How Does a Bowel Movement Affect Your Feces/stool and Health?

A bowel movement is the final stop in which the leftovers from the digestive system such as your stomach, small intestine and colon absorbs fluids and nutrients from what you eat and drink, and eventually is moved along the digestive tract to help eliminate solid or semisolid waste out of the rectum and anus. The ideal time for a bowel movement is 20-40 minutes just after your meal as this helps stimulate bowel activity.

Bowel movements vary from one individual to another. Some will defecate 1-3 times a day, while others will just have bowel movements about 3 times a week. Often, 3 times a day is deemed to be normal but too many bowel movements in a day can be an abnormal and unhealthy sign. A healthy adult should move their bowels at least once a day.

Constipation

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When you are not active in physical activities, consuming dietary fibers, and/or are too dehydrated, you are more likely to suffer from constipation. It is common for a constipated person to experience uncomfortable bowel movements and also feelings of and/or bouts of bloating. This condition usually happens when waste substance remains too long in the colon, causing more and more water being absorbed from the waste which also means the feces/stool passes along the large intestine too slowly. The end result is of the feces/stool (due to constipation) being characterized by the dry, lumpy and hard feces/stool, which will cause difficulty, and is sometimes painful during defecation.

Abdominal pain/Spasms

Factors including environmental changes, change of seasons, stress or mental stress can sometimes worsen the digestive problem causing spasms or abdominal pain. This is particularly obvious for those who are suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

The term ‘abdominal pain’ or ‘spasms’ refers to a condition in which a segment of the colon contracts with much force and disturbs the normal passage of gas and feces/stool. This will in turn result in cramping, painful pressure and even bloating especially in the abdominal region. Under certain circumstances, persons who undergo this situation may also experience constipation, diarrhea, or both.

Normal Bowel Movement

When liquid waste has turned solid and at the right time becomes ‘heavy’ and ‘ripe’, it will be pushed along the colon passage to be eliminated out of the human body. This is a rule of thumb for a normal bowel movement. The feces/stool that is moving along the colon passage will cause the contraction of the muscles to help expel it out of an anus before it turns hard and dry. A normal bowel movement has been a healthy indicator for soft feces/stool that is easy-to-pass along the colon.

Diarrhea

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Diarrhea most commonly happens when the intestines and part of the body get infected. When this condition happens, the colon is unable to absorb water quick enough from liquid waste. The waste is then pushed out of the anus quickly and simultaneously, causing spasms within the muscles of the colon, and/or within the abdominal area. In other words, the feces/stool passes along the large intestine too quickly. When the feces/stool remains too short in the colon, the water is not able to be absorbed from the waste. Due to diarrhea, you will get mushy, loose, watery feces/stool.

You might be interested in my related articles:

• Are your feces healthy?
• Are your feces healthy? Two
• Is your feces/stool normal?
• Your child’s feces: healthy or unhealthy?
• what causes blood (or bright red blood) in your feces?
• Six worst and unhealthiest foods that can age your colon and stomach faster
• Is your urine healthy?
• Effective home remedies for treating hard feces/stool problems, constipation and irritable bowel movement
• What your feces tell about your health
• what your feces tell about your health (part 2)

Now, you can read more of my content at my health blogs HealthAssist and Care4yourhealth.

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