vocados, apple cider vinegar, kombucha and activated charcoal are up there... But one of the trendiest health topics right now is the 'gut.'
Belly troubles are incredibly common, especially in the United States. Some say the gut is the 'second brain,' both because of the connection it has to our mental state and because of the way it affects the rest of the body.
Most of us stop talking and thinking about our poop when we hit puberty. Especially women. Poop is gross. It doesn't smell good, it doesn't look pretty, it's (hopefully) something we do in private, and it's not something you'd talk about on a first date.
But do you ever stop and take a peek at your poop? Do you ever think about how often you poop? What color is it? What's the texture like? Do you have to strain really hard, or not at all?
I'm not a doctor, but I've had my fair share of gut problems and I know a good amount about different types of poop. So read my work, think about it, but make sure if you have any poop questions to give your doctor a call and ask what's up. With that disclaimer out of the way, here's what some common colors, textures, and other facets of your feces (usually) mean. Let's start with color.
The majority of the time, your poops should be (you guessed it) brown. However, healthy poops can range from yellow to green to blackish brown. If there's red splotches in your poop, don't freak out! The sight of blood in the toilet is unnerving, but it's probably a hemmorhoid or something else super treatable and easy peasy. You should only be concerned if your poops are black or have a coffee-ground consistency, as that can be a sign of distress further up in the bowel.
As for shape, the perfect poop should be long, banana-width, fairly smooth, and held together nicely (shouldn't have a 'fuzzy' appearance.) But poops can also be short, skinny, very fat, lumpy, loose, or chunky. If your poops are like pebbles, you definitely need to drink more water and get a lot more fiber in your diet. If you constantly have loose stools, again, fiber is important for you. If your poops are too big, hard and fat to push out, a stool softener is a good idea. If you're noticing a lot of undigested food in your poop (hey, is that a piece of arugula from my salad earlier today?) then food is moving through your gut too quickly! Your gut needs to chill out, girl. (The only exception to this is corn -- everyone sees corn in their poop, but it's not because it wasn't digested. What you're actually seeing is just the shell of the corn kernel. The inside of the kernel got digested, don't worry.)
Here are some super easy ways to amp up your digestion process!
Belly troubles are incredibly common, especially in the United States. Some say the gut is the 'second brain,' both because of the connection it has to our mental state and because of the way it affects the rest of the body.
Most of us stop talking and thinking about our poop when we hit puberty. Especially women. Poop is gross. It doesn't smell good, it doesn't look pretty, it's (hopefully) something we do in private, and it's not something you'd talk about on a first date.
But do you ever stop and take a peek at your poop? Do you ever think about how often you poop? What color is it? What's the texture like? Do you have to strain really hard, or not at all?
I'm not a doctor, but I've had my fair share of gut problems and I know a good amount about different types of poop. So read my work, think about it, but make sure if you have any poop questions to give your doctor a call and ask what's up. With that disclaimer out of the way, here's what some common colors, textures, and other facets of your feces (usually) mean. Let's start with color.
The majority of the time, your poops should be (you guessed it) brown. However, healthy poops can range from yellow to green to blackish brown. If there's red splotches in your poop, don't freak out! The sight of blood in the toilet is unnerving, but it's probably a hemmorhoid or something else super treatable and easy peasy. You should only be concerned if your poops are black or have a coffee-ground consistency, as that can be a sign of distress further up in the bowel.
As for shape, the perfect poop should be long, banana-width, fairly smooth, and held together nicely (shouldn't have a 'fuzzy' appearance.) But poops can also be short, skinny, very fat, lumpy, loose, or chunky. If your poops are like pebbles, you definitely need to drink more water and get a lot more fiber in your diet. If you constantly have loose stools, again, fiber is important for you. If your poops are too big, hard and fat to push out, a stool softener is a good idea. If you're noticing a lot of undigested food in your poop (hey, is that a piece of arugula from my salad earlier today?) then food is moving through your gut too quickly! Your gut needs to chill out, girl. (The only exception to this is corn -- everyone sees corn in their poop, but it's not because it wasn't digested. What you're actually seeing is just the shell of the corn kernel. The inside of the kernel got digested, don't worry.)
Here are some super easy ways to amp up your digestion process!
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