Guru of Poo

Question from KD

2009-07-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

Question:
Is it normal to poop all day? like maybe 2-3 times? I have gone from once a day, sometimes less (usually in the morning or after my coffee), to a few times a day, not exactly solid, kind of shreddy- although I have been eating more veggies and fruit than normal (ie: more than zero).

Answer:
Fiber, found in fruits and veggies, has great powers in the poo-niverse... but another oft forgotten force is: the Summer Runs. One of the Guru of Poo's own gurus coined this phrase while describing the impression her bowels did of a water park after foraging wild berries in this manner:

"One for you, bucket , and three for you, mouth hole ."

And so it goes. The natural sugars in fruit cause water to move from the body into the bowels (osmosis). Water will go where there's more "stuff" in order to keep all your fluids nicely diluted. Sugars sitting in your intestines are considered "stuff". The more water in your colon, the more often you'll go poo & the less solid it will be.

That said, there are 3 explanations for your situation, KD:
A) A slight touch of the Summer Runs. Be sure to drink plenty of water.
B) Normalcy. Many people say 2-3 poos per day is normal. The added fiber may be assisting your intestines in a wonderful way. Americans poo anywhere from once per day to 2-3 times per week. That's less than ideal because poo is toxic and should go steadily towards the light.
3) Something else. If you feel any other symptoms like nausea, cramps or have any blood in your poo, it's time to see a doctor.

Judging from the shreddy texture of your poo, the Guru thinks you probably fall between A and B. But, so you don't sue, the Guru stresses that 3 should also be considered.

Yours in steaming piles,
The Guru of Poo

Question from TC:

2008-08-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

How much disposal is supposed to come out from a normal functioning stomach in one day?

Thanks for your question, TC! Here's what the Guru had to say:

"Some are prolific poopers and others are stingy. There is no standard poop deposit per day (PDPD)."

Poop production by a normal functioning digestive system would equal the amount of food a person ate minus the water & nutrients (carbs, protein and fat, vitamins and minerals). Fiber is not absorbed and would come out the other end, along with billions of dead bacteria.

As far as how much of that would come out in one day... that also depends on a LOT!! For this we have to look at bowel transit time, the total amount of time food takes to go from mouth to "plunk". It depends on many different things, like:

-what is eaten: fat and protein make things move out of the stomach much slower, but may not change the time through the intestines. Also, fiber may speed things up. As far as production goes, protein, carbs, fat and water are absorbed but fiber isn't- so the more fiber, the greater poop deposit.

-exercise/physical activity: activity generally makes things move a little faster.

-hydration: dehydration may slow things down. But that doesn't necessarily mean how much water a person drinks because much of our hydration comes from the water in the food we eat.

-mental state: a depressed person may not poo as regularly as a happy person because the mind and gut are intimately connected (the intestines make 80% of the body's serotonin, the "happy chemical").

The general definition of normal bowel transit time is 12-14 hours (they test this by feeding patients/test subjects pellets with food coloring... you can do it at home with charcoal pills or beets... or my brother recently ate 2 pints of blueberries and said his next day's poop was black. Luckily, multiple conversations with his sister, the Guru, prepared him for the shock!)

Others say normal bowel transit time should be much faster. If a person eats only when they're hungry (most of us don't do that), part of that hunger signal comes from the fact that all their food's moved thru the system and it's time for more. Then, when they eat, chemicals and hormones cascade through the body doing lots of things, including telling the intestines: "Make way down there, fresh food is coming down! Giddy up & make some poop!" So, some say it's normal for the bowels to move 3-5 times/day, associated with how many meals/sizeable snacks a person has.

Happy poopin'!
:)PooGuru

The Tale of the Turd

2007-06-18T13:28:00.002-07:00

The color, texture, behavior and smell of your poo can say a lot about your health
<the Guru of Poo is a nutritionist, not a doctor... this page isn't meant to diagnose poo-related health issues. If you suspect a problem, see a doctor- but leave the sample at home!>:

Color:

Medium brown: this is the color of normal poo. The color comes from breakdown of compounds in your blood cells (bilirubin and iron) and bile pigments.
Dark brown: dark color from concentrated bile = less severe liver congestion. Solution is to thin bile so it can leave liver more freely (eat beets!) and treat constipation since that limits release of bile from the liver.
Intense brown: high meat intake (color from breakdown of hemoglobin).
Black: can indicate bleeding in the top of the digestive tract, such as an ulcer. Also caused by Pepto Bismol. Also caused by eating too much blood sausage (hemoglobin breakdown).
Red: can indicate bleeding in bottom of digestive tract, such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, hemorrhoids or an anal fissure. Also can be from stomach ulcer that's bleeding a lot. Also caused by beets or lots of red food coloring.
Green: may indicate liver dysfunction: bile salts are green and if they are not properly metabolized by the liver, you may see green diarrhea. Also, excess iron may turn poo green if something else is going on and there's deficient bilirubin. Also caused by eating lots of green leafy vegetables (chlorophyll is bright green) or too much green food coloring. Anecdote about tattoo shots (type of shot that dyes mouth): do 1 yellow shot then 1 blue shot & the next morning, your poo will be bright green!
Yellowish or light brown: High intake of vegetables and/or undigested fat due to failure of bile to enter the intestines. Gall bladder possibly blocked by gall stones.
Camel yellow: Too few vitamins/minerals, especially B vitamins.
Yellow: Common with Gilbert's Disease (benign disease in which liver doesn't break blood cells down as fast as others)- with less bilirubin to make poo brown, yellow tinge of bile shines through. Yellow diarrhea is caused by Giardia, a dangerous & contagious parasite (see a doc!)
Grayish green/whitish tan: low pigment indicates lack of bile = congested liver or gall bladder. This is very serious & needs attention right away. Other signs: vertical crease on forehead ("liver line"), skin issues, diarrhea after high fat foods
White: Undigested fat due to failure of bile to enter the intestines. Also, barium sulfate, consumed in milkshake to prepare for gastrointestinal x-rays, will turn poo white.
Blue: Eating lots of blue food coloring or too many smurfs. Also caused by methylene blue, used as a medication or an antidote to cyanide, in which case blue poo is the least of your problems.
Flecked with undigested food: Not enough chewing! It's all about mastication! Corn is notorious for coming through as whole kernels. What you see in your poo is the outside of the kernel, which is 100% cellulose. Humans can't digest cellulose. More chewing will help (a mouthful should not be swallowed until it's the consistency of baby food).
{The color of your pee also says a lot.}

Texture

rabbit pellets: constipated & high stress. Increase fiber with fruit/vegetables, relax, establish ritualized bowel times.
sticky/use lots of toilet paper: excessive carbohydrates, especially refined carbs.
undigested food: not enough chewing, insufficient hydrochloric acid.
diarrhea/loose stools: insufficient good bacteria (add probiotic supplements and foods). Or, despite diarrhea, cause may be chronic constipation when impacted feces allow only small exit (increase fiber, water).
foamy: fat malabsorption, high gas content.
chalky: dehydration, delayed peristalsis (poo stays in the intestines for too long & the water gets sucked out), or eating too many bones (hey, it happens). Or cut back on bentonite clay or diatomaceous earth supplementation.

Behavior

floats: fat malabsorption, high gas content
sinks: insufficient fiber
buoyant: ideal
*this topic is controversial; some sources say it doesn't matter, some say it's ideal for poo to sink.

Smell

Mildly unpleasant: ideal... with proper digestion, poo shouldn't smell at all (not even like roses)... but then there's bacteria's poo: bacterial byproducts like hydrogen sulfide are stinky. It's nature's way of saying "Look but don't eat."
Raunchy stink-fest: Diets high in protein and chemicals (artificial colorings, preservatives) can produce smellier poo. Protein is high in sulfides, which can clear a room, and if you lack digestive enzymes or hydrochloric acid, these smelly compounds will not be deactivated. And as for chemicals like pesticides and preservatives, well, who knows what reactions & revolts they're starting in your food tube.
Totally gnarly, dude: If there is insufficient hydrochloric acid in the stomach or enzymes in the intestines, food is not properly digested and it will rot a bit while making its way through the tube.

More info in this AMAZING book (it's really all you need to read): The Urine and Feces in Diagnosis by Otto Hensel, Richard Weil and Smith Ely Jelliffe. Jump to page 157.

Sources: Jennifer Adler, Kendra Dahlstrom, everything2.com,
Brenna E. Lorenz, plumbingsupply.com, medfriendly.com, answers.google.com

What's Poo Got To Do With It?

2007-06-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

A good poo is your body's way of saying "right on!" It means you have given your body the amounts and types of fat, protein and carbs that it prefers. Everything's working well. You can be proud of your factory.

This ideal balance of nutrients is different for everyone and can change over time. That is why it's imperative that you keep note of how your poo is looking. If things take a foul turn, you can think of what's changed in your life to cause it (a new type of food, too much of a food, lots of stress, not enough water, too little sleep?)

The Poo Family Photo Album

2007-06-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

The Bristol Stool Chart was developed by K W Heaton and S J Lewis at the University of Bristol and was first published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology in 1997. It's a medical tool that helps determine intestinal transit time (total time between eating food and pooping it out). Types 1 & 2 indicate constipation, 3 & 4 are normal, 5 & 6 may indicate diarrhea and 7 may be a sign of food poisoning or cholera. (1)