On a daily basis I ask patients about their poop. Many people feel awkward about having a discussion about this topic but the quality of your poop is directly linked to the state of health you are in. Often I have people say, “Oh its normal” and just with a few extra questions it is far from normal.

So today I want to talk to you about your poop.

In an ideal world you would expect your poop to be:

• Solid and easy to pass.
• Regular – daily (at least once if not more).
• Fully eliminated: the sensation you still need to go indicates you are not fully eliminating your stools.
• Brown in colour – due to the presence of bile. Darker stools can result from taking vitamins such as Iron. If your stools are black and you are NOT taking Iron supplements it could indicate bleeding in the Gastro-Intestinal Tract.

What if your stools aren’t characterised above? Before I break it down (pun not intended), it is important to understand why poop is manufactured by the body. When our digestive system receives food, the objective of the mouth and stomach is to break food down and make the nutrients readily available to be absorbed by the Small Intestine. During this process, material that is not nutrients the body recognises will be passed through to the Large Intestine as waste. If this process is disrupted (for whatever reason) the quality of stools is altered, which is a way your body is trying to bring your attention to an issue with your digestive health. Unhealthy stools include:

• Sloppy/loose stools
• Diarrhoea
• Watery stools
• Urgency in passing stools
• Hard pebble-like stools
• Mucous in the stools
• Blood in the stools
• Pale stools
• Dark Stools
• An inability to fully eliminate your stools
• Irregular bowel motions

The reason for these symptoms mentioned above include:

• IBS, Crohn’s, Colitis, Celiac Disease and other disorders of the GIT.
• Inflammation in the body which also affects the bowel
• Stress, anxiety, depression, nervousness and other emotions
• Long term illness can lead to malnutrition causing pale stools
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Auto-immune disorders
• Dysbiosis in the gut microbiome

So as you can see our quality of poop simply reflects our inner health and there isn’t a simple answer for any change in stools. When change occurs, visit your health care practitioner to discuss your symptoms and signs so to understand where the ill health is manifesting from.

In Chinese Medicine, there are many herbs that work to encourage a healthier digestion as well as improve the state of your health. The sooner you address these issues, the sooner you start feeling healthy and energetic. A problem ignored just creates louder symptoms that lead to the manifestation of a diseased body.

Treatment for symptoms is more proficient when addressed early. Digestive issues are very common and for this reason we have formulated an organic herbal tea to help with healing the gut health. Digest and Detox Tea is a newly formulated tea in our range of herbal teas. It is formulated to:

• Enhance digestion
• Encourage the liver, kidneys and lymphatic system with the healthy elimination of stools.
• Address digestive upsets such as bloating, indigestion, curb sugar cravings and encourage glucose metabolism.

Find out more here: https://www.salubre.com.au/product/digest-and-detox-tea/  

Don’t forget to leave any comments or insights below in the comments section and share this article with anyone you know would benefit to learn more about their poop.  

Stay tuned for next week’s article.   Yours in Great Health, Irene