16. Interesting Facts About Stool

Did you know that your stool can tell you a lot about your health? it is important to pay attention to your stool.  Let's face it, talking about poop and anything having to do with your bowels can be slightly uncomfortable or even disgusting for most people, natural health expert Dr. Joseph Mercola advises paying attention to the shape, size, colour, and other features of your stool because it can give you an idea as to how your gastrointestinal tract is functioning, and provide you clues regarding infections or diseases that could be hiding in your body.

Your stool is made of 75% water and a combination of fibre, live and dead bacteria, as well as miscellaneous cells and mucus. Fibre is responsible for the bulking up of the stool, as it functions as a ''glue'' to keep the stool stuck together. If you notice your stool is soft, short of diarrhoea, it may be caused by certain conditions like lactose intolerance and poor lifestyle choices. Next time, take a closer look before you flush all that information down the toilet. The colour, regularity, and consistency of your bowel movements aren't the only characteristics that can give you an idea of what's going on inside your body there's also a host of information available at the microscopic level. The bacteria inside your stool, which can be analyzed through laboratory tests ordered by your doctor or through specialized private companies, provide a snapshot of the microbes living in your intestines.

1. You Can Be Regular But Still Constipated

Some people assume that if they go to the bathroom every day then they're not backed up. ''But if your stool is consistently hard and comes out in pieces rather than a soft, single piece that passes without much effort, you may be constipated, '' Dr Sheth told prevention. The most common culprit is inadequate fibre intake. The average U.S. adult only downs about 15 grams of fibre a day-a fraction of the recommended 25 grams per day for women and 38 grams per day for men. Read labels and keep a food journal for a week to track how much fibre you're actually taking in. If you're falling short, bulk up your diet with additional fruits, vegetables whole grains beans, nuts, and seeds. Don,t forget to hydrate either. According to research in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, fluid intake is the biggest predictor of constipation, Men's Health noted. People who consume less water are more likely to suffer constipation than those who drink more.

2. Stool Shape Can Signal Trouble

Research suggests that the healthiest stool resembles smooth sausages links. ''Sometimes it can be a little bit on the firmer side-where it's shaped like a sausage and has a few cracks on the surface all the way to soft, semi-formed blobs,'' gastroenterologist Richard J Saad, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Michigan, told Men's Health. Anything harder or softer than that can be a sign something's wrong. ( Check out the Bristol stool scale, a handy medical aid that classifies the form of faeces into seven categories.) While deviations in form (or frequency) could be a symptom of something as simple as constipation, they could also indicate a more serious problem, such as irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, a bowel obstruction, or maybe even colon or stomach cancer, says T. Lee Baumann, MD, a medical consultant based in Birmingham, Alabama, and the author of Clearing the Air of Bowel Movement. If constipation isn't the issue, make an appointment with your GP, ASAP. This is especially true if what you see in the toilet looks like thin ribbons or pencil-sized strands-a possible sign of a bowel obstruction or even a symptom of colon cancer

3. Stool Is Black

This stool colour could signal some sort of internal bleeding high in your GI tract, says Charles Austin, author of The Toilet Book. According to Austin, the blood is darker than the usual red hue because it has been processed and moved through the digestive system with your food. That said, dark stool could also just be a harmless side effect of taking iron supplements (the mineral is naturally black in colour) or prescribed medications, like anti-depressants, codeine, or oxycontin. If you're unsure, it's best you see your doctor.


4. Stool Has Blood In It

This could signal many different things. One is that you may have pushed stool out too hard, which can lead to a small tear in the lining of the anal canal that's NBD so long as the bleeding doesn't persist. Or, if there's less than a half teaspoon of blood and it's accompanied by some pain and discomfort down there, Watson says the bleeding could be caused by internal haemorrhoids, in which case you need to see a doctor. It could also mean that there's bleeding somewhere in your colon or lower digestive tract, so Austin suggests getting checked out either way.

5. Medication Can Mess  With Your Bowel Movements

A host of medications may stimulate your system. According to Men's Health, the biggest culprits are antibiotics, NSAID pain relievers, magnesium-containing antacids, and proton pump inhibitors for heartburn. If you suspect one of these is responsible for a rush to flush, talk to your doctor about adjusting your dose or medication.



6. The Occasional Floater is perfectly Normal

When stool floats instead of sinks it may mean you have excess gas in your digestive tract, says Prevention. ''If you've been eating lots of beans, sprouts, cabbage, or very large meals, it's perfectly normal for stool to float because of gas, and it's not a cause for concern,'' says Dr Sheth. However, if floaters become more common for you or you spot an oil-slick appearance, it could mean something is preventing your body from being able to absorb fats from food. For instance, inflammation or an infection in your pancreas could prevent you from producing enough digestive enzymes. A food allergy or infection could be damaging the lining of your intestines that,s affecting absorption, too. Ask your doctor for stool sample test to see if there's fat that shouldn't be there. Dr Sheth says additional workups may be necessary to get to the bottom of the problem.

7. Stool Is Very Loose, But Not Diarrhea

This usually is nothing more than a sign of food sensitivity, Watson says. Having a sensitivity doesn't mean you're allergic, but the food is irritating your digestive system and causing your body to create mucus that makes your stool more liquid than usual. Some of the common culprits including dairy, eggs, and gluten. Watson says in some cases, taking a probiotic supplement may help.

8. If Your Poop Is Stinky

It could be the amount of protein in your diet. Eating lots of protein slows the transit time from gut to bowel, he says, and just like anything else- your compost bin, your trash, two-week-old leftovers in your fridge- the longer things have to decompose, the smellier they get. The amount of protein you need to eat on a daily basis depends on lots of things: how active you are, age and how much you weigh, to name a few. For reference, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends women who eat 2,000 calories a day consume 46 grams of protein per day.

9. Healthy Stool Frequency

It's best to have at least one complete bowel movement a day. You should feel like your bowels have emptied, rather than just partially eliminated. Some people have bowel movements 2-3 times a day, because they have faster metabolisms, more robust good bacteria, or eat more food. If you are eliminating more than 3 times a day, you are entering into the world of diarrhoea (more on that below!). On the other hand, some people will say a bowel movement every couple of days is fine, but that's not true. This one of our body's greatest ways to eliminate toxins, acids, and other stuff.



10. Healthy Stool Colour

Believe it or not, colour matters! A healthy stool is a nice medium-to dark-brown colour. Think milk chocolate.

11. Stool Is Hard And In Small Pellets

You're dehydrated and don't have enough fibre in your system to flush everything out, so stool stays in your body longer than it should and your colon extracts water out of it, resulting in hard pieces'',  says Brenda Watson, C.N.C., digestive care expert and author of The Fiber 35 Diet. The solution is usually simple: be sure to drink the recommended eight glasses of water a day, and slowly incorporate more fibre into your diet via oats and flax seed. The keyword here is slowly, otherwise, she says you could end up feeling bloated.

12. Stool Colour Is Light

You probably need to get your liver checked,  Watson says''. Biles is produced in the liver and it's what gives your stool the brown colour that it should be. When your stool is light, the liver isn't producing enough bile, which means your body is not detoxifying well''. After consulting with a doctor, Watson sats to try adding dandelion root into your diet, as preliminary research has suggested the plant can help boots liver function.

13. Stool Is Seaweed Green

A green stool colour could mean that you're eating a lot of leafy green veggies, but if it's a deeper hue, that could mean the food is moving too quickly through your digestive system, Austin says. '' Bile's natural colour has a  green tint to it, so when it's coming out in your stool, that means the body didn't have enough time to process it into the brown colour that it should be''.

14. The stool is Brown And A Banana Shape

Good news: This is the ideal stool situation. Watson says you're in good shape when stool has about 75% water and 25% bacteria and fibre, and when it does, it generally exits as a rich brown colour, is approximately one foot long, and has a toothpaste consistency. It also indicates that you're getting all the fibre you need, so things are running smoothly in the digestive department, he adds.

15. Stool Is Pencil-Thin

You're constipated or be an indication of rectal cancer. ''If you notice pencil-thin stool for a day or two, it's probably not an issue,''  Sheth says. ''It may occur if you're constipated and straining a lot, which prevents the muscles in the anal sphincter from opening and can narrow the way stool comes out,'' Adding more fibre to your diet can help. But if the issue is ongoing, it could indicate rectal cancer. ''Wit rectal cancer, the tumour is fixed and rigid and encircles the rectum so there's less space for stool to squeeze through so it appears very thin and stringy,'' Sheth adds. Make an appointment with your doctor. A colonoscopy can evaluate what's going on.

16. Painful  When Pasting Stool

Experiencing a painful bowel movement is never a pleasant experiencing. It can also be referred to as straining to defecate. Typically, when you pass stool, it should be neither painful nor difficult, but require minimal or moderate effort without inducing pain. Having pain before and during bowel movement is considered an abnormal occurrence and can signify an underlying process affecting the defecation mechanism and your digestive tract as a whole. Having painful bowel movements on a consistent basis should raise some suspicion for an underlying process, as there are a host of causes. Some are benign in origin while others are related to more serious conditions.