With each new test I ask the same question …
“How many bowel movements do you have each day? Do you see mucus, blood, diarrhea, or constipation?”
The feces, the filth, the feces, the shit, the manure, the excrement, the n. 2, manure, droppings and intestinal contents are the same. I use all of these terms as sometimes my clients don’t know what feces or feces are. If I can’t communicate with my clients, I can’t help them.
Stool contains water, indigestible fiber, undigested food, shed intestinal cells, living and dead bacteria, bile, and wasted red blood cells. A normal stool should be brown to light brown in color, formed but not hard or too soft, cylindrical but not flattened anywhere, fairly bulky and full-bodied but not compact, easy to pass, and should not have an extremely unpleasant odor. Each bowel movement should be in one piece, the size and shape of a banana tapered at the end. Sometimes this will not be discernible if the stool breaks down in the toilet. Some people feel that if the body absorbs all the minerals from food, the stool will float. Others believe that the stool must sink. I think the important thing is that there are no air bubbles on the stool and that it does not fall like a brick into the toilet. It should be somewhere in between.
An occasional deviation from this pattern is acceptable. Any chronic deviation from the previous pattern is unhealthy and must be treated.
It’s amazing how many people don’t even look at their stool in the bathroom. It is so important. Stool can reveal a lot about your health if you learn to read it. Digestion occurs. It’s a shame few of us can’t talk about them without shame. For instance:
o Air or bubbles in the stool can mean that we have an intestinal or flora imbalance and that gas-producing bacteria overgrow and compete with the healthier flora.
o Alternating spikes of diarrhea and constipation can be due to irritable bowel syndrome, food allergies, red meat, spices, sugar, alcohol, stress, lack of fiber, irregular bowel habits.
o Color: stools are usually the color of food.
o Constipation can occur and cause impaction: the presence in the rectum of a mass of stool too large to pass. Fecal impaction is often the result of poor bowel habits, a diet with too little fluid and fiber, too much protein, and inadequate physical activity.
o Diarrhea, whether acute or chronic, can alter the normal rhythm of the intestine and cause irregularities. It can mean that your large intestine is not working properly. The large intestine is responsible for removing excess water from the stool. Discards can include food poisoning, lactose intolerance, anxiety, stress, too many antacids, antibiotics, parasites such as Giardia or Coccidia, Balantidia, Coccidoidiomycosis or other parasites, viruses, bacterial overgrowth, inflammatory bowel disease, and irritable bowel syndrome. A healthy intestine will take about a quart and a half and condense it into 1 cup of stool. That is pretty amazing.
o Frank red blood (obvious bright red bleeding) can be a sign of hemorrhoids, colitis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, colon cancer, or be caused by impacted stools that pass through the rectum and tell us to drink more Water.
o Bad smelling stools: too much protein, flora imbalance.
o If the stools are black, tarry, and sticky (called melena), this may mean there is bleeding in the small intestine. These types of stool usually have a characteristic bad odor. If you’ve ever smelled a dog with Parvo, corona, or rotavirus, you know what I mean.
o Light green stools – Too much sugar, fruits or vegetables and little salt or grains (or in the case of animals, too much grass) The mucosa can reveal diverticulitis and intestinal inflammation due to allergies or parasites.
o Oily or greasy looking stools that usually float and can be large may mean that your pancreas or small intestine is not working well enough and is not releasing enough digestive enzymes. Normal stools contain about 1% fat. When this percentage increases to about 7%, the stool will look oily and greasy. This is called steatorrhea. High-fat foods can make this happen, but they should be temporary.
o Pale or clay-colored stools may mean that the gallbladder or liver is not working properly.
o Pencil-thin or tape-shaped stools may mean you have a polyp or growth inside your colon or rectum.
o Presence of food: If your stool breaks easily and you can see bits and pieces of the food you ate, you may not be chewing your food well enough. This can cause GERD, acid reflux, bloating, and diarrhea.
o Red or magenta stools: ingestion of beets.
o Very dark stools: Too much red wine, too much salt in the diet, not enough vegetables. Blueberries, Pepto Bismol (the bismuth in it), and iron lozenges can also be responsible for dark stools.
Normal bowel habits not only improve quality of life, but also help prevent several common diseases, for example diverticulitis and fecal impaction. Gallstones, appendicitis, colon cancer, hiatal hernia, diabetes, and heart disease have also been linked to the quality of bowel movements and the foods that affect them.
Number of bowel movements: Healthy bowel activity is considered one or two moderate-sized bowel movements every day. Every other day or once or twice a week, bowel movements can harm you because the intestinal contents release toxins into the body through the mucous membranes. You have to keep that waste moving!
Fecal incontinence (uncontrollable diarrhea) should be treated by a professional. Often with this particular symptom (and irritable bowel syndrome) I will contract an intestinal parasite. A bottle or two of Nosode Gut Pathogen Drops do an amazing job most of the time clearing up these cases.
Healthy gut clothing:
There is usually a time of day when bowel movements are most likely to occur. In anticipation of this moment, the patient should participate in activities that stimulate a normal bowel movement. It is also important that the patient recognize the urge to defecate and respond immediately to that urge. The longer the stool stays in the rectum, the more water the rectum will absorb, making it harder and harder to pass.
The urge to defecate is usually strongest in the morning: the simple act of getting up triggers the movement of the large intestine. The stomach also sends a signal when it expands after a meal. This gastrocolic reflex is the reason why many people, and especially children, need to go to the bathroom shortly after eating. The reflex weakens with age, which is a source of constipation problems and the reason why good, consistent bowel habits are helpful.
Laxatives – Some patients are so convinced that they need daily laxatives that they fear going without them. It takes time for a modified diet to affect the intestines and for the intestine to return to its normal rhythm. Be patient. Enemas are a better solution.
Healthy bowel movements require ingesting a lot of fluids and bulk foods. The patient should drink two to three-quarters of liquid every day. The dough comes from unrefined food. Oat bran, wheat bran, brown rice, vegetables, apples, and pears are some examples of foods that are high in fiber and residue.
Some patients will benefit from the addition of bulk psyllium preparations, but others find that psyllium will produce extreme amounts of gas. For these people, adding WHOLE flax seeds (eat without chewing) and bran will help. And a single 8-ounce cup of coffee in the morning often helps people have regular bowel movements.
Natural laxatives include:
o Anti-Constipation Paste
or coffee
or DSS (sodium dioctylsulfosuccinate)
or glycerin suppositories
o Nature’s Sunshine LBS II (excellent)
or oil enemas
o Plum juice
o Salt purges
Fleet enemas are used only for people and dogs. They are very toxic to cats and can kill them. It’s okay to use them occasionally, but the other enemas we’re talking about are better for healing purposes.
Soap foam enemas can be a bit harsh on the gut. Use them only occasionally if necessary
A few notes on gut bacteria replacement: Within a healthy small intestine there are billions of beneficial gut bacteria or microflora. These bacteria are from the Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus bifidus strains and were transferred by breastfeeding to our intestines when they were newborn babies. The body uses L. acidophilus and L. bifidus in the final stages of digestion, reproducing as needed to stay in total harmony with the body.
When the good bacteria can’t keep up, the bad bacteria overpopulate the gut to produce an imbalance in the gut flora that results in lower bowel disease, gas, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and Crohn’s disease. The devitalizing effect caused by harmful bacteria in the gut is rarely diagnosed near the beginning of this imbalance. Headaches, skin infections, weakness, and constipation can also be symptoms of a decrease in intestinal bacteria.
What causes an imbalance in the intestinal flora?
o Toxins, especially drugs such as antibiotics and narcotics.
o Severe diarrhea can damage or destroy these beneficial bacteria, allowing harmful bacteria to take over the production of by-products such as ammonia, purines, and ethionine, which can eventually cause colon cancer.
o Fasting can also deplete beneficial bacteria because large amounts of toxins are released from the lymph nodes into the colon at the time of fasting. Also during a fast, with certain diets and with eating disorders, there is an absence of foods in which good bacteria thrive.
o Using enemas also depletes beneficial bacteria, especially if chlorinated water is used.
To restore your gut bacteria, do a couple of enemas with liquid acidophilus or live acidophilus. These products must be stored and purchased refrigerated. The products available on the market are not as effective in replacing the intestinal flora. You can also mix a couple of tablespoons of active plain yogurt into your enema mix along with a tablespoon of liquid acidophilus. Add a little warm water, but do not heat the mixture or use chlorinated water. After mixing the mixture, pour it into the enema bag. Use less water for these types of enemas (just 1-2 cups) and try to retain the liquid within the colon for ten minutes to allow the beneficial bacteria to pass through the intestine. This procedure will ensure that a healthy culture spreads within the intestines.
You can also start adding L. acidophilus and L. bifidus to your food a day or two before breaking a fast. Use repeat doses according to the directions on the bottle once a week for about 5 weeks.
FOS (fructooligosaccharides) are also good for restoring intestinal flora. These are long chain sugars that feed friendly flora. You can buy this in concentrated pill form or eat a lot of apples, Jerusalem artichokes, or pears. These foods contain high amounts of FOS.
Well … That’s the scoop on poop. (Some people take things very seriously.)
