What does your poo say about your health?

When you go to a doctor, there are a number of different tests that they can carry out on you in order to determine what your health issues are. One of the most telling of these tests, bar blood tests and the like, is the consistency of your stool. In fact, more often than not, the doctor will be able to analyze your poo right away. On this page, we are going to take a little look at a few of the things that your poo will say about your overall health. Remember, this is not a complete guide, but it will certainly point you in the right direction. Remember, your doctor should always have the final say on your health!

Frequency of your poo

Generally speaking, most people are going to pass a stool at least once a day. Some people may even have up to 2-3 stools a day. It doesn’t matter how much you poop, it just matters that you do it regularly. If you have an inconsistent regime, then there may be an issue! If you are passing a stool more than three times in a day, then there is also going to be an issue. This is something that you are going to need to talk to your doctor about!

The consistency of your stool

There are a lot of different ‘looks’ for your stool. If your stool is too watery or too hard to push out, there is a problem. If it breaks apart when it comes out, you have a problem. In an ideal world, you want a nice tubular shape to your poo. It is going to look something akin to a banana. You want it to come out nice and smoothly. There should be no ‘cracks’ in the stool. It should also not smell hideous. I know that poo has a bit of a reputation for smelling hideous, but if it comes out like that, then you have an issue.

Blood in your stool

Obviously, if there is blood in the stool, no matter how little, then you are going to have an issue. There is not much more that really needs to be said on this point.

Colour

The colour of your stool is going to matter. It needs to be a medium to dark brown color. If it is black, then that is a sign that there is blood somewhere in your digestive system. If it is yellow or green, then there may be a problem with your liver or gall bladder.

Does the stool sink or float?

The jury is still out on this one. Nobody really knows whether it is good for a stool to sink or float. Generally speaking, most doctors seem to be veering towards stools that sink as this gives an indication that you are getting a decent diet. However, this is not something that the doctor is really going to be testing for in any case. Therefore, you do not need to worry too much about it.