Your bathroom habits can tell you a lot about your overall health.
Having a regular routine is important.
Researchers studied 1400 adults and found that regular bowel movements influence our health. The lucky researchers categorized the participants into four groups based on self-reported bowel movement frequency: constipation (one or two bowel movements per week), low-normal (between three and six bowel movements per week), high-normal (between one and three bowel movements per day), and diarrhea.
Johannes Johnson-Martinez, the lead author of the study, states,
Prior research has shown how bowel movement frequency can have a big impact on gut ecosystem function. Specifically, if stool sticks around too long in the gut, microbes use up all of the available dietary fibre, which they ferment into beneficial short-chain fatty acids. After that, the ecosystem switches to fermentation of proteins, which produces several toxins that can make their way into the bloodstream.
Healthy fibre-fermenting gut bacteria, thrives in the “Goldilocks zone” of bowel movement frequency, where people pooped between 1-2 times per day. Unhealthy gut bacteria, associated with protein fermentation, are more common in those with constipation or diarrhea.
The researcher suggests a link between bowel health and chronic disease risk. These included protein fermentation, which causes kidney damage, and was higher in those reporting constipation, while blood chemistry associated with liver damage was elevated in those reporting diarrhea. Supporting a causal link between bowel movement frequency, the gut’s microbiome, and organ damage. They suggest that mental health is also associated with regularity.
Dr. Sean Gibbons, ISB associate professor and paper author, says,
Overall, this study shows how bowel movement frequency can influence all body systems, and how aberrant bowel movement frequency may be an important risk factor in the development of chronic diseases.
To maintain a healthy schedule and your overall health, researchers showed that participants who reported eating a high fibre diet, staying hydrated, and exercising regularly were able to maintain the “Goldilocks” of bowel movement frequency.
Change your mind, change your health,
Shayla
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