Do you look at your poop?
If you don’t, you should probably start.
When you are born, your parents are sent home with a poop chart. They are supposed to monitor and keep track of what their baby’s poop looks like, colour, size and frequency.
When you near death, your caregivers are given a poop chart. They are supposed to monitor and keep track of size, colour, consistency, frequency and time of day.
And then there’s the in-between…
As we grow up we stop talking about poop, in fact for many of us we pretend we don’t poop at all.
So let’s break the stigma and talk about it.
Things about Poop:
∞ You should poop once a day. The average person poops once every 3 days. This is constipation.
∞ You should not strain (constipation) or explode (diarrhea.)
∞ The colour of your poop can change with the food you are eating. If you eat a plate of kale you may have a greenish poop. However consistent black, white, red, yellow poops are a sign you should see your doctor. Typically you want your poop to be brown.
∞ If you don’t look, you won’t know what is normal for you.
∞ If you see undigested food in your poop, your gut needs some TLC.
Poop is waste. It is not just the food you eat, but also the way that dead cells leave your body. You need to poop to be healthy.
If you are constipated that means the poop is unable to leave your body in a timely manner. Therefore the toxic waste is sitting in your body. When this happens your colon can actually reabsorb the toxins and other wastes (hormones, . Therefore making you feel tired, achy and older than necessary.
Absorbing toxins will make your chronic illness worse and can lead to a whole festival of nasty symptoms.
For Example: When you’re going through perimenopause or menopause, if you are constipated, the hormones your body is trying to get rid of will get reabsorbed and therefore your hot flashes, moodiness and fluctuations in weight will get worse. (The opposite of what you want to happen.)
On the other extreme side of the poop spectrum there is diarrhea. Although you are getting rid of the toxins you are at a higher risk of dehydration and malnutrition because the food is moving too fast and is not being absorbed properly.
Diarrhea is extremely inconvenient and often ties you to the bathroom. It has a more noticeable impact than constipation does and most people have some form of diarrhea story where they were extremely unwell. Diarrhea leaves one feeling very weak.
So what do you want your poop to look like?
Like a sausage, brown in colour that is well formed and comes out easily and regularly.
You can always check out the bristol stool chart for a more visual explanation of what your poop should look like.
The most important thing is to be aware of what is normal for you.
A change in your poop is an indicator that something is off with your body.
When was the last time you checked-in with your poop?