As with sleep, there is a healthy frequency to aim for in order to stay healthy, the study reports.
Going to the bathroom is essential, but is there an optimal number of trips to the toilet per day? According to a new study published Tuesday, July 16, the frequency of bowel movements does significantly influence long-term health. And their optimal number has been scientifically determined: once or twice a day.
Previous work has linked constipation to infections, and diarrhea to neurodegenerative diseases. But because these observations were made in sick patients, it is difficult to determine whether irregular trips to the bathroom were the cause or the consequence of these diseases.
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Sean Gibbons, lead author of the new study published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, said he hopes it “opens the minds of health professionals a little to the potential risks of poor management of stool frequency”. Too often, doctors dismiss irregular bowel movements as a simple «nuisance»he regretted to AFP.
He and his team collected clinical and lifestyle data from 1,400 healthy adults, including blood samples, genetic information, and information about their gut microbiome. Participants self-reported the average frequency of their bowel movements, and were categorized into four groups: constipation (once to twice a week); low normal (three to six times a week); high normal (one to three times a day); and diarrhea. When stool sits in the gut too long, microbes deplete available fiber and begin fermenting proteins, producing toxins.
“What we found is that even in healthy people who are constipated, there is an increase in these toxins in the bloodstream.”said Sean Gibbons. In the case of diarrhea, researchers found chemical indications of inflammation and liver damage. In this case, the body secretes excess bile acid.
Fruits and vegetables
People who had (large) bowel movements once or twice a day had more beneficial gut bacteria, the study found. Known as strict anaerobic bacteria, these ferment fiber. Demographically, younger people, women, and people with lower body mass indexes tended to have fewer bowel movements.
Hormonal and neurological differences between men and women may partly explain these differences, he said, as well as the fact that men tend to eat more. By combining biological and lifestyle information, the researchers also sought to determine what habits the participants who appeared healthier had.
“Eating more fruits and vegetables is the most important signal we saw.”according to Sean Gibbons. As well as drinking plenty of water and exercising regularly. For the researcher, the next step could be to design a clinical trial observing the frequency of bowel movements of a large number of people, and then following them over a long period of time to observe the possible development of diseases.
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