Healthy Toilet Habits

March 2nd, 2017

Per my gastroenterologist friends, “you can tell a lot about a person’s health by how they poop”.  I couldn’t agree more, but I often find patients are reluctant to discuss their bathroom habits or even to bring up issues such as hemorrhoids (enlarged veins in the anal area that often bleed or cause itching).  Our bowel movements are dictated by many different factors:  how much fiber we eat, how much water we drink, how much we exercise, and how long we sit on the toilet.  Here are some tips on how to improve your visits to the bathroom.

• Eat fiber and lots of it!  Fiber acts like a scrubber and removes cholesterol along your intestinal walls and pushes food forward.  It also causes the stool to clump up and come out in one piece.  Your bowel movement should look like a banana-  tapered at the front and back.  I recommend shooting for a goal of 25-35 grams per day.  Here is how to get there.
• Take probiotics found in foods.  Billions of bacteria live in our colon.  They serve to help us digest properly.  Yes, they sometimes do contribute to embarrassing gas, but overall they are the “good guys” and keep us healthy.
• Drink water.  Hard stools which lead to constipation, are often caused by inadequate hydration.
• Do not sit more than 2 minutes on the toilet.  There should be no email writing, reading of magazines, newspapers, or even novels on the toilet.  You should be practically running to the toilet to have a bowel movement.  If you sit for more than 2 minutes and nothing is happening, go do something.  Drink some water, or exercise to get your bowels moving.  Don’t worry, you WILL move your bowels at some point.
• Try a new way of sitting on the toilet.  A new product called Squatty Potty (which debuted on the TV show, Shark Tank) has been shown to improve hemorrhoids, straining, and reduce time on the toilet.  I have one and I absolutely swear by it!
• Exercise.  Yes, yet another reason to exercise.  Each time your body bounces up and down on a treadmill, exercise bike, or jumping rope your intestines also move food along.  Ultimately, this leads to the need to eliminate.
• Avoid or reduce medications which can cause constipation.  Narcotics (such as oxycodone, Percocet, codeine), antihistamines, and even calcium supplements or TUMS are well known culprits for causing constipation.  If you do take one of these, you may even want to take a laxative or increase your dietary fiber to avoid the resulting constipation which can sometimes be severe enough to require hospitalization!
• Keep track of your bowel movements.  We should all ideally be going to the toilet at least once every day or every two days.  If it gets more than that or your habits change suddenly, it may be time to check in with your primary care provider.  Colon cancer can manifest with sudden constipation.