The Scoop on Your Poop

Time spent on the toilet, however, can be illuminating in terms of your health. Doing your business should be a fairly swift affair. If you find yourself straining and spending more than a few minutes on the john, it probably means that you should up your water and fiber intake.

Other Assorted Facts

In terms of smell, it’s completely normal to have to use a bit of air freshener after you’re done in the bathroom. Even if it’s a little embarrassing, a strong odor simply means that the bacteria in your gut are doing their jobs to digest your food. Again, changes in this area are more important than anything else.

Many people are understandably concerned about the floating versus sinking poop debate. Floating stool can indicate one of two things: you’ve been eating a lot of fiber that has caused air to become trapped in your digestive system, or you’ve eaten a lot of fat at once that your body wasn’t able to completely process.

And, finally, it turns out that shape has little to do with your health – skinny or thick stool doesn’t really have anything to do with how smoothly your digestive system is running.

The Bottom Line

Excuse the pun. In the end, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on what you leave behind once you’ve used the toilet. What’s most important is to keep track of any changes, and understand what’s normal for you. Talk to your doctor if you experience any sudden differences.

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