Have a Happy Bowel Movement!

Most people don’t take the time to check out their stools when they have a bowel movement, and yes, it’s gross, but necessary as well. The color, size, and shape of your stool can be telling you a lot about yourself, and your bum may be telling you it wants a healthy poop already!

If you have watery or runny stools, especially on a daily basis, you may need to calm the F down. Anxiety causes the digestion tract to go completely nutty, and this causes gas, bloatiness and that “I need to poop now!” feeling that causes you to run down the hallway with your hand on your bum. If you consistently have a runnier poop (or a poop that is half solid, half runny) you may need to cut down on your caffeine intake and drink more water. Eating more fibrous foods (even adding a slice of whole grain toast to your coffee consumption) can greatly increase your solid pooping ability and keep you from having so much of a spastic poop.

Having a runny bowel movement is negative in many ways- first, it burns and irritates the colon and bowels with inadvertent muscle spasms that can weaken your colon over time. When your intestines aren’t pushing out a good firm poo they’re not getting the exercise they need to push all wastes out of your body. Plus, weaker stools caused by stress contain higher acids that aggravate your bum and can leave you feeling itchy. Counteract your caffeine consumption with whole grains and water, introduce hardy fruits and veggies in your diet, and drink calming teas like dandelion or chamomile or peppermint to help keep your anxiety and general digestion at ease. Garlic also taken daily aides in proper digestion.

For people who grunt on the toilet and can read a whole novel while pooping have another issue, and they may be on their way to hemorrhoid-ville. When you strain on the toilet to produce a tiny rabbit poop this means your bowels are working overtime and backing up. If your stools are black you could have blood in your stools (which is serious) or just need more water in your diet. Some medications and Pepto Bismol also make poop darker.

First of all, quit straining. Go when you need to, and allow your bowels to move on their own. You can poop many times a day to get all your waste out so long as you aren’t grunting to do it. 5 minutes or so should be all you need to get your bowel movement over with. You’re not in a marathon, so take your time. Your bum and nerves will take you.

To aide in proper bowel movements, add a few nutrients to your diet and drink more water already. If you don’t have a healthy stool (it should be an “s” shape, the shape of your colon, and not broken up) you could have feces backed up in your colon and you’re not doing your body any favors.

Add herbal teas to your diet, like Peppermint, Chamomile, and Dandelion, which are great detoxifiers and promote healthy digestion for healthy bowel movements. Herbal tea drinking also gives you much-needed hydration, which is often a culprit of bowel issues.

Parsley and Ginger are also great for relieving stomach upset, gas, and aide in proper digestion. Ingesting Aloe Vera in moderate doses promotes digestion and bowel function for people who are constipated or for those who have sluggish colons.

Exercise 20 minutes a day for overall health, but also to jump start your digestion. Chew your food slowly and without eating a bunch of air. Drink 1/2 your body weight in water a day (in other words, if you weigh 150 lbs, you need 75 oz of water daily) for optimum overall health and digestion.

You’ll notice higher energy levels, less fatigue, less bloating and gasiness, less stomach upset, and fewer trips to the potty with little results with just a few changes of your diet. If you get that desired “s” floating in the potty after you sit on the Thunderbox, that means you’ve done a job well done!