Bowel health checklist

The basis of our health and wellbeing is our guts ability to digest what we eat and absorb all the nutrients.  However it is common for people to have digestive issues such as gas, bloating, food intolerances and IBS.  Given the guts importance to wellbeing, I would like to focus on digestion and guts in the next few articles which will include tips for healthy stomachs, large intestine and small intestine.

Lets start with talking about bowels.  Your bowel movements reflect both your lifestyle and gut health.  So how should you judge your bowel movements:

  1. There should be no discomfort or straining when you go to the loo, and no smell of gas.
  2. Stools should come out easily, smoothly and all in one piece.
  3. Stools should be 10 – 15 cm long, medium brown in colur and shouldn’t be smelly, stick to the lavoratory bowl or float.
  4. If your stool floats it could be due to too much fat or gas in your diet – usually from excess sugar, fizzy drinks or beans.
  5. A very smelly stool can be a sign of undigested food or waster that has been sitting in your bowel for a long time.  It can also be a sign of poor absorbtions or lactose intolerance.  If your stool is smelly and looks greasy it may be a sign of coeliac disease so you need to book a check up with your doctor.
  6. Going to the toilet 2 -3 times a day is optimal but anything from 2 – 3 times per day to 2 – 3 times per weeks in normal.
  7. Any changes to your normal pattern should be reported to your doctor.

 

 

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