Unsurprisingly not many people take great interest in how their bowel is tracking, however the quality of our poo is actually a great barometer or window into assessing how our gut is doing.
If you are getting at least one to two nice formed stools daily with a 'nike tick' at the end, then you know that you have fully cleared your bowel and you are winning, wahoo! It feels great to have a nice healthy poo!
Unfortunately for those suffering with bowel problems the opposite is true. If you are constipated or experiencing loose stools, then this indicates your gut is unhappy and there will often be other associated symptoms such as digestive pain, bloating, gas, gurgling, reflux, low energy and low mood (the list goes on). We all know this is a miserable place to be.
Here's some top tips for assessing how your bowel is doing and some ways to support your gut to get back on track.
CONSTIPATION
Constipation occurs when you are struggling to pass a bowel motion daily or only passing small amounts and not fully clearing your bowel.
There can be several reasons for constipation
- Food ratios are out of whack Your carb or protein portions are too high and you aren't eating enough fruit & veggies. The fruit and veggies we eat feed the good bacteria that live in our gut. When those good guys are well fed with fibre from the greens, fruit and veggies then they will help you clear your waste properly.
- You are dehydrated Meaning not enough water and fluids from fruit and veggies, causing the bowel to dry out, resulting in hard, dry, difficult to pass stools.
- Low beneficial gut flora When the good guys in our gut are too low we can really struggle to break down our food optimally.
- Food allergies This is a big one, food allergies often cause severe constipation, causing the whole gut to slow or shut right down and not process food and waste optimally.
- Infection in the small or large intestine will often cause constipation.
- Chemical digestion is not 100% Stomach acid or digestive enzymes are low or the liver is struggling to produce enough bile to digest your food optimally.
Things you can do to combat constipation
- Getting a smoothie in daily can be a game changer when you tend towards constipation if low fibre is your issue. All those blended fruits, veggies and fluids hit your bowel, feed your good bacteria in your gut and then boom the stool moves out pretty efficiently. (See recipe below)
- Removing gluten and/or dairy These are the top two ranked allergens. Often cutting out these two big boys in the allergy field can improve your gut tremendously. If that's not helping then IgE and IgG blood allergy testing can really help to work out what allergens are driving bowel issues.
- Test and treat your microbiome optimally Getting a microbiome mapping stool test or SIBO breath test is a great way to accurately diagnose possible infections or low chemical digestion markers that can be driving constipation so you can be treated accurately. If this is not within the budget then reach out. I can suggest certain herbs to help lower infections and increase good guys so your microbiome starts to balance out again.
- Take Mg Lax a natural magnesium based supplement. This is one of the best natural laxative supports I've found. Most people respond really well to taking this supplement, which if taken along with dietary changes can be a game changer while we're working on the root cause of your issues.
LOOSE STOOLS
Having loose stools or diarrhea is equally as miserable as being constipated and some unlucky people actually fluctuate between the two. Loose stools will often wake you early in the morning or urgently race you to the loo at inconvenient times. These stools can often be accompanied with nausea, cramping, pain, bloating, gas, heart palpitations and feeling weak and dizzy.
There can be several reasons for loose stools.
- Eating foods that you are intolerant or allergic to. These foods can cause lots of inflammation in the gut. The body sends them out as quickly as possible to try toremoving the offending food, resulting in a loose stool and malabsorption.
- Infections Infections in the small or large intestine can also cause loose stools as they feed on and ferment the food you eat. This can cause bloating, gas, pain and then loose stools as the body sends those toxins out promptly.
- High toxin load if you are putting processed, high sugar or additive rich foods and drinks into your body then these food choices can overload your liver. Your body will send out a loose stool to try to lower your toxic load.
Things you can do to combat loose stools.
- Focus on whole foods from nature Ensuring you nourish your body optimally with whole foods will reduce your toxic load and your body will retain and utilise nutrients much more efficiently.
- Listen to your body if you suffer a loose stool after eating a certain food then back off from it and give your body a break. Keeping a food and symptom diary can be very helpful to work out what foods you are reacting to. As advised above, removing gluten and dairy can help a lot. If it is still unclear what you are reacting too, then reach out for advice on allergy testing as some allergies have delayed onset symptoms and they are hard to identify without accurate testing.
- Testing and treatment of infection If you are suffering symptoms of infection (bloating/gas/fermentation/pain) then reach out for a consultation or consider asking about a microbiome mapping or SIBO breath test to work out if infection is an issue for you. If it is not within the budget to test, I can still suggest certain herbs to help lower infections and increase good guys so your microbiome can start to improve.
Know someone who is suffering with bowel problems? Share these tips with them and let's all get healthy together.
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