A Guide to Healthy Poop

There is a LOT of buzz around “healthy elimination” and “getting regular” yet what does this really mean? Are we talking one bowel movement a day? One after each meal? And, what is a normal, healthy poop supposed to look like anyways? Let’s get into it!

Shape

One tool that is extremely helpful in understanding what healthy poop looks like is the Bristol Stool Chart. If you’ve ever visited a practitioner that specializes in the gastrointestinal tract, you may be familiar with this super simple (yet highly effective) visual for identifying a normal (or abnormal) shaped poop. Generally, you’re looking for a type 3 or type 4 as these are well-formed and easy to pass. Poops that are hard and difficult to pass (types 1 and 2) point to constipation, while poops that lack form and are too liquidy (types 5, 6 and 7) indicate diarrhea. 

Frequency

On average, most people are pooping between three times a day and three times a week, which we realize is an extremely large window! That’s because what’s normal for one person could be quite abnormal for another, depending on their medications, activity level, fiber intake, hydration status, age, etc. That is why practitioners tend to focus on the shape of the poop and how easy or difficult it is to pass. If you’re straining when you’re trying to pass a bowel movement or feel like you can’t get everything out, this could be a sign that your gut motility is slowed down and you may be dealing with constipation. On the other hand, if you’re unable to go longer periods of time without running to the bathroom to poop, your gut motility is likely sped up, hence the diarrhea. It’s important to know that encountering constipation or diarrhea now and then isn’t a cause for concern, but experiencing them on a chronic basis is not normal and should be addressed with your primary care provider or practitioner!

One interesting piece of information that can tell you a lot about your gut health is your transit time. This metric measures how long it takes for food to travel from your mouth (when you ingest it), through your digestive system and into your toilet. While many gut tests require doctor’s visits, lab panels and copious amounts of time, this simple test can be done at home in less than a few days. All you have to do is eat a distinctly colored food and keep checking until you notice this color in your poop. A no-brainer food for this is beets, since they do a phenomenal job at dying your poop red – to the point where it can catch you off guard if you forgot you ate them recently! Like pooping frequency, transit time can vary widely, from several hours to multiple days with an average time of 29 hours. The longer your transit time, the slower your gut motility is while the shorter your transit time, the quicker your gut motility is. It’s a bit of a princess and the pea situation, since you ideally want a shorter transit time but not TOO short as that can mean you have diarrhea. 

Color

Brown: normal, healthy

Black: iron supplements, bismuth medications

Red: red-colored foods, blood (go to the doctor)

Green: green-colored foods, antibiotics, or your gut motility is too fast

Yellow: normal for breastfeeding babies, can indicate fat absorption issues in adults

Tips for Healthy Poops

Take a probiotic – If you’re consistently experiencing poops that are outside of the type 3-4 range on the Bristol Stool Chart, your gut microbiome may need a bit of support. In addition to eating probiotic-rich foods like kimchi and yogurt, you can add in a daily probiotic that inoculates your gut with beneficial strains to improve your microbial diversity. Our 3-in-1 probiotic capsules also contain prebiotics (to feed the good bugs) and fermented enzymes (to support optimal digestion). And to top it all off, we microencapsulate our probiotics to ensure that all those precious living bacteria make it safely to your GI tract!

Drink plenty of water – As your food makes its way through your digestive tract, your colon absorbs water from it, forming poop. Therefore, by the time it reaches the end of your colon, most of the water has been absorbed and you have a solid, well-formed poop ready to be eliminated. So the longer your poop takes to move through your colon, the harder and more difficult to pass it will become. Consistently drinking enough water will help to keep your motility in a happy place and your poop hydrated enough to have an easy and complete bowel movement. You’d be shocked at how many people who struggle with constipation are simply dehydrated!

Eat adequate fiber – Listen, dietary fiber is a bit of a miracle cure for poop problems. If you’re dealing with constipation, insoluble fiber (like beans, brown rice, cruciferous vegetables) can help make your poop softer and easier to pass. Meanwhile, if your poop is on the looser end, soluble fiber (like oatmeal, beans, nuts, seeds, apples, pears) can bulk it up to give it more form. Shoot for 25-35 grams of fiber each day if you’re just starting to increase your fiber intake.

Exercise – Have you ever noticed that sitting on a plane or in a car for long periods of time while traveling can make you super constipated? That’s because movement is SO essential for healthy digestion and bowel movements. Exercise physically jostles the organs in your digestive system, speeding up transit time. It also develops strong, healthy muscle tone which is necessary for normal bowel movements. And, you don’t need to go crazy here – things like yoga, stretching and walking can do the trick. 

Practice stress reduction techniques – Toning your vagus nerve is the name of the game here. This important nerve is a crucial part of your parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the “rest and digest” system. It connects your brain to your gut, controlling everything from stomach acidity, digestive juices and motility. When it’s not functioning optimally, it can cause a ton of digestive issues. Things like meditation, chanting, singing, breathing and laughing are all fantastic ways to improve your vagal tone.