Posted on 07/08/2025 6:06:15 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A study published in July 2024 investigated how often 1,425 people went number two, and compared those stats to their demographic, genetic, and health data.
Pooping too often or too rarely were both associated with different underlying health issues, while the healthiest participants reported pooping once or twice a day – a 'Goldilocks zone' of bowel movement frequency.
The study, led by a team from the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB), investigated the bathroom habits of people who were "generally healthy" – that is, with no history of kidney or gut issues like kidney disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or Crohn's disease.
These participants self-reported how often they dropped the kids off at the pool, and the researchers organized them into four categories: constipation for those reporting one or two bowel movements per week; low-normal for three to six movements per week; high-normal for one to three movements per day; and diarrhea for four or more watery stools per day.
The researchers also analyzed patients' blood metabolites and chemistry, their genetics, and the gut microbes present in their stool samples. The team then looked for possible associations between bowel movement frequency and these health markers, as well as other factors like their age and sex.
In general, those who reported less frequent bowel movements tended to be women, younger, and with a lower body mass index (BMI). But even accounting for these factors, people with constipation or diarrhea showed clear links to underlying health issues.
Bacteria usually found in the upper gastrointestinal tract were more common in stool samples from participants with diarrhea. Their blood samples, meanwhile, showed biomarkers associated with liver damage.
Stool samples from people with less frequent bowel movements had higher levels of bacteria associated with protein fermentation. This is a known hazard from constipation.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencealert.com ...
That is funny, too!
Yes, I had an older doctor ask those questions. The younger ones never do..............
Did they include the homeless bums and junkies in San Fran in these stats? ;)
Have you been getting a lot of ads for a muslim tv channel?
Absolutely never ever taking anything with psyllium husks. Spinning head, the worst nausea, cramping, almost and wishing to just pass out, you name it. Don’t want to hear about easing into it. If something does that immediately and doesn’t let up over one pill, then it is NOT right.
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