When talking to a dietitian you will find that talking about poop is pretty normal. We talk about it all the time so there is no need to feel uncomfortable. Your poo can tell us a lot about what may be going on in your body.

What is poo, faeces, or stool?

It is the waste product from the process of digesting the food we eat. Food goes through a lot on its journey through our gastrointestinal (GI) tract. From the mouth to the anus the GI tract measures about 8-9m. Despite much speculation, the current estimate of the area of the GI tract is around 32m2, or half the size of a badminton court.

The Journey from Food to Poo

• Starting in the mouth (5 secs to 2 mins) food gets chewed, cut, torn, and ground by the teeth

• It mixes with saliva to lubricate and make it slippery

• The tongue then forms it into a ball and it goes down through the oesophagus (8-10 secs) and into the stomach

• In the stomach (15 mins - 4 hrs) it gets pushed, churned, ground, and mixed with acid

• Then into the small intestine (1 - 5 hrs) where smooth muscle causes waves that contract and push food along the small intestine

• Most of the magic of absorption happens here for carbohydrates, protein, fats and vitamins, and minerals

• Then into the large intestine (12 - 24 hrs) where gut microbiomes feast on fibre to produce beneficial byproducts and the last of absorption occurs

• Most of the water is absorbed here to form a nice soft poo

• The poo then sits in the rectum waiting for you to let it out and then off it goes through the anus

What is a normal poo?

Colour:

• Normally a shade of brown and can also end up other colours from food (beetroot, food colouring) or from iron supplements

Consistency:

• Formed, soft and smooth - type 3, 4

Frequency:

• Anywhere from 3 times a day to 3 times a week

• No blood

• No Pain

What isn’t a normal poo?

Colour:

• Pale white, grey, yellow, green, black

• Bright red or blood in the stool

Consistency:

• Watery, liquid - type 5, 6, 7

• Hard - type 1, 2

• Greasy and foul smelling

Frequency:

• Less than 3 bowel motions per week OR

• More than 3 watery, loose bowel motions each day with cramping or abdominal pain

• Incomplete evacuation, when you feel like poo remains

• Spending a long time on the toilet

• Straining

*Indications to see your GP

• Nocturnal (nighttime) diarrhoea

• Blood or bleeding

• Family history of bowel conditions

• Weight loss

• Chronic pain

What factors play a role in poo?

There are many things that can influence the consistency, colour, frequency, and urgency of our poops.

• Medications, laxatives, supplements

• Viruses, bacteria, food poisoning, parasites

• Menstruation, pregnancy, and endometriosis

• Medical conditions - coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel diseases, diverticular disease, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, diabetes

• Bowel and ovarian cancers

• Problems with the pelvic floor

• Surgical resections of the bowel or gallbladder

• Diet - fluid, fibre, the quantity of food eaten, trigger foods, caffeine, spicy foods, alcohol, fat intake, lactose

• Irritable bowel syndrome

• Eating a meal or not eating enough food

• Exercise

• Gut-brain axis, our mood can have a huge impact on our bowel motions. Nervous poos? If you’ve ever felt really nervous about something and all of a sudden you need to poo even though you’ve already been that day. That would be your brain and gut talking. Thanks, guys, just what you need when you’re already nervous about something!

  The Impact of Unnormal Bowel Motions

• Can be distressing, frustrating, annoying, and impact mental health

• Can affect quality of life, work, socialising, intimacy, and physical activity

  Good Toileting Habits

• Go when you feel the urge

• Don’t try to poo if you don’t need to

• Relax, lean forward, have your knees above your hips, and your spine straight and push your lower belly out

• You should pass a poo within a minute of sitting on the toilet

• Holding onto poo can cause constipation

• Spending too long on the toilet can cause haemorrhoids

• Hovering above the toilet is bad for the pelvic floor muscles

• Ladies wipe front to back

• Washing your hands, every time

  The Goods News

• We can work together to figure out what factors are influencing your bowels

• There are options and strategies for dietary manipulation

• You can have normal bowel motions

• Most importantly we want to make sure you can eat as many foods as possible and are getting all of the nutrients your body needs

Read More About Bowels

How are farts made? — St Kilda Dietitian & Nutrition (emmakeenandietitian.com.au)

What is irritable bowel syndrome? — St Kilda Dietitian & Nutrition (emmakeenandietitian.com.au)