The poop on bowel movements

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Updated: November 16, 2011 1:35AM

Believe it or not, the very thing our instincts and senses tell us to avoid is exactly what doctors want us to start observing. The color, shape and consistency of our bowel movements can give us good information about the health of our gastrointestinal tract, they say, and can yield important clues if there are problems.

“Inspection of stools is important. Any change from your normal should raise concern,” said Dr. Richard Rotnicki, a Morris Hospital gastroenterologist. “You should look for size, shape and consistency and whether there’s any blood in it. If you don’t look, you won’t see it.”

According to the website of Dr. Mehmet Oz, who has featured the subject of “poop” during his daytime television talk show, “Dr. Oz,” doodies that are too watery can indicate an allergy to a food like milk or sorbitol. Caffeine and chocolate will “move things along more rapidly,” also.

If there is not enough fluid in the lower intestine, according to his site, the feces become harder and harder as they pass through the colon, which actively absorbs water from its contents. The resulting bowel movement will appear cracked.

Oz states the normal color for poop is brown or green.

Black can indicate bleeding in the upper GI tract, such as from an ulcer in the stomach or problems in the small intestine. Red can mean bleeding from the colon or hemorrhoids.

According to www.mayoclinic.com, stools that are finger- or pencil-thin may be a sign of bowel narrowing from colon cancer.

Colorectal cancer can also cause constipation, but the most common cause of constipation is a diet low in fiber, dehydration and such medications as antidepressants and narcotics.

Keeping regular

As most also know, traveling or going off a regular schedule can also cause constipation.

Being “regular,” though, is different for each person. Rotnicki said having bowel movements three times a day or three times a week are all normal. There is a wide range of normal there, he said.

“Going one time a day is not necessarily the norm,” he said. “You want to be on a low-fat, high-fiber diet for good colon health, then you will go with some regularity.”

Our Western diet does not contain enough fiber, Rotnicki said. He advises adults take in 30-35 grams fiber and drink about 2 liters of water each day.

Regular exercise is important to keep the bowels moving well, also, he said. People who are less active have less mobility in their bowels.

Trends vs. myths

Rotnicki doesn’t recommend laxatives unless stools are hard or pebbly or there is a feeling that not everything is coming out. Although before trying laxatives, he recommends increasing fiber in the diet. The body gets used to laxatives, he said, and they eventually lose effectiveness.

He debunks a recent trend in high colonics and enemas.

“There is absolutely zero evidence that these do any good,” he said. “There is absolutely no scientific basis for these procedures.”

The only thing they do, he said, is separate their patients from their money. They could also cause colonic perforations in unskilled hands, which is a serious medical emergency.

He does see some benefit in probiotics, though. One has shown to be helpful in re-populating intestinal flora that has been altered by antibiotics or illness. The probiotic VSL3 is the one that has been shown to work, he said.

“It can be good,” he said, “to establish a new equilibrium … to get back on track after antibiotics or for someone who has irritable bowel.”

Rotnicki also reminded that having a colonoscopy at the age of 50 is recommended as a screen for colon cancer.