STUCK POOP - A Crappy Situation

We've all got 'that' friend who's never at a loss for a bathroom joke. And although we all laugh, for a great many people, digestive and elimination issues are no-go. Literally. I realize no one likes discussing their bathroom habits and schedule, but bottom line, avoiding the issue will only increase the problem.

About 25 years ago, my youngest had a blocked colon. She had been complaining of stomach pains for quite a while, but because she was having a bowel movement everyday, doctors would not do the x-ray necessary to take a peek inside. Until she started waking up in the middle of the night in pain. When they finally did take a look, there was, “...more than we'd like to see in there...” which, given what they prescribed to help clean her out, was code for, “.. holy crap! We did not expect this...”.

I share that to say, one normal-looking bowel movement per day doesn't always mean things are as normal as they should be on the inside. Think about it. Every time you take in food, your body extracts the nutrients and good stuff it needs to send out to your body and discards the crap. It's literally your body's version of taking out the trash. Just like your kitchen garbage can.

What happen when you get lazy and the trash can doesn't get taken out when it should? It can start to smell, it's hard to put any more garbage in, and when you do, you've got to stretch the bag to make it all fit. And when you do decide to finally take out the trash, it's really hard to pull that bag out of the can because the amount of trash going in hasn't stopped, and in order to fit, it ended up getting packed in there.

Your body's not so different. Gas, bloating, harder, fewer and more difficult poops that keep you in the bathroom longer to pass, are all signs that your “trash” needs to be taken out, and you probably shouldn't be waiting. Not a pretty visual, but you get the point. It's important not to get lazy with the things that keep your body taking out the trash consistently. FYI, that's gonna be more than just once per day.

Surprisingly, when I discuss with clients their number one and number two bathroom habits, so many view taking a trip to the bathroom as an inconvenience, as annoying and as something that gets in the way of what's happening in their day. Some will purposefully avoid drinking water or eating anything at all in order not have to ask the person beside them in the plane to let them out to go to the bathroom. Or so as to not stop for a break on a road trip. Or to not have to use the bathroom at the grocery store.

Are you really saving time or being any more productive by not taking out your “trash”? Continuing to pack more in so that when you finally do decide it's time to dump it out, takes a lot longer and is more difficult to try and get that trash bag out, if you can even get it all. The more often that happens, the longer toxic trash hangs around inside your body, the more inflammation you'll have and the greater havoc it will wreak with your health. A pretty crappy situation for sure.

Inflammation is the root cause of all disease. You'll never be able to eliminate it entirely, but doing everything you can to keep inflammation to a minimum – like doing things to support a good pooping environment - reduces your risk of all diseases. Yep, that's correct, all.

Cleaning up a crappy diet is just about the simplest and most effective way to bring down inflammation and gets things moving again. Choose whole, single ingredient foods and ditch the packaged and fast options 80 to 90 percent of the time. The more often you eat fast food, the slower your digestion and elimination will be. Choose organic and non-GMO whenever possible. Sprays, pesticides and herbicides are toxins and disrupt your body's systems.

Eat small, balanced meals that include a clean protein, fruit and/or veggie carb, together with a healthy fat frequently throughout the day. Your body can only properly take in and metabolize a certain amount of food at a time and giving it too much will fill up that garbage can more quickly.

Replace coffee, soda, juice and alcohol with water 80 to 90 percent of the time to keep your body properly hydrated and consistently flushing out toxins.

Fill in your nutritional gaps. Soil is depleted, produce is harvested before it's ripe, food just doesn't have the nutriitonal value it did a few generations ago. In order to get the vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients your body needs, you'd need to eat between 13 and 15 servings of fruits and veggies every day. Most are lucky if they get in four to six per day, creating gaps in nutrition that need to be filled.

Our bodies are not designed to live in disease, they are designed to heal. And when you give it what it needs consistently, it will thrive and you get to enjoy optimal health and feel great.

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For more information on gut health, join Tania and gut health specialist, Dr. Anna Toker, Saturday January 27, 2024, 10:30am PST live on Instagram @tania_gustafson