state of fear that dysregulates the nervous system.

  Exercises that can help reconnect the vagus nerve include deep belly breathing, singing (really!), and yoga. You can also seek out neurofeedback therapy to help retrain the vagus nerve and calm the nervous system. If you’ve tried everything else to fix your constipation and nothing is working, focusing on the vagus nerve and regulating the nervous system may be the key you’re looking for.

Should Poop Sink or Float?

You know what happens when you mix oil and water? Right, the oil floats to the top. It’s the same concept with whether your poop sinks or floats. If it floats, it’s because there’s a higher amount of fat in the stool. If it sinks, there’s more fiber.

Floating poops can mean that you’re not digesting fat well, and you might even see grease or oil in the water. That’s a for sure sign that you need to increase your bile production and maybe look into some liver and gallbladder support. Consult with your doctor if fat digestion is a concern for you.

What’s In Your Poop?

It may surprise you (or maybe not, if you’ve made it this far in our explanation), that poop is actually made of 75% water on average. No wonder dehydration is a major cause of constipation. But the other 25% consists of solid material, including undigested plant matter, carbohydrates, protein, fat, and bacterial biomass. This is all normal, but there are a few abnormalities you want to look out for in your stool composition. 

Food

It’s not uncommon to see bits of undigested food in your stool, and fortunately it’s not always a cause for immediate concern. There are many vegetables and carbohydrates that are difficult for humans to digest, and especially if you’re in the process of changing your diet to include more fiber. Common foods where this can happen include:

• Tough leafy greens and vegetables like kale, spinach, chard, and carrots, especially raw
• Legumes
• Grains like oats, rice, and corn
• Nuts and seeds. 

This can also happen when you’re simply not chewing your food enough or not eating slowly enough. When you only chew your food for a few bites before wolfing it down, it puts more stress on your digestive juices, and eating fast also tells your nervous system that you’re in a state of panic and urgency, which burdens your digestion even more. So chew your food slowly and savor your meals!

Mucus

The walls of your intestines secrete mucus as a protective layer against bacteria and other pathogens. Seeing mucus in your poop is a sign that there could be an infection present in your GI system, especially if the mucus is paired with loose stools, abdominal pain or blood in the stool. 

If you’re regularly seeing mucus in your stool, it’s definitely something to follow up on with your doctor. 

Are Colon Cleanses Good for You?

Colon cleanses, also known as colon hydrotherapy or simply a colonic, have become a popular fad over the last several years, but they may be more trouble than they’re worth. Colon cleansing involves inserting a tube into the rectum through which purified water streams into and fills the entire colon. This stimulates peristalsis to contract the large intestine and expel waste out through the tube (to be carried away into the sewer system).

Many gallons of water may be filtered through the colon during one session. The idea is to completely clean out built-up stool, bacteria, fungus, and even parasites from the colon, allowing it to heal itself and reestablish a healthy microbiome. But there isn’t much research supporting the effectiveness of colon cleansing, and it comes with risks, from dehydration to bowel perforation.

Besides being difficult, invasive, and potentially dangerous if done incorrectly, colon hydrotherapy is, at best, a temporary solution that doesn’t investigate the root cause of the gut issue at play. No matter the gut health issue—be it potential issues with intestinal permeability (aka leaky gut) to regular discomfort—a colon cleanse will only provide short-term relief.

If you’re wondering how to heal your gut and get relief from symptoms like constipation, gas, bloating, and indigestion, you’re probably better off addressing the foundational aspects of gut health, like establishing a healthy diet, incorporating prebiotic and probiotic foods, and potentially adding in postbiotic therapy, like butyrate.

When Should You Talk to Your Doctor About Your Poop

Your first instinct might be that it’s embarrassing to talk to your doctor about your poop. That may be so, but when you notice significant changes in your poop—including these top 10 signs of an unhealthy gut—it means significant changes in your health, and that should never be pushed under the rug.

If you notice consistent changes in your stool, especially when they are accompanied by other symptoms like abdominal pain, fatigue, difficulty digesting foods, bloating, gas, etc.–-consult your doctor. They can provide guidance and give you next steps on figuring out the root cause of the issue as well as diet and treatment options.

How to Get the Perfect Poop

Alright, let’s wrap up and review with some tips on making your poop perfect.

1. Hydrate: Drink up and make sure you’re getting plenty of electrolytes so that your cells can use that h30. Feel free to change it up with things like green tea, citrus water, and sparkling water so you don’t get bored.
2. Fiber: Eat the rainbow! Eating a variety of plants can bulk up your stool and make it easier to pass; plus, all of that fiber is fuel for your microbiome. Just remember to increase the amount of fiber you consume slowly, or you’ll probably run into issues with constipation. You can also incorporate more resistant starches, the type of fiber that produces butyrate in the gut. Examples of these include cooked and cooled potatoes, beans, plantains, oats, and rice.
3. Promotility agents: If your diet is good but motility is still on the slow side and you need to get things moving a little more regularly, you can try some promotility agents like aloe (juice or capsules), triphala (a combination of three ayurvedic herbs), or peppermint, among others.
4. Toxin binders: If your motility is on the fast side, toxin binders may help to slow it down and grab up harmful toxins in the process. In general, fiber serves as a basic toxin binder, but there are more targeted options available too. Some of these include activated charcoal (just make sure to take it a couple hours away from other medications and supplements), psyllium husk powder, and chlorella. Speak with your doctor about using these binders before you begin.
5. Probiotics: Probiotics can definitely be helpful for reaching the perfect poop. Just make sure you find a high-quality option that matches your individual needs.
6. Healthy fats: Increasing your healthy fat intake may help improve your digestion and help things run more smoothly. But again, if your digestion is already too fast, adding in more fats might make things worse, so go slow and see how you feel. Adding fats like MCT oil and olive oil are easier for the body to digest and use as quick fuel.
7. Digestive aids: Sometimes, we just need a little help on the digestive front end. Try taking betaine HCl (stomach acid) and digestive enzymes with your meals, and see if that improves your digestion and the quality of your stools.
8. Reduce Stress: We know, this is easier said than done sometimes. But stress really does have a significant impact on your gut health, just as much as your diet and nutrition. Whether it’s developing a relaxing morning routine that makes it easier for you to go at the same time each day, or savoring your food to encourage better digestion, consistently lowering stress levels can help you achieve the perfect #2.
9. Supplements: Supplements like BodyBio’s Butyrate or our powerful prebiotic and postbiotic combo, Gut+, can support your gut health along with following best practices for diet, lifestyle, and stress management.  

Put the Flow Back in Your Go with BodyBio 

It might not be pretty, but the state of your poop is a powerful diagnostic indicator of your overall health. As is often said in functional and integrative medicine, health (and disease) begins in the gut. If you can get to the bottom of your gut issues, odds are your whole body’s well-being will improve along with it.

BodyBio is committed to making people healthier, one cell at a time—including the cells in your colon. As part of that mission, we provide a wide array of supplements for gut health, including Butyrate and Gut+.  

• Butyrate is a key postbiotic that provides fuel for the cells of the gut lining. Butyrate benefits include maintaining a healthy microbiome, supporting immunity, and can address brain fog.* 
• Gut+ is our prebiotic + postbiotic combo that uses an advanced form of Butyrate called Tributyrin. Tributyin provides the same fuel for your gut cells without Butyrate’s… well, “distinctive” odor. Using Preforpro prebiotics, Gut+ also supports your gut’s ecosystem by pruning away unwanted bacteria while nurturing the good bacteria that help you stay healthy and regular. 

Whether you’re on an epic quest to get your poo back on track or you suspect that what’s happening in your gut is impairing your energy, focus, and mood, we hope this guide to types of poops has given you a few potential solutions, or at least some peace of mind.

Visit our Gut+ page or our Butyrate/Gut+ Get Started Guide to learn more about BodyBio’s cutting-edge supplement for total gut health.

References

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30100002/

2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9299672/

3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28185025/

4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23073866/

5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26963409/

6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31411845/

7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6192438/

8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30669509/

9. https://www. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4500995/

10. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27498766/

11. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19508546/

12. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27346602/

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What is the poop number? – Celebrity.fm

The shape and shape of your feces can also help your doctor diagnose certain digestive problems. The ideal stool is generally type 3 or 4 , easy to pass without being too watery. If you have type 1 or 2, you are probably constipated. Types 5, 6 and 7 tend to have diarrhea.

So why is urine number 1 and food number 2?

I was curious about the origin of the use of the terms “number one” and “number two” to refer to going to the toilet (for those who don’t know, number one urinates, number two defecates , at least in the US). I myself have used it several times without even thinking about it and have heard that many others use it too.

With that in mind, why do I cry when I poop?

When the abdominal muscles flex and tighten to help expel faeces from the colon, they put pressure on the organs and membranes around them . This pressure, along with your regular breathing, can put pressure on the nerves and blood vessels lining your abdomen, leading to tears.

Also, should your feces float or sink?

Healthy stool (stool) Must sink into the toilet

Floating stool is often a sign of high fat content, which can be a sign of malabsorption, a condition in which you cannot absorb enough fat and other nutrients from the food you eat .

What are ghost foods?

Dr. Islam gives us three definitions of the elusive ghost poop: 1) the desire to poop, which ends up being gas, 2) the poop is so smooth it went down the drain before you could see it, and finally 3) visible poop in the toilet but zero marks on the toilet paper after wiping; .

Second, what do the numbers 1 and 2 mean?

do “number one”: I pee to urinate. idiom. do “number two”: poop, defecate. idiom. “Number one” and “number two” are expressions often used by parents and children when talking about going to the bathroom.

Contents

Why do we call it number one and number two?

catlady60 said “number 1” for urination and “number 2” for defecation is very common in the United States. In English, especially in the US, we say “I have to go #1” when we need to go to the bathroom.

What is bathroom number four?

The four 4 piece bath fixtures can technically be any of the following: Sink, toilet, shower, tub (the most common today)… Sink, toilet, shower. Sink, toilet, shower, bidet. Sink, toilet, bathtub, bidet.

Why do I cry when I sneeze?

When stimulated, the sneezing center of the brainstem commands muscle contractions from the esophagus to the sphincter . This includes the muscles that control the eyelids. Some sneezers even shed tears. It’s possible that people close their eyes when they sneeze to keep the eliminated particles from getting into their eyes, Houston said.

Why do we cry when we pee?

The cause of condition may lie in the brain or in the facial nerves , according to the report. Both tear production and urination are controlled by an area of ​​the brain called the pons. The report is published online in the journal Pediatrics.

Why is it good to poop?

According to the authors, this feeling, which they call “puforia”, occurs when defecation stimulates the vagus nerve which runs from the brainstem to the large intestine. Your vagus nerve is involved in key bodily functions, including digestion and regulating heart rate and blood pressure.

What is unhealthy feces?

Types of abnormal feces

pooping too often (more than three times a day) not pooping often enough (less than three times a week) excessive straining when pooping . poop that is red, black, green, yellow, or white. greasy, greasy stool.

Is it bad if your poop sticks to the toilet?

Stool that sticks to the toilet or is difficult to flush out may indicate too much oil . “Oil floats, so you’ll see it in the water,” Raufman said.

What does long skinny poop mean?

Narrowing of the stool may be due to a mass in the colon or rectum that limits the amount of stool that can pass through. Conditions that cause diarrhea can also cause pencil thin stool . Persistent loose stools, which can be hard or liquid, are one of the symptoms of a colorectal polyp or cancer.

Are ghost poop healthy?

Ghost feed. This is bad for digestion or the delicate lining of the rectum (when these hard little balls finally appear they can roughen the tissue causing cracks). And chronic bowel problems can be linked to immune system problems, weight gain, and hemorrhoids.

What do I poop if I haven’t eaten?

“If you don’t eat, you may still be feces because the body produces excretions. Juices from the pancreas, intestinal mucosa, bile, gastric juices – all these juices mix together, resulting in loose stools that pass from the small intestine into the large intestine, ”the doctor said.

Why do people have to dry themselves after pooping?

Scientific goal of defecation cleansing: to prevent exposure to pathogens while socially becoming a cultural norm . The process of cleansing after a bowel movement involves either rinsing the anus and the inside of the buttocks with water, or wiping the area with dry materials such as toilet paper.

What do you mean by urine?

Pi is an informal but common word meaning “Pee . » Of all the bodily function slang words, this is one of the least offensive. … If you don’t need to discuss something specific about urination, it’s better to just say: “I need to go to the toilet. ”

What is the number 5 in the bathroom?

Five 5-piece bath fixtures can technically be any of the following: Sink, sink, toilet, shower, tub (most common location) Sink, sink, toilet, double shower. Sink, sink, toilet, shower, bidet.

What do the numbers 1 mean?

1. Not surprisingly, the number 1 is usually seen as a unity symbol . Therefore, in monotheistic religions, it often symbolizes God or the universe. The Pythagoreans did not consider 1 to be a number at all, because number means plurality and 1 means singular.

Why is it called Pu?

The word poop comes from the Middle English word poupen or popen, which used to be the root of the word we now call fart. Clear turd has the onomatopoeic origin of .

What size fits the bathroom?

Medium sized bathroom anywhere 36 to 40 square feet for an apartment or small home. This is a common size as it includes both ¾ baths and full baths, giving you plenty of space for a shower, tub, sink and toilet.

Is it possible to sneeze with open eyes “Mythbusters”?

According to MythBusters, even if a sneeze can leave your nose at 200 miles per hour, he is unable to transfer this pressure to the eye sockets to remove the eyeballs . Also, there are no muscles right behind the eyes to push them out.

Why can’t you sneeze in your sleep?

It is believed that the reason why you cannot sneeze in your sleep is because the nerves that help you sneeze are also at rest at this time . This is especially true when you enter a rapid eye movement (REM) sleep cycle.

Does your heart stop when you sneeze?

When you sneeze, the intrathoracic pressure in your body momentarily increases. This will reduce blood flow to the heart. The heart compensates by momentarily changing its normal heartbeat to accommodate. However, the electrical activity of the heart does not stop during a sneeze.

Last updated: 26 days ago – 9 authors – 14 authors – Links: 24 interviews and posts; 11 Video.

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Swimming / Pool – “I have been swimming for 9 years and now I teach others. Everything about swimming for parents who plan to send their children to this sport.

Hello!

?HOW DID IT ALL START?

I joined the swimming group in the 1st grade. Of course, it all started with a veiled selection. We had classes for 30-40 minutes in the paddling pool and just then those who just went for a swim dropped out. Then, a year later, we were transferred to a large 50-meter swimming pool, where Olympic champions from our city trained, and we had two of them. Until the fifth grade, we just swam, we were taught four styles:

1. Front crawl
2. Back crawl
3. Breaststroke
4. Butterfly

When we had more or less learned, then work began on polishing and consolidating the skill. In the fifth grade, we were united with a group that was already engaged in the result, namely, the discharge. They were two years older than us. And this is where the hard work began. At this very moment, you need to take your child out of this sport if you do not want to harm his health.

I completed the youth categories quite quickly, and there are three of them, starting with the third and ending with the first. Then, in the same order, there were adult categories, in the same way, starting from the third and ending with the first. Of course, they were performed a little slower, but I don’t remember any special problems with this either.

⚒️SERIOUS WORK⚒️

The next in line was the Candidate Master of Sports. The workouts were exhausting. There were two of them, in the morning at 7 am to school, then to school, lessons and again for the second training session. Putting on a wet bathing suit again … brrr … How do I remember? We swam, I repeat, for wear and tear. In the morning training for 6-7 km and in the afternoon for 11-12. Then home, lessons and sleep. That’s actually all childhood … Under such loads, you naturally eat, do not eat, namely, you eat like a horse, and of course the child needs vitamin support. Regular multivitamins will do. This went on until the 7th grade, and then the coach said that there would be a parent meeting. For the first time in so many years. What could have been there, I could not imagine, but my mother returned from there with a negative attitude. My mother has a medical education and works as a doctor in a regional hospital. I’m bringing this up to what happened at that meeting. The trainer gave each parent a promising child a list of medications that enhance the work of each individual system: CCC (cardiovascular), excretory (in this case, the kidneys were meant), respiratory (to increase volume and the ability to provide blood with a large amount oxygen) and probably there were others. This is what I learned and understood after many years. In general, it was necessary to perform CMS and the body had to be spurred on by opening new reserves.

You probably understand what such an attitude towards your body can lead to? This is work at the limit, or even higher, wear and tear of systems already in adolescence and, as a result of illness, in the future. Why be surprised when athletes are amateurs (and athletes, even world champions, are considered amateurs until they start teaching. That is, while you train yourself, you are in amateur sports, that is, an amateur; when you start teaching others, you get into professional sports and become professional. Well, this is so for reference) retire at 30-33, that is, Olympic champions and world champions begin to receive a pension at 33, if I’m not mistaken, or something like that. In general, my mother flatly refused to give me at least one of these drugs, and I am still grateful to her for this. Who knows what would happen to me now.

I remember a girl at school who drank all these drugs at lunch before training, took out a jar and poured pills of different shapes, sizes and colors into her palm and ate them one at a time. It dragged on for about five minutes somewhere, and we all watched it then with admiration, because we did not understand that it would not bring anything good to her. Subsequently, she completed both CMS and MS, but that’s another story, and I’ll return to mine.

⚠️FIRST FAILURES⚠️

After the start of taking the drugs, the results really went uphill for many of the group. CMS began to be performed one after another, but I just couldn’t. At competitions, I swam with all my might and when I got out of the water my knees were shaking from fatigue, but every time I was disappointed. Several times in a row I was missing a few hundredths before the CCM, while some have already begun to pass on the masters. I, always swimming in the lead, and collecting all the letters before that, was now at the very end. What to say here about the psychological state of the leader, who finds himself at the end time after time. I was angry, depressed and annoyed. Then I was angry with my mother, because she did not give me the pills that almost everyone drank.

⛔REJECTION⛔

The last straw was the competition where I swam according to the CCM result, but you can only perform the categories that are assigned to an athlete at competitions of a certain level, but I didn’t know that then. And, oh Gods, it was these competitions that turned out to be not up to the level that I was assigned a rank. That’s when I freaked out specifically, because I understood that it would be very difficult for me to repeat.

It was the 9th grade, it was necessary to pass the final exams, and therefore prepare for them. I couldn’t tell my mom directly that I wanted to quit swimming, so I went the other way. I started skipping training sessions under the plausible excuses of “I was late for preparatory” or “I need to prepare for exams.” I went to training, but already without enthusiasm, I didn’t swim to the task and defiantly swam last, specially dripping on the nerves of the coaches. I was very harmful then and deliberately swam slower than the slowest one and at the same time made a surprised look that they say, why, I’m not capable of more. Wow, was there a counterweight?

Then I missed more and more and eventually stopped walking altogether. In the 10th grade, the coach came to me and asked me to at least appear at the annual medical examination. Despite the fact that I had not gone swimming for half a year, I was listed in their group as a first-class athlete and received the coach’s money for me. If I am not on honey. inspection, then I will be deleted by the athlete registration service, which maintains its lists in dispensaries and, accordingly, the coaches will stop receiving money for me. They didn’t want it. Coaches receive a salary bonus based on the ranks of their students, that is, the higher the ranks, the greater the bonus. The siege began. They called me, came, talked to my mother, etc. But what sport has brought up in me is a steely character, and if I decide to finish, then nothing will turn me off this path. When it dawned on the coaches that persuasion was useless with me, they fell behind, but they didn’t let me breathe easy at home.

Mom was somehow sympathetic to the fact that the sports period in my life was over, but my grandmother was digging into my brain, they say, she drove you, sat for hours, waited, and you left like that once … And that’s it in that spirit. Then talk began that I would be as fat as a cow, because I eat like an elephant, and the loads abruptly disappeared. But even that didn’t take me, because I already hated my coaches so much that it was a matter of principle never to see them again. It was the coaches that I didn’t like, but swimming remained in my heart, I never hated the process itself. It was the wrong building of relationships between coaches and pupils that was the fact that I did not return to the pool for many years.

?️ RELATIONSHIP WITH COACHES?

We had three coaches, one main and two types on the catch. They all had different characters, but we were not lucky with the main one. This woman who did not love anyone but herself and treated her pupils only as expendable material. Her motto was “Squeeze every last drop and throw it away!”

There has never been any good attitude towards us. Possible leaders lost places in the competition, everything, op above the mountains. No support, no instructions, but only the suggestion that you are a poop. With my character, this was unacceptable. At first, when she was still little, she cried, got upset, and then she sent it directly. And another coach came and apologized for her and asked to return. Then they simply stopped touching me, because don’t put your finger in my mouth, I’ll bite off my elbow. They stopped humiliating me for losses, but also praising me for victories. But on others, with a weaker character, they came off notably, and I silently watched this.

As a result, the hatred for the coaches grew and the incentive to practice became less and less, in fact, I didn’t want to come, but at home I didn’t tell anything, so I continued to go in order to avoid moralizing from my parents that I was sending coaches. I was sure that I would remain to blame for everything. Now, of course, I would have acted differently, but teenagers have no experience in resolving conflicts other than how to bend over or stand on their hind legs, and I chose the second option.

And then I got hooked on the final exams and it was what I was talking about above.

In the end, I closed the pool doors to myself, and that’s when I found happiness. No grueling workouts, I began to live a normal life as an ordinary teenager. I could read a book, I could take a walk, I could go to the cinema, watch TV and in general do everything that ordinary people do, because I have not seen anything but school and a swimming pool for many years.

♨️LIFE WITHOUT A POOL♨️

I categorically refused to enter a sports university and went to study as a make-up artist, forgetting about my sports past for many years. But in the end, I still graduated from the State. University of Physical Culture and Sports majoring in “Physical Rehabilitation” and went to work at the Technical University as a teacher of physical education. Given my diploma, I was put on special medical groups and not allowed into the pool. I worked as a teacher for three years and went on maternity leave. After my exit, they immediately gave me all the groups of swimmers, because while I was gone, our university rebuilt its own pool and it had to be filled with students.

Many teachers were afraid to take groups on the water, because the responsibility is huge, but not me. I returned to the pool with great joy, only now as the one who walks along the side and yells at those involved? It’s a joke, of course, I remembered my coaches and categorically didn’t want to be like them, and the results didn’t bother me at all, because I just led physical education pairs. I have taught and am now teaching people who can’t swim at all to stay afloat, teaching them the four styles and reinforcing their swimming skills with them.

Every time I catch myself thinking and remember myself when I was swimming, already exhausted and saw the coach walking on the side or sitting on a chair, picking his nose. I remember once in the summer there was a training session and the water in the pool was +19. It’s very cold, for those who don’t know, even for a sports pool where it’s warm from the load. There was no understanding of sympathy from the coach then, he sat in shorts on a warm chair and tortured us for two hours in icy water. I remember that terrible day like it was yesterday.

?Now I TEACH SWIMMING MYSELF?

I teach for an hour on the water. Students are very cunning people and are always looking for where and when you can freebie. Of course, I drive them, as without it, but this is only for preventive purposes, so that they don’t sit on the neck, and of course I love my job, I love and respect students and I hope they do me too.

As a result, no matter how much I denied swimming and the pool after finishing sports, I still ended up exactly where I was supposed to – in the pool, and I fucking love it.

And now I will summarize. Swimming is a very good form of physical activity, but only if it is not a sport and if it is not aimed at achieving a result.

?SWIMMING AS A SPORT?

If you want to give your child to sail, then be sure to give it, but also have time to pick it up. Everyone, in my opinion, should be able to swim.

Tips if your child is a competitive swimmer:

• Talk to your child and try to find out about the psychological atmosphere in the group. Here the relationship is important not only with teammates, but also with the coach
• Do not take any stimulant drugs, as this will not bring health to your child. In front of my eyes, the girl quit swimming, as she acquired heart failure at the age of 14. Perhaps there was a hereditary predisposition, but the use of drugs played an important role.
• Try to have interesting weekends, because the child sees nothing but school and the pool.

“Pros of swimming in general”:

1. Swimmers have a very beautiful figure, but only if it’s a boy. Girls don’t have much beauty. Flat front and back and of course very broad shoulders. In my youth, of course, I had a complex with the width of my shoulders, but I was always slender. Swimming, if it is not a sport, tones the muscles, tightens the shape.
2. Endurance. Swimming captures all the systems of the body and the cardiovascular system, both respiratory and muscular, and absolutely everything is included in the work of the muscles. The endurance of each system increases.
3. Coordination abilities. Swimmers have excellent coordination. The vestibular apparatus is included in the work, because classes are held in a horizontal position and, according to this position, the brain has to build all other movements.
4. Water takes the load off the skeletal muscles, as the position of the body changes from vertical to horizontal in water. This has a very positive effect for those who have problems with the spine (protrusions, osteochondrosis, etc.)
5. Swimming increases lung volume and, as a result, improves blood oxygen saturation, therefore, nutrition of all body systems improves other physical properties than air, while it is natural, that is, there is more water on our planet than land. Therefore, everyone needs to be able to swim and learn this better in the pool. Water is a new sensation, both tactile and body position in space, which everyone needs to experience. Swimming always cheers up, relieves fatigue, invigorates and raises vitality.

The main thing is to follow the simplest rules in the pool:

1. Never walk barefoot, as this is a public place and hundreds of people pass there every day. In order not to pick up an infection, you need to follow hygiene rules.
2. Always wash with soap and water before entering the pool. Respect yourself and those around you. Before swimming, you were somewhere, doing something, sweating, etc. If everyone was to wash off all the dirt before swimming, then everyone would benefit from this. Yes, water is sampled in the pool several times a day, but not all pools have modern cleaning methods (ozonation), many still use bleach.
3. Always eat an hour before class, because the blood sugar can drop sharply from the load and you will feel dizzy, severe weakness, and on the water this can turn out to be not good consequences.
4. Even if the hair on the head is very short, it is still necessary to wear a swimming cap. These are hygiene standards and respect for other students. No one wants to catch someone else’s hair in their mouth while swimming.
5. Do not run on the sides, do not play games with pushing each other into the water, etc. This should be clear to everyone, as it is dangerous.
6. Last but not least. Always be polite to the pool staff (cloakroom staff, technicians, trainers, medical staff, etc.), then your classes will become pleasant and useful not only physically, but also emotionally.

?TOTAL?

I know about swimming from the inside, so to speak, but despite the fact that the coaches did everything to make me hate the sport of the highest achievements, I really love physical education. Moving is good for health, and moving in water is not only useful, but also interesting.

I love swimming very much and I teach my son to love the water from an early age.