As a middle aged woman, I’m 55 going on 56, I have become slightly obsessed with the health of my body in ways that I previously wasn’t. One example of this is my colon health. As you know, I had my second full colonoscopy in January. Which resulted in a broken rib due to falling off the toilet on purpose due to the violent, horrible reaction to one of the bowel emptying drugs they had me take.
In case you’re wondering, which you likely are not!! My colon is in good health. They found two small polyps as they did five years ago, which they removed. That means I get to go back for another colonoscopy in five more years. One of my dearest friends suffers from constipation and after my colonoscopy the two of us were discussing poop and our colons, go figure. You really can talk about just about anything when you’re middle aged and close friends!
We were talking about the value of squatting when we poop and how in our Western culture, our toilets are designed for us to poop sitting down. I confess, I never really thought about any negative side effects of sitting down to poop, it’s just the way we do it here in the west. I’ve never had much constipation or other digestive challenges. Regular bowel movements are just that, regular for me.
That said, I have noticed a tiny bit of constipation since being on the Victoza, which I started on January 25th. Turns out constipation is a common Victoza side effect. Thankfully all my running, swimming and biking plus all the fiber I eat (as part of the normal foods I eat everyday) helps keep things moving despite some mild constipation.
The conversation with my friend got me thinking and per my usual style, I decided to do some deeper research. Turns out squatting while pooping is darn good for our colons. Squatting allows the rectum to straighten out and this allows you to empty your bowels more completely without straining. Imagine the ease! I was convinced.
I went right over to Amazon and immediately purchased myself a Simple Toilet Stool by Squatty Potty. It might be psychosomatic, or it might be real, either way, I love this simple stool that fits tightly to the toilet and thus doesn’t get in that way at all. In the two weeks I’ve owed this little piece of plastic that fits the toilet, I can tell I am pooping effectively.
The video above is silly and fun and the video below is actually super helpful. The woman speaking is a physical therapist from Australia and she makes excellent points and teaches us how to eliminate (polite way to describe pooping!)
Do you squat when you poop?
Daring question I know! Polite midwesterners don’t publicly discuss bowel movements, but hey, we ALL poop, might as well discuss it. And heck, it’s healthy to squat! I’m not tall enough to squat on our toilet, so the Squatty Potty makes all the difference.
Let me know about your colon health! Yes, that’s an invitation to discuss your bowel health.
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I have not used a squatty potty, but like you I eat a lot of fiber so I don’t have a problem usually. The “moo” method looks very interesting!
Glad you checked it out Brenda! And way to go on eating lots of fiber!! I totally agree, the “moo” method is interesting AND helpful!!!
The squatty-potty!!! Way to normalize a conversation that can help everyone have better colon health and hence better health overall. So much research is coming out relating gut health to our mental health. Our microbiome is a second brain and manufactures up to 95% of our Serotonin which helps regulate our brain and balances it out against depression. There is also a lot of research regarding fecal implants and probiotics to help fight chronic conditions. It’s all new and cutting edge research that can lead to better colon health! There is an article in APA.org titled ‘That Gut Feeling’ that has a lot of information about current research efforts and outcomes on their research, as well as what will be coming related to poop and colon health! Thanks Mari!