With each new exam I ask the same question…

“How many stools do you have each day? Do you see mucus, blood, diarrhea, or constipation?”

Feces, shit, feces, poop, manure, BM, #2, manure, droppings, and intestinal contents are all the same. I use all of these terms as sometimes my clients don’t know what stool or stool is. If I can’t communicate with my clients, I can’t help them.

Feces contain water, indigestible fiber, undigested food, shed intestinal cells, live and dead bacteria, bile, and worn-out red blood cells. A normal stool should be brown to light brown in color, shaped but not hard or too soft, cylindrical but not flattened on any side, fairly bulky and full-bodied but not compact, easy to pass, and should not have an extremely unpleasant odour. Each bowel movement should be in one piece, about the size and shape of a banana tapering at the end. Sometimes this will not be noticeable if the stool breaks up in the toilet. Some people feel that if the body is absorbing all the minerals from the food, the stool will float. Others believe that the stool must sink. I think the important thing is that there are no air bubbles in the stool and that it does not fall like a brick in the toilet. It should be somewhere in between.

An occasional deviation from this pattern is acceptable. Any chronic deviation from the previous pattern is unhealthy and must be treated.

It’s amazing how many people don’t even look at their stool in the toilet. it’s so important Stools can reveal a lot about your health if you learn to read them. Digestion happens. It is a pity that few of us cannot speak of them without shame. For example:

o Air or bubbles in the stool may mean we have a gut or flora imbalance and gas-producing bacteria are overgrowing and competing with healthier flora.

o Alternating episodes of diarrhea and constipation can be caused by irritable bowel syndrome, food allergies, red meat, spices, sugar, alcohol, stress, lack of fiber, irregular bowel habits.

o Color: The feces are usually the color of the food.

o Constipation can occur and lead to impaction: the presence in the rectum of a mass of stool too large to pass. Fecal impaction is usually the result of poor bowel habits, a diet with too little fluid and fiber, too much protein, and inadequate physical activity.

o Diarrhea, whether acute or chronic, can disrupt the normal rhythm of the intestine and cause irregularities. It may mean that your large intestine is not working properly. The large intestine is responsible for removing excess water from the stool. Rule-outs may include food poisoning, lactose intolerance, anxiety, stress, too many antacids, antibiotics, parasites such as Giardia or Coccidia, Balantidia, Coccidoidiomycosis or other parasites, viruses, bacterial overgrowth, inflammatory bowel disease, and irritable bowel syndrome. A healthy intestine will take about a quarter and a half and condense it into 1 cup of stool. That’s pretty amazing.

o Frank red blood (obvious bright red bleeding) can be a sign of hemorrhoids, colitis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, colon cancer or be caused by impacted stool passing through the rectum telling us we need to drink more water .

o Foul-smelling stools: too much protein, flora imbalance.

o If stools are black, tarry, and sticky (called melena), this may mean there is bleeding from the small intestine. These types of feces usually have a characteristic bad odor. If you’ve ever smelled a dog with Parvo, corona, or rotavirus, you know what I mean.

o Light green stools: too much sugar, fruit, or vegetables and not enough grains or salt (or, in the case of animals, too much grass). Mucus can reveal diverticulitis and intestinal inflammation due to allergies or parasites.

o Oily or greasy looking stools that are usually buoyant and may be large may mean that your pancreas or small intestine is not working well enough and is not releasing enough digestive enzymes. Normal stool is about 1% fat. When this percentage increases to around 7%, the stool will look oily and greasy. This is called steatorrhea. High-fat foods can cause this to happen, but it should be temporary.

o Pale or clay-colored stools may mean that the gallbladder or liver is not working properly.

o Pencil-thin or ribbon-like stools may mean you have a polyp or growth inside your colon or rectum.

o Presence of food: If the stool breaks easily and you can see pieces of the food you eat, you may not be chewing the food well. This can cause GERD, acid reflux, bloating, and diarrhea.

o Red or magenta stools: beet ingestion.

o Very dark stools: Too much red wine, too much salt in the diet, not enough vegetables. Cranberries, Pepto Bismol (the bismuth it contains), and iron pills can also be responsible for dark stools.

Normal bowel habits not only improve quality of life, but also help prevent several common illnesses, including diverticulitis and fecal impaction. Gallstones, appendicitis, colon cancer, hiatal hernia, diabetes, and heart disease have also been linked to the quality of bowel movements and the foods that affect them.

Number of stools: Healthy bowel activity is considered one or two moderate-sized stools every day. Every other day or once or twice a week, bowel movements can harm you because the intestinal contents release toxins back into the body through the mucous membranes. You have to keep that debris moving!

Fecal incontinence (uncontrollable diarrhea) should be treated by a professional. Often with this particular symptom (and irritable bowel syndrome) I will pick up an intestinal parasite. A bottle or two of Bowel Pathogen Nosode does an amazing job most of the time in clearing up these cases.

Healthy Bowl Clothes:

There is usually a time of day when bowel movements are most likely to occur. In anticipation of this time, the patient should participate in activities that stimulate a normal bowel movement. It is also important that the patient recognize the urge to defecate and respond immediately to that urge. The longer stool stays in the rectum, the more water the rectum will absorb, making it harder and harder to pass.

The urge to defecate is usually strongest in the morning: the simple act of getting up triggers the movement of the large intestine. The stomach also sends a signal when it expands after a meal. This gastrocolic reflex is the reason many people, and especially children, need to go to the bathroom shortly after eating. The reflex weakens with age, which is a source of constipation problems and why consistent good bowel habits are helpful.

Laxatives: Some patients are so convinced that they need daily laxatives that they are afraid to go without them. It takes time for a change in diet to affect the intestines and for the intestines to return to their normal rhythm. Be patient. Enemas are a better solution.

Healthy bowel movements require the intake of plenty of fluids and bulk foods. The patient should drink two to three liters of fluids every day. The volume comes from unrefined foods. Oat bran, wheat bran, brown rice, green vegetables, apples, and pears are some examples of high-fiber, high-residue foods.

Some patients will benefit from adding bulk psyllium preparations, but others find that psyllium will cause extreme amounts of gas. For these people, the addition of WHOLE flaxseeds (eat without chewing) and bran will help. And a single 8-ounce cup of coffee in the morning often helps people have a regular bowel movement.

Natural laxatives include:

o Anti Constipation Paste

oCoffee

o DSS (dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate)

o Glycerin suppositories

or Nature’s Sunshine LBS II (excellent)

or oil enemas

or prune juice

o Saline purges

Fleet enemas are used only for people and dogs. They are very toxic to cats and can kill them. These are fine for occasional use, but the other enemas we’re talking about are better for healing purposes.

Soap suds enemas can be a bit harsh on the gut. Use them only occasionally if necessary

A few notes on gut bacteria replacement: Within a healthy lower intestine there are billions of beneficial gut bacteria, or microflora. These bacteria are from the Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus bifidus strains and were transferred by breastfeeding to our intestines as newborn babies. The body uses L. acidophilus and L. bifidus in the final stages of digestion by reproducing as needed to stay in total harmony with the body.

When the good bacteria can’t keep up, the bad bacteria overpopulate the gut to create an imbalance in the gut flora that results in small bowel disease, gas, diarrhea, IBS, and Crohn’s disease. The devitalizing effect caused by harmful bacteria in the intestine is rarely diagnosed near the beginning of this imbalance. Headaches, skin infections, weakness, and constipation can also be symptoms of depleted gut bacteria.

What causes an imbalance of intestinal flora?

o Toxins, especially drugs such as antibiotics and narcotics.

o Severe diarrhea can damage or destroy these beneficial bacteria, allowing harmful bacteria to take over producing by-products like ammonia, purines, and ethionine, which can eventually cause colon cancer.

o Fasting can also deplete beneficial bacteria because the lymph glands dump large amounts of toxins into the colon during fasting. Also during a fast, with certain diets and with eating disorders, there is an absence of foods in which the good bacteria thrive.

o The use of enemas also depletes beneficial bacteria, especially if chlorinated water is used.

To restore intestinal bacteria, do a couple of enemas with liquid acidophilus or live acidophilus. These products should be stored and purchased refrigerated. Commercial products are not as effective in replacing the intestinal flora. You can also mix a couple of tablespoons of active plain yogurt with your enema mix along with a tablespoon of liquid acidophilus. Add some warm water, but don’t heat the mixture or use chlorinated water. After mixing the mixture, pour it into the enema bag. Use less water for these types of enemas (only 1-2 cups) and try to retain the liquid within the colon for ten minutes to allow the beneficial bacteria to pass through the intestine. This procedure will ensure that a healthy culture spreads within the intestines.

You can also start adding L. acidophilus and L. bifidus to your food a day or two before you break your fast. Use repeated doses according to the directions on the bottle once a week for about 5 weeks.

FOS (fructooligosaccharides) are also good for restoring the intestinal flora. These are long chain sugars that feed friendly flora. You can buy this in concentrated pill form or eat lots of apples, Jerusalem artichokes, or pears. These foods contain high amounts of FOS.

Well… that’s the scoop on poop. (Some people take things very seriously.)