
Understand Your Poo
- Health Hub 101, Taboo Topic
- 13 Oct, 2022
Despite the fact that everyone poops, no one truly discusses it. While putting a stop to all bathroom talk would keep conversations pleasant, it could also result in our missing crucial health indicators.
Your feces can reveal whether or not you consume enough fiber and water, as well as whether or not your digestive system is processing food too quickly or slowly. A medical condition that has to be treated may also be indicated by persistent changes in your bowel habits or the kind of your feces.
What is normal in terms of health for poop?
After using the bathroom, turn around and take a look. Based on what you see, do you wonder if your poop is typical? Have I had a good poop?
There seems to be a broad variety in what is normal. Everybody defecates, and every person's feces is different. The consistency of your excrement may also change from day to day. There are a few characteristics of "regular poop" that are universal.
Poop size
A normal stool should be at least a couple of inches long and between four and eight inches. Small feces are not desirable. Unless you're a rabbit, a deer, or another wild animal, pellets shouldn't be entering your body.
Poop shape
People use a wide range of words to describe bowel movements. However, the most accurate ones are probably those that compare feces to logs.
Poop should be lengthy and cylindrical in shape. When your waste takes on strange shapes, your digestive system may not be functioning properly.
Poop firmness or consistency
The appropriate texture for your stool is medium-firm to soft. Fortunately, you don't need to touch anything to find out; you can just peek at it. If your feces are in the form of a well-shaped log that is not too tough to pull out, they will usually be the right consistency.
Poop color
What color would the average stool be? Typical feces are always brown and range in color from tan to mocha. The brown color is mostly caused by bile and bilirubin.
Bile is a greenish-yellow liquid that the liver makes and stores in the gallbladder. The normal process of the body's red blood cell oxidation results in the production of bilirubin, an orange-yellow pigment. During digestion, these liquids interact with your food, which frequently causes brown stools.
Other poop color meanings
Typically, the foods, beverages, and drugs you ingest are reflected in the color of your feces. Toilets can be found in a variety of colors, though brown is by far the most prevalent. The following are some health implications of your poop's color:
1. Black poop: There are several reasons why your feces might be dark in color, including utilizing Pepto Bismol or iron supplements. However, having black stools may also be a sign of an upper GI tract hemorrhage. Make an appointment with your primary care physician right immediately if you can't figure out why your stool is black. The issue of internal bleeding exists.
2. Green poop: If your feces have a small green color, that's acceptable. Green feces could mean that you are consuming too much spinach or other leafy greens, or that your food isn't being adequately digested. Additionally, if your feces suddenly starts to resemble bright green playdough, artificial colors found in drink mixes, pastry frosting, or frozen novelty foods are probably to blame.
3. Red poop: Due to dietary factors including beets, cranberries, red gelatin, or tomato juice, your feces may turn red. However, red stools should raise some red lights as they may be a sign of colonic hemorrhage, which may be a sign of colon cancer or digestive problems. Bloody feces may have red spots or appear to be stained with red. If you can't explain the red color to your diet, consult a primary care doctor.
4. Yellow poop: You've probably been consuming too much fat if your feces are yellow, greasy, and unpleasant-smelling. On occasion, though, it can be a sign of malabsorption, which is when your body struggles to take nutrients from meals during digestion. Malabsorption typically results from malnutrition, food intolerance, or conditions that damage the gut lining.
5. Pale or white poop: Chalky is a bad appearance for feces. It could suggest that your body isn't producing bile. You could have an infection or have a blocked bile duct. Pale poop is yet another potential side effect of drugs, including some prescribed for diarrhea.
Keep yourself (and your poop) healthy by practicing good routine:
1. Choose foods that support healthy digestion
2. Drink plenty of water
3. Eat on a schedule
Reference:
https://www.healthpartners.com/blog/healthy-poop-chart/#:~:text=Your%20poop%20can%20tell%20you,medical%20condition%20that%20requires%20treatment.