Pack Your Poop!

I got your attention! Ask any 4-year-old--not only is the word “poop” fun to say, it’s entertaining to talk about. Stool, waste, feces, excrement, bowel movement—these are all very professional synonyms, but I would choose poop over any of them, any time. Not only do we feel better when we do it, we cheer when our toddlers are successful at it. And they get a gold star on their sticker charts.  SO not fair.  

There really is a lot that can be learned from someone’s poop. Color, frequency, shape, consistency, and smell all tell a different story about what, and sometimes why, it is coming out of you. And, there are fewer daily discomforts that feel worse than when the poop…just…WON’T leave.

Now that you have all lost your appetites, let’s discuss National Nutrition Month and…WHATEVER it is that can possibly connect proper food consumption with poop.

When we eat, enzymes are released into the small intestine to help break down the food into nutrients that can be absorbed through its walls. Whatever cannot be used as a nutrient gets passed through the small intestine and into the large intestine (colon), where excess water is pretty much “sucked up” and reprocessed by the body.  Thank goodness this happens, or else your poop would run out as effortlessly as turning on the kitchen faucet. Enter fiber, a carbohydrate that has makeup so molecularly complex, it cannot be digested by the human body. Know what that means? Fiber is on the EZ Pass express lane that takes it straight through the small intestine and joins the rest of your poop in the large intestine to help “bulk” it up, but keep it soft, making it easier to eliminate from the body. But that is not the only benefit of fancy-pants fiber. It also feeds the good bacteria that we have just hanging out in our colons, allowing that bacteria to produce energy that is needed by the cells. Straining to pass hard poop can weaken intestinal walls and cause a number of lower digestive issues…so hurray for soft waste and peaceful poops! Fiber consumes extra water in the colon, causing it to expand and move a little slower (but smoother) straight towards the exit sign. This fiber feature aids in weight loss, as it makes you feel fuller. Fiber also has a cholesterol lowering component.  Cholesterol blindly jumps on the fiber express, riding all the way to its final destination—the commode! Fiber doesn’t just slow down digestion, it also slows down the release of glucose, or sugar, into the bloodstream. Good news for diabetics! It allows the body to better regulate the production of insulin, the hormone that is produced by the pancreas to control blood sugar levels. Fiber is pretty…Fantastic! Phenomenal! Fabulous! Fanciful! unForgettable!

Berries, apples, pears.

Leafy greens, legumes, potatoes with skin.

Almonds, pistachios, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds.

I just planned your next mega-fiber salad (minus the potatoes).

Eat fiber. Poop easy. And…

Be Well!

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