Let’s get real about going number two: Even if you consider your coffee habits and morning mileage your go-to ritual for getting things…moving, one question might still be haunting your trips to the bathroom. “Do I poop a normal amount?” Well wonder no more, health-obsessives, because gastroenterologists have finally put this, er, gut-wrenching query to bed.
Referencing a large study released last year, gastroenterologist Dan Worthley, MBBS(Hons), PhD, told The Conversation that of the 44,775 people studied, 95 percent reported “normal” bowel movements to be between 3 and 21 times per week. “So between three times a day and three times a week is what I like to call the ‘Goldilocks zone for pooing’,” Dr. Worthley says. In other words, jusssttt right for you could mean visiting the WC after every meal, or just hearing nature’s call sporadically throughout the week.
In other words, jusssttt right for you could mean visiting the WC after every meal, or just hearing nature’s call sporadically throughout the week.
Jakob Begun, MD, PhD, confirms this bathroom-based rule of three, adding that the number of times you go a week depends on many factors like your diet, your gut’s “intrinsic motor activity,” your rectal capacity, and your gut microbiome. And additionally, Dr. Worthley points out that form and consistency are equally as important as regularity. He actually describes Type 4 bowel movements—i.e. those that are “soft,” “smooth,” and “snake-like” on the Bristol Stool Form Scale—as the “nirvana” of potty time.
Who knew? Just like you may have fitness, food, and travel ambitions, #poopgoals are a thing too.
While we’re covering TMI topics, here’s what happens when you hold your farts and how to stop boob sweat in its tracks.
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