Let's talk Bowel Awareness: What you need to know

I’ve wanted to write on this topic for a while now and often felt discouraged to do so due to the fact that this is a taboo subject. Let's face it, rarely do we talk poop and bowel movements with our friends and family. This is a very important topic that needs to be addressed. I really just want to be frank in this post and really get feedback from you all. I will not go into illnesses or disorders in this post.

My grandmother wants told me that I need to defecate every day, simply because I eat every day. Therefore, logically my body should produce waste.

Back then, I didn’t understand and I thought: ‘What?! That’s a lot of poop! 

Well, fast forward to a more years. I have researched this topic quite a bit and today I can honestly say that my grandmother was definitely right on this one.

Doctoroz.com

It is really important that we pay attention to what’s coming out of our bodies, because there are so many clues in this waste that can help answer so many questions about your own health and your diet.

Call me gross or taboo, but knowing your waste, your poop is very important. 

It is important to know the basics: smell, color, shape. Don’t be so quick to flush or afraid of watching- after all, it came out of you. Don’t be shy! You need to know! :o)

I will try to minimize the discomfort that you may feel on this topic, but nonetheless, some things cannot be hidden. It’s the nature of this topic.

How often should you go the bathroom to get rid of waste? From the moment we eat, it should take 18-20 hours for your body to absorb the nutrients it needs and get rid of waste. To properly get rid of waste from your body, you need to have adequate amounts of fiber and water from your body.

If you are not getting enough of water, fiber and exercise in your diet then it may take days for you to eliminate waste, which essentially means that this food is rotting, fermenting and putrefying inside you. The average person is holding up to 20 lbs of waste in their bodies. Do you know what means? It means that we are full of sh*t! (I can’t take credit for this one. Check out Gina Yahsere, she is hilarious)

What to look for:

Shape/ Size. I pay very close attention to the size, because size matters. Small, hard tool is indicative of a diet low in fiber and high in processed foods. This is also means that your poop was difficult-to pass. Whoa! I’m sure you know what I’m taking about.

What you want to see is larger, softer stool that is easy-to-pass. No straining involved and sought of takes the shape of your colon.

Pellet size stools are a sign that you have being dehydrated and so your body tries to move waste down your digestive tract through wave-like contractions (peristalsis) causing pellets. Remember you need adequate amounts of water and fiber to help move waste through the digestive tract.

Color. Color matters and varies; but nonetheless it can be clue to so many things.

What you want to see is a brown color. Normal stool is brown due to its composition: bacteria, water, bile, bilirubin, broken-down red blood celIs and indigestible plant matter like cellulose, along with small amounts of protein and fat.

Smell. Ideally, you want the odor to almost go unnoticed. An odor that is foul and stinky is a sure sign that you need to do a detox. Poop that often forces people to ask you, ‘what did you eat?!’ is probably a sign that it times to cleanse the body from the inside.

You can refer to Dr. Oz's Poop Color Chart: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/poop-color-chart

Be sure to talk to your doctor is you think that your have abnormal stool. The only way to find out is to look and to take note of your bowel movements. Know what’s normal for you so that you don’t have to guess. 

Sources:

WebMd-The truth about poop: Understanding stool color,shape, and frequency

Dr. Oz-What your stool is telling you.

 I hope this was helpful. Let me know what you think in the comment section below.

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