A study published in Cell reports medicine reveals that the frequency of stool considerably influences physiology and long -term health, with the best results linked to the stools of passage once or twice a day.
Previous research has suggested associations between constipation and diarrhea with higher risks of infections and neurodegenerative conditions, respectively.
But as these results were observed in sick patients, it is not clear if the irregular visits of the bathrooms were the cause or the result of their conditions.
“I hope that this work will open the spirit of clinicians a little with potential risks not to manage the saddle frequencies,” the main author Sean Gibbons told AFP for the Institute for Systems Biology, explaining that doctors often consider irregular movements as simply a “nuisance”.
Gibbons and his team collected clinical, lifestyle and biological data – including blood chemistry, intestinal microbiome, genetics and more – more than 1,400 healthy adult volunteers without sign of active illness.
The auto -declaced saddle frequencies were classified into four groups: constipation (one or two stool per week), low normal (three to six per week), high normal (one to three per day) and diarrhea.
When the stools persist for too long in the intestine, microbes exhaust the available fiber – which they close in beneficial short chain fatty acids – and closes proteins, producing toxins like p -creol sulfate and indoxyl sulfate.
“What we have found is that even in healthy people who are constipated, there is an increase in these toxins in the bloodstream,” said Gibbons, noting that these toxins are particularly heavy for the kidneys.
Fruit and vegetable key
In the event of diarrhea, the team found that clinical chemistry indicating inflammation and liver damage.
Gibbons explained that during diarrhea, the body excretes an excessive bile acid, which the liver would recycle otherwise to dissolve and absorb food fats.
Intestinal bacteria fermenting the fibers known as “strict anaerobics”, associated with good health have prospered in the “Goldilocks zone” of one or two poop per day.
However, Gibbons stressed that more research is necessary to define this optimal range more precisely.
Compensation, young people, women and those who have a lower body mass index tended to have less frequent stools.
The hormonal and neurological differences between men and women can explain the gap, said Gibbons, as well as the fact that men generally consume more food.
Finally, by combining biological data with lifestyle questionnaires, the team painted a clear image of those who generally fall into the Goldilocks area.
“It was to eat more fruits and vegetables, it was the biggest signal we saw,” said Gibbons, as well as drinking a lot of water, regular physical activity and a more dominant diet of plants.
The next research step could involve the design of a clinical trial To manage the stools of a large group of people, followed over an extended period to assess its potential in disease prevention.