07/16/2024 – 17:20
How often should you go to the bathroom? A study published Tuesday (16) in the journal Cell Reports Medicine shows that evacuating once or twice a day improves long-term health.
Previous research has linked constipation and diarrhea to increased risks of infections and neurodegenerative diseases, but these findings were observed in sick patients.
“I hope this work opens up doctors’ minds a bit about the potential risks of not controlling bowel movement frequency,” Sean Gibbons, the study’s lead author, told AFP, explaining that doctors often consider irregular bowel movements to be a mere “nuisance.”
Gibbons and his team collected clinical, lifestyle, biological and other data – including gut microbiome and genetic data – from more than 1,400 adults without signs of disease.
The bowel movement frequencies reported by the participants were classified into four groups: constipation (one or two bowel movements per week), low-normal (three to six per week), high-normal (one to three per day) and diarrhea.
When stool remains in the intestines for too long, bacteria ferment the proteins, producing toxins. “We found that even in healthy people who are constipated, there is an increase in these toxins in the bloodstream,” Gibbons explained.
In cases of diarrhea, the team found clinical chemistry tests indicative of liver inflammation and damage. During diarrhea, the body excretes excess bile acid, which the liver would then recycle to dissolve and absorb dietary fats, Gibbons explained.
Gut bacteria known as “strict anaerobes,” which are associated with good health, thrive on one or two bowel movements a day, although more studies are needed to confirm this theory.
According to Gibbons, to achieve this frequency, you need to consume fruits and vegetables, drink plenty of water, exercise regularly and follow a diet with a predominance of vegetables.
#Study #shows #evacuating #day #improves #longterm #health