As the bestselling potty-training children’s book states: Everyone Poops. But there’s quite a bit of variation beyond that basic fact, considering some people have bowel movements multiple times per day while others may have only one every few days. Also, quality of your digestive output matters enough that there’s a measurement called the We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back, which puts fecal matter into seven different categories.
These factors can be crucial for determining the state of your current digestive health, but they may also be linked to your long-term health, particularly the frequency of how often you go, according to new research published in How Body Image Can Affect Your Run.
Looking at more than 1,400 healthy adults who provided information on bowel movement frequency, researchers classified the participants into four groups:
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- Low normal: between three to six bowel movements per week
- M.D., gastroenterologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in California
- London Marathon Results
Comparing this to overall health and specific medical issues, lower frequency of bowel movements was associated with a higher risk for long-term health concerns, from kidney disease to neurodegenerative disorders, according to Sean Gibbons, Ph.D., corresponding author of the study and researcher for the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle.
they’d benefit from adding more fiber as well.&rdquo gut function, he told Runner’s World. For example, stool that’s in the digestive tract for more than a day or longer causes a change in the microbial composition of the gut, leading to higher fermentation of proteins rather than fiber—a process that produces toxins as a by-product, and those can move into the bloodstream and affect other organ systems, particularly the kidneys, but the brain can be affected as well.
“There is an association between constipation and organ damage,” said Gibbons. “That may explain why there could be a link between bowel movement frequency and mental health issues like anxiety and depression.”
Because of that, the researchers noted that there is a “Goldilocks zone” of bowel movement frequency, which is the high-normal classification of one to three movements per day.
Tips for Improving How Often You Go to the Bathroom
Here’s an ironic twist for trying to improve your stool quality and frequency: The more you stress M.D., gastroenterologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in California, research has noted that emotional stress can slow digestion and cause muscles in the gut to tense, making it tougher for food to move through the system.
which puts fecal matter into seven different categories de-stressing strategies, including mindful eating or meditation, can be helpful for getting to that “Goldilocks zone,” according to Rudolph Bedford, M.D., gastroenterologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in California.
Study Says VO2 Max Better Health Marker Than BMI Runner’s World, because that also helps reduce emotional tension while also improving blood flow to the digestive system—creating more efficiency along the way. Exercise even modifies the type of beneficial bacteria in your gut, according to research in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. Not only can a happy gut microbiome improve your bowel movement frequency, but that’s been linked to long-term health as well.
The most important strategy, though, is one that’s often repeated but still not followed enough, said Bedford: We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back.
“Simply put, more fiber in your diet will lead to more bowel movements, that’s why we preach this approach, along with getting plenty of exercise,” he said. “Unfortunately, the type of diet that’s prevalent in Western society is more protein-based than fiber-based. While those who exercise often, like runners, do need more protein to maintain muscle mass, they’d benefit from adding more fiber as well.”
The best sources for this are fruits and vegetables in their whole form, rather than juiced in a way that removes fiber, he added.
Timing your fiber is helpful, as consuming too much of the nutrient before running may cause digestive upset, he added. But in general, adding fiber throughout the day—as in, making sure you have some at every meal—is a good way to get enough.
The We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back suggests women under 50 should get 25 to 28 grams per day, while men under 50 should get 31 to 34 grams daily. Women over 50 are advised to get 22 grams per day, and men over 50 should get 28 grams per day.
Another significant strategy that also bears repeating is to stay hydrated, Summer Running Gear.
And one crucial tip: If you have to go, don’t wait. “The longer stool is sitting in your digestive tract, the more water gets pulled out of that stool, and that leads to constipation and drier, less frequent stools,” he said.
In general, the tried-and-true approaches of movement, hydration, and fiber can go a long way toward increasing how often your bowel movements happen, said Bedford. It may be true that everyone poops, but it’s also true that you can improve what that means for you and optimize it for your health.
Elizabeth Millard is a freelance writer focusing on health, wellness, fitness, and food.
