What You See In The Toilet Can Tell You A lot About Your Health – The Bristol Stool Chart
It’s not commonly known that, when it comes to assessing our health, looking to the toilet is often a good place to start – turning around to look and smell your own feces after spending some time on the toilet will give you a good indication of the state of your health.
The average person generates about five tonnes of stool in his or her lifetime, and again, by looking at the shape, size, colour, and more, a person might be able to learn a lot about their overall health and how their gastrointestinal tract is functioning. Looking at your feces can also provide insights into what diseases you may be carrying.
The Bristol Stool chart, classified as a “medical aid,” groups the characteristics of human feces into seven different categories. It was created by Lewis and Heaton at the University of Bristol and was originally published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology in 1997. It’s also commonly referred to as the “Meyers Scale.” (source) This chart is used today as an effective tool to evaluate treatments for various diseases within the bowel, and it’s also considered a useful “clinical communication aid.” (source) (source) Not to say that the chart does not come without criticism – the validity of it has been questioned before – but despite this fact it is still widely used and is believed to be an effective tool by many health professionals. Here is the chart: No stool is going to smell pleasant, but generally, healthy stools have a common (not too foul) odor that is familiar. Stools that have unusually bad smells may be due to various medical conditions such as (source): For common causes of increased/decreased bowel frequency or diarrhea, you can click here. Ever since the medical industry switched over to chemical-based medicine, all we see being used are pills and medicines to combat various diseases, with very little emphasis placed upon the importance of diet.
There are of course herbal remedies you can take as well that help to improve your bowel movements and get you on your way to good health. But these should be combined with good diet as well. That being said, the modern day food industry itself is being questioned daily, with most of North American food being banned in other countries due to the high amount of harmful pesticides sprayed on them, combined with the fact that they are genetically modified. Science is now showing us that pesticide accumulation in the body is significantly (I emphasize “significantly”) higher when eating conventional foods compared to organic. You can read more about that here. “Most gastrointestinal problems can be prevented or resolved by making simple changes to your diet and lifestyle. If you aren’t achieving poo perfection, or if you don’t feel right, then look at the following factors and consider making a few changes.
These strategies will help reverse constipation or diarrhea, in addition to helping prevent recurrences.” – Dr. Joespeh Mercola Dr. Mercola outlines some tips for improving your bowel movements: Sources used: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/02/14/normal-stool.aspx#_edn6 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9299672 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs101510100019 http://www.cbc.ca/stevenandchris/health/poop-101 .
Read the full article at the original website
References:
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9299672
- http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs101510100019
- http://books.google.ca/books/about/Nursing_Diagnosis_Handbook_An_Evidence_B.html?id=DtvRkCbiJ9QC
- http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003132.htm
- http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/02/14/normal-stool.aspx#_edn7
- http://wholeyshit.com/
- http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/02/14/normal-stool.aspx#_edn6
- http://www.cbc.ca/stevenandchris/health/poop-101
