The truth ABOUT POO

Taking a look in the toilet could be good for your health

- SAMANTHA WOOD

Hands up who’s a bit squeamish about looking in the loo? You might not relish taking a glance at what you’ve left behind in the bowl, but checking out any changes in your poo can indicate if you’re drinking enough water and eating enough fibre. It can basically give an important insight into your overall health.

In a final message before losing her battle with bowel cancer last year, Dame Deborah James, pictured left, urged people to ‘take risks, love deeply and check your poo – it could just save your life’. Changes in bowel habits can also give us hints of serious medical conditions, which may require treatment. So here’s what to look out for, when you should see your doctor and what your poo may be saying about you.

What is it?

Poo is just your food coming out, right? Well, not entirely. Faecal matter is 75% water and 25% solid debris, consisting of food waste, toxins from the liver and dead blood cells. Digestion health expert Michelle Geraghty-Corns* explains that a ‘healthy’ poo is a ‘soft and formed bowel movement, typically brown in colour’ but ‘if food passes too quickly or slowly through our system, it can impact the size, colour and texture’.

STRANGE STOOL? DON’T PANIC!

Before you worry, consider what you’ve eaten. Red wine, beetroot and food colouring can all affect the colour of your poo, turning it black, dark red and sometimes even green.

KNOW YOUR TYPE