What is normal?: How often do you poop? Edition

written by Kate Lamprich

What is normal?

Normal is a loaded question in regards to just about anything. . . but in this series of blogs, I will be exploring the difference between things that typically occur and what is considered healthy.

The definition of normal is conforming to a standard — usual, typical, or expected.

It is absolutely within the definition of normal to tell a person that pooping once a week is normal. It can be usual, typical, and expected for some people. Does that mean it is healthy? Does that mean people should live with the discomfort of pooping once a week? Does that mean people should live with the unpleasant side effects that occur when they only poop once a week?

It is my opinion that the answer to all of those questions is NO.

When I did a little bit of research for this blog, I found answers like it is normal for people to poop 3 times a week to 3 times a day. I also found an answer which I have heard over and over from my clients, that since they were little they have only pooped once a week; so that is just THEIR normal.

What is healthy?

Your digestive system, or ailementary tract, is basically a tube that goes from your mouth to your anus - not the most pleasant description, I know - but it is made up of several one-way valves and so many twists and turns there is approximately 30 feet of tubing in between the two ends. Theoretically, each time you put something into that tube, something should be coming out the other end; meaning each time you eat a meal you should have a bowel movement within a short period of time.

Based on the amount of food the average person eats (another very wide range, I am sure) the amount of poop that should be eliminated is 18 inches per day.

There are many processes that take place in the body during digestions and many opportunities for delay in the Transit Time of processing your food to waste.

Transit Time refers to the amount of time it takes your food to go from being eaten to being eliminated. A great way to test your transit time is to eat something like corn or beets after not having had them for a while because both have a very noticeable effect on the stool that is eliminated (corn can be seen as whole corn kernels and beets make the stool a very bright red/purple unique color).

It is possible there is a range of healthy when it comes to how often a person poops, but that range is probably much smaller than what some people accept as “normal”.

What is the purpose of pooping?

The purpose of pooping is to eliminate waste from the body. The food we eat is made up of nutrients needed for various functions in the body. Even when we are eating extremely healthy foods, including babies who are exclusively breastfed and only ingest the milk that was created just for them, there is waste from every meal. The purpose of pooping is to eliminate waste.

The quality and types of foods we are eating determines the toxicity of the waste that is produced by those foods.

What happens if you don’t poop enough?

The colon is the last part of the ailementary tract and where waste gets held up if a person has a slow Transit Time or experiences constipation. The longer the waste is in your colon, the longer it can have an affect on your body. If you have a trashcan full of food, especially from your kitchen where the trash is filled with discarded food products; what happens if you leave that trashcan full and do not remove it from your home? I am sure that you have a pretty graphic image of what that trash looks like, smells like, etc.

Pooping is your body’s way of taking out the trash. The longer the garbage sits in the colon without being taken out, the longer the toxins have to affect your body.

Side Effects and Signs of Toxicity in the Body

• acne/skin rashes

• allergies

• arthritis/joint pain

• autoimmune disorders

• cardiovascular disease

• chronic fatigue/trouble sleeping

• constipation

• depression/anxiety

• diabetes

• diarrhea

• firbromyalgia

• headaches

• hormone imbalance

• inflammatory disorders

• irritability

• IBS

• neurological disorders

• obesity/overweight

Back to what is normal?

Experiencing any of the side effects above are not healthy and should not be accepted as normal.

If you can poop once a week and feel you are eliminating every bit of waste that has been created from all of the food you eat (remember 18 inches each day is healthy) and you do not experience any side effects including things not listed above such as cramps, upset stomach and indigestion, then by all means once a week is your normal.

However, if you do experience any side effects, then now would be a good time to evaluate your poop situation. Take some time to pay attention to how often you poop and when you get flare-ups of the unpleasant side effects.

Remember NORMAL should never be PAINFUL and UNCOMFORTABLE.