Poop. A regular part of every human beings day, and something we avoid talking about like a taboo. This relegates any mention of it to crude euphemisms or snickering comments that no one really takes seriously. However, pooping right and pooping regularly are very important to our lives and our well being.
The digestive tract is one of the key mechanisms of the body, and can be the root cause of health concerns affecting multiple other aspects of that person’s life. While diet plays an important role in relation to consistent bowel movements, simply relying on what goes in isn’t enough. Recently scientists studied and tested people’s pooping habits and methods and the results they stumbled upon are potentially life changing! Apparentlymuch of the western world has been defecating ineffeciently for most of our history.
Sitting for long periods of time on the porcelain throne can take its toll on the body. That’s because all of that time spent removing buildup in your bowels can lead to such painful issues like hemorrhoids or blood vessels becoming swollen. Something as simple a small stool into the bathroom can make all the difference, by resting your legs on that stool it puts the body at a 35 degree angle, instead of the standard 90 degree sitting position most people assume when they sit down to do their business. This effectively means that you are in a squatting position on the toilet. The effectiveness of this method can be shown by describing the process that takes place prior to every bowel movement. Hold on to your butts, because here comes some science:
As food travels through the digestive tract, it will eventually reach the colon and get pushed against the puborecatlis muscle. An individual who sits down in the traditional way is only able to partially relax that muscle, which prevents a portion of the waste buildup from being removed. The risk of developing lingering problems alike colitis can increase with each bowel movement that fails to remove poop residue in this area of the body. In effect, this method helps straighten out the colon and flushes out the body like a sewage system.
The clearest evidence of how successful this pooping method is can be illustrated by the 1.2 billion people around the world who squat when defecting. In many developing nations people squat like this instead of using a regular toilet because that is how they’ve been doing it naturally for thousands of years. The incidence of conditions like diverticulosis and piles, are virtually non-existent in areas where squat-pooping is the norm. One study that was conducted in 2003 where 28 people were observed pooping in three different positions: one where they sat “normally” on a regular toilet; one in which they sat on a low toilet; and one where they squatted. Keeping track of how long and how much effort was required, the results showed that squatting was clearly the most efficient method for flushing the body of waste.
You don’t have to sell your toilet though. Try the stool method, and maybe even try going full-squat – test it out for yourself and see which method you think is the most effective.