Don't take it wrong, but, the next time you go to the bathroom, check out what comes out of your body before you throw the chain out. Yes, seriously. The size, shape, consistency and density of your excrement can give you important information about your overall health.
Your gut is full of good bacteria (imagine, it's 100 trillion!). They help with digestion and play a very important role in your immune system, so it's important to keep them healthy and balanced. If you're removing more from the account it's a sign that will help you determine if you have a healthy gut. In fact, it is such a useful fact that the professionals of traditional Chinese medicine find out about their patients ' faeces during each consultation.
Let's see what the different types of stool say about your health.
Buoyancy
Healthy excrement is usually dense and sinks to the bottom of the squat. But if yours is left floating, it can be a sign of malabsorption or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), especially if you also experience other symptoms such as unexplained weight loss, cramps, constipation, or swelling.
Colour
Healthy stools become brown by the bile that produces the liver to help with digestion. If the color changes, take note to see what may be going on:
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Is it greenish? Maybe you ate a lot of dark green vegetables (that's perfect!) Or, it's due to a lot of green food coloring (that's not so good).
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Light gray or earth color? It may indicate that your bile ducts are not working in the best way.
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Red? Possibly be the result of a medicine or food dye of that tone. It may also indicate bleeding in the large intestine or rectum due to a fissure or hemorrhoids. Blood in your stool may also make you black, so if it happens frequently, contact your doctor.
Consistency
In an ideal world, your feces must have form of sausage or snake, as well as the consistency of clay and the ability to slide easily.
Grumpy granules or stools that are hard to evacuate indicate that food spends too much time in the digestive tract. It means you need more water and probably more fiber.
Spongy excrement with irregular edges may indicate that food is going too fast. Balance your electrolytes and consult your doctor if this type of deposition lasts for more than a couple of days.
Odour
Ok, there's no way that feces smell good, but there may be occasions when a particularly unpleasant smell is a symptom of an infection, allergy, malabsorption or other medical condition.
What to do about it?
To protect or strengthen your gut health, take a probiotic, especially if you're using antibiotics. These drugs kill the bad bacteria that make you sick, but they also end up with the good bacteria in the gut. A probiotic supports the new growth and maintenance of these important microorganisms.
Plus, eat lots of dark green leafy vegetables and wholegrain cereals; reduce red meats, fried foods, and refined sugar.
It may be unpleasant at first to examine your bowel movements, but try and don't discuss talking to your doctor about anything that seems unusual.
Let's be healthier, together.
Your friends Santo Remedio
