Bowel Movements

Regular bowel movements are very essential for good health and life itself. According to many medical experts, there should be minimum one bowel movement in a day. These same experts say that if you don't have at least 1 bowel movement per day, you will have increased incidences of diseases.

The fact is, bowel habits are different for everyone and can vary from day to day. For example, some people's bowels will move after every meal while for others it may be days apart.

Normal bowel movements may be three times a day or three times a week depending on the person. Some people will naturally have firmer stools than others. The thing is though, if you are having pain or discomfort with your bowel movements this is not normal. This should be discussed with your doctor.

This may be a good time to talk about our inability to discuss things like bowel movements or stool colors with your doctor. If a doctor or nurse has been in the medical field very long, they have seen and heard almost anything. You may be embarrassed to discuss a problem with your doctor, but if you don't, how will he or she know how to treat or even find your problem.

Normally stools will come in a range of colors. The color is influenced mostly by what you eat and what medications you take, among other factors. But if your stool has an unhealthy hue, particularly if it is pale or grayish in tone, you could have problems somewhere in your digestive tract. Normal bowel movement color and consistency varies from person to person, but most are a light brown in color and semi-soft in consistency.

Stools may be described as normal, infrequent, excessive, incomplete to soft or unusually hard. If stools are to hard or dry unusual straining may be required to achieve defecation. Normal stools are almost always round, but can be slightly different in shape. If the shape of the stool is to thin, this may an indicator that there is a slight blockage in the colon. This should be brought to the attention of a doctor.

Fiber is a carbohydrate and can help to stabilize glucose and cholesterol levels, but it is excellent to normalize the stool and bowel movements. If you are having difficulty in passing hard feces this is an indication that you need more fiber. Fiber and fiber laxatives contain complex sugars that are not digested or absorbed in the intestine. These sugars remain in the intestine and keep water with them. It will normalize the stool and prevent it from being too hard or too soft.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common complaints from people. It not fatal nor is it linked to the development of other serious bowel diseases. However, due to the chronic pain, discomfort, and other symptoms, work absenteeism and other negative quality-of-life effects can be common in the most serious cases. IBS is also referred to as spastic colon, mucous colitis, or nervous bowel.

Medically speaking, constipation is usually defined as fewer than three bowel movements per week and severe constipation is defined as less than one bowel movement per week. No matter how often our bowel movements occur, there should be no pain or discomfort. If you have doubt, see your doctor!