The frequency of your bowel movements impacts your health, here are the limits to know

According to a study, the frequency of your stools can have consequences on your health.

How many times a week do you go to the bathroom to have a bowel movement ? This varies greatly from person to person. If You might think it's harmless, but in reality, according to a new study published in Cell Reports Medicine, stool frequency influences health. To demonstrate this, the scientists in this study collected clinical, biological and lifestyle data from 1,400 healthy adult volunteers.

The participants' self-reported stool frequencies were classified into four categories: constipation (one to two times a week), normal-low (three to six times a week), normal-high (one to three times a day) and diarrhea (more than four times a day).

The researchers then found that in healthy, but constipated people, there is an increase in toxins in the bloodstream and these can affect the kidneys. When stool sits in the gut for too long, microbes deplete the fiber and ferment it. instead proteins, thus producing these toxins.

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For diarrhea, those affected experienced inflammation and hepatic lesions following the secretion of excess bile acid, which the liver must recycle. The people most affected by infrequent bowel movements are, among the participants, the youngest, women and people with a lower body mass index. 

It would therefore be preferable to go to the toilet once or twice for large needs per day. By studying the participants' lifestyles, the researchers made another observation: “Eating more fruits and vegetables was the most important signal” observed in people with regular bowel movements. Water consumption and regular exercise also play a role.

If regularity is important, what about bowel timing ? It is common to have bowel movements in the morning. “Our small intestine and colon move very differently during the time of eating and digestion than they do during the fasting phase. During the fasting phase, cleansing waves sweep through the small intestine and move the contents into the large intestine,” explained Dr. Rezaie, a gastroenterologist at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles,  Well + good. At night, this process therefore takes place continuously, which is why the urge to go to the bathroom is often greater in the morning. While having a bowel movement upon waking may seem ideal, it is far from an obligation for the specialist.