Bowel Movement

Have you ever thought about your bowel movement? We know there are many beautiful things in life to think about than thinking about your bowels! But at times, a very routine and overlooked activity of our body can be the biggest indicator of our health. More than 2 million visits to the doctor annually are for constipation in America!

Now, it's a common notion that passing stool once or twice a day is normal and more or less than this is abnormal. Well, here's a little correction: bowel movement upto thrice a day is normal. And even just three times a week is normal too! So, when you excrete less than 3 times in a week and notice pain in the process, you are constipated. Besides, the stool is hard, lumpy, and dry, and a real challenge to expel. You may also feel bloated and discomfort.

The major cause for this condition is lack of fluids in the body (dehydration), lack of physical exercise, and lack of dietary fiber in food. Stress can also aggravate the condition. Hence, increasing intake of water and dietary fiber, and exercise can improve your bowel movement. Just half an hour of brisk walking can do wonders to your bowels.

Now, when the bowel movement increases to more than 3 times a day in the form of watery and loose stool, it is diarrhea. Usually, if this condition gets over by itself in a couple of days, there is no need to worry. It might be due to some mild infection, food allergy, or side effects of certain medicine. But, if it persists for more than 3 days and is accompanied with fever and dehydration, along with blood in stool, you need to seek medical help fast.

Bowel movement of each individual is different. It depends on the lifestyle, eating habits, and the emotional state of the person. It also depends on whether he or she is on medication. Usually, people who eat more meat-based diet are less likely to get frequent movements, as it takes more time for the digestive system to process this form of food. Pure vegetarians are found to get 1-2 movements in a day.

Some people get green stools, which may be due to intake of iron supplements, consuming artificially colored (particularly green) foods, and a reduced colonic transit time. If you get pale colored or clayey stools during your bowel movement, it might indicate hepatitis, or lack of bile salt, or intake of antacids. Barium enema tests also give such stools. Red or maroon stools indicate colon cancer, fissures, hemorrhoids, inflammatory bowel disease, or simply eating more red colored foods. Black stools with foul smell imply internal bleeding, consumption of iron supplements, or intake of certain foods. Normal stool is easy to pass, and soft and smooth in texture. It's brown in color and sausage sized.

Now you see - it's what you eat that comes out! Stools are nothing but waste matter or indigested residue of the food that you ate. Therefore, bowel movement is largely dependent on your diet. Any change in this may indicate a more serious problem lurking inside your body. So, the next time you carry out your routine, make sure everything's normal down there!