Before we get into this article, I just want to make it clear that checking out your poop before you flush is perfectly normal. So, don’t you dare feel like a weirdo because you like to play Inspector Gadget. It’s actually recommended that you do because your stool can tell you a great deal about your diet and digestive tract. If you’re concerned about the shape, color, frequency, or consistency of your feces, there’s actual research to give you a better idea of what it’s trying to tell you.
First thing’s first. There is no such thing as “normal” poop. What should be considered normal is whatever is the most common for you as an individual. This means that there is no ideal number of times each day you should be visiting the porcelain throne, although the standard of daily “regularity” is the widely accepted standard.
It’s not uncommon for people to need to expel three to four times a day, but it’s also not uncommon for others to go three to four times a week. The food that you eat also plays a major role in how often you go and in the way your stool looks and smells, so again there’s no “perfect” poop.
Doctors have what is called the Bristol Stool Chart. This chart is used as a reference for the shape of your stool. It ranges from small, hard lumps to stool that isentirely liquid. Those tiny, hardened, separated lumps typically mean constipation. If it’s a hard, lumpy log, this too could mean constipation.
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Constipation can be a sign of weak muscles lining the intestines, dehydration, or a low fiber diet. If you look back and see watery stool, it is diarrhea, and if it’s something you experience over 75% of the time, it is likely that you have chronic diarrhea. Causes for this could also be a matter of a low fiber diet, but it could also be related to stress, anxiety, greasy foods and a high-fat diet, food sensitivities, or a build-up of bacteria and yeast in the large intestine.
The color of your bowel movement can also give you clues about your health. Unfortunately, the Bristol Stool Chart doesn’t discuss colors, but the following color characteristics are known to be linked to specific health concerns.
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If you experience either brown, yellow or green stool, congratulations. This signifies a healthy bowel movement. Don’t be alarmed if you experience interesting colors like blue or purple because it often just reflects what you ate prior to that bowel movement.
The only time you should really be concerned is when you see pale colored (white) stool, black stool, red stool or maroon stool. A pale colored bowel movement could mean that your body is having a hard time absorbing nutrients, or that bile, a very important enzyme in the body that processes fats, is not being delivered to the digestive tract.
Black poop can indicate that you just drank Pepto Bismol, but can also indicate high levels of iron or an ulcer. Although red can be a sign of much more serious issues, the color can also be a result of food. Beets, tomatoes, cranberries, and food coloring all have the capabilities of painting our urine and stool red. If these foods or ingredients are not part of your diet in any way, the red color could mean fresh blood being released from your intestines. This could result from inflammation, polyps, and even colon cancer.
Our bodies send us messages daily, so pay attention and take note of what yours is telling you.
Jasmine Danielle is a Los Angeles based dancer and fitness trainer. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has studied with FiTour, the National Federation of Personal Trainers, and the Equinox Group Fitness Training Institute.
Jasmine is currently a Group Fitness Instructor for Equinox, Everybody Los Angeles, and Sandbox Fitness. Her fitness modalities include, ballet, dance cardio, barre fitness, TRX, treadmill interval training, cardio kickboxing, jump rope, indoor cycling, and metabolic conditioning.
