Bathroom habits - Am i normal?

1. How many times per day should I poop?

Since a bowel movement is waste elimination, it makes sense that the more food you consume, the more frequent your bowel movements will be. However, for some, a bowel movement can be a once a week occurrence – which is cause for concern. The average person takes roughly 20 hours to push out what he eats. If you poop more than four times a day or if you have a new bowel movement every 3 days or longer it may be time to get some natural help or speak to your doctor. If passing poop is regularly accompanied by pain, see your doctor. Eat fiber and foods containing probiotics (yoghurt) or take a good quality probiotic supplement and drink lots of water to beat constipation. Avoid too much Calcium by itself which may lead to constipation. Never overuse laxatives as this can actually cause constipation in the long run!

Home 'Beetroot' test:
Eat something brightly coloured - (like beetroot) so that you will be able to see it when it exits the body. If it takes more than a day to appear, you may want to add more fiber (and water) to your diet. Food that takes a long time to exit the body is bad for you because the food is essentially rotting in your body during that time. If your digestion is really up to scratch you should have a bowel movement 30min after each meal (not the food you just ate, but like a conveyor belt, the food from previous days).

2. How many times should I urinate?

Four to seven urinations per day are an average amount for most adults if you are drinking tea or adequate water during the day. 10, 20 and even 30 times daily warrants further investigation and may be due to various conditions. You are urinating more frequently than normal if you urinate eight or more times in a 24-hour period, or you regularly get up to urinate two or more times a night. Urine should ideally be colourless or at the very least very pale yellow. Dark urine is a sign of dehydration. Urine that is almost the colour of coke-a-cola should warrant a trip to your doctor.

3. How many times a day should I pass gas?

It may seem like a lot, but doctors maintain that passing gas around 13 to 21 times a day is considered average to normal. If you notice that you are passing gas above 30 times per day, consider a food diary to take note of when the gas is more prevalent – certain foods will cause more gas (especially vegetables). Make a not of the times of day that the gas is worse and also gauge the odour – is it particularly foul smelling? Passing gas may be triggered by nervous reaction in the body due to stress and digestive upset or disorders. All of this information can be helpful when you see your doctor.

4. What should my gas smell like?

Amazingly, if you're eating the right foods, only 5% of what you pass should smell bad. 30 Grams of fiber per day (recommended) may cause gas and bloating, but it won't smell. Some meats may lead to strong-smelling gas, but the biggest culprit is synthetic and packaged food due to the chemicals they contain. Healthy bacteria in the gut digest your food and when bacteria have to digest fast foods the by product is gas – which smells awful.

5. What should my poop look like?

Your poop should be the colour of peanut butter (sorry to be so graphic). Poop that is too light (pale grey or white) may signal disease in the body and similarly green or black tar-like poop is a cause for concern. Any changes in poop colour that seem drastic (if you haven’t eaten bright or dark coloured foods) should warrant a visit to the doctor. Healthy poop should be solid and smooth and retain an 'S' shape. Poop that is lumpy indicates it has been in the colon longer than it should be. Small balls of poop indicate slow digestion and mean that you need to eat more vegetables, fiber and drink water. Poop should not be runny or the consistency of water.

Here is a natural approach to waste elimination

To keep your bowel movements regular, eat 30 grams of fibre per day and drink 8 glasses of water. Add fresh fruits, yoghurt and vegetables to your diet. Consider a natural regulator that contains bitter principles which have a beneficial effect on the liver and digestive system.