Having bowel movements anywhere from three times a day to three times a week is generally considered normal. However, a new study has revealed that the frequency of your trips to the bathroom can provide significant insights into your long-term health.
According to the study published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, both frequent and infrequent bowel movements can have long-term health implications.
Researchers evaluated 1,400 healthy adults and discovered that those who pooped less frequently exhibited signs of decreased kidney function. Conversely, individuals who had bowel movements more often than average showed signs of impaired liver function.
Based on their bowel movement patterns, the participants were categorized into four groups: constipation (one or two bowel movements per week), low-normal (three to six bowel movements per week), high-normal (one to three bowel movements per day), and diarrhea.
The researchers then investigated the relationship between bowel movement frequency and various factors such as demographics, genetics, gut microbiome composition, blood metabolites, and plasma chemistries.
"The study showed that age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) were significantly associated with bowel movement frequency. Specifically, younger people, women, and those with a lower BMI tended to have less frequent bowel movements," the news release stated.
The researchers pinpointed the optimal bowel movement frequency, often referred to as the "Goldilocks zone," as occurring approximately once or twice daily. Individuals within this range tend to have fiber-fermenting gut bacteria, which are commonly associated with good health.
They also observed that people with fewer bowel movements have more microbially derived toxins in their blood due to protein fermentation in their guts. These toxins are linked to disease progression and higher mortality rates in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Similar metabolites are also associated with other chronic conditions, such as neurodegeneration.
"Prior research has shown how bowel movement frequency can have a big impact on gut ecosystem function. Specifically, if stool sticks around too long in the gut, microbes use up all of the available dietary fiber, which they ferment into beneficial short-chain fatty acids. After that, the ecosystem switches to fermentation of proteins, which produces several toxins that can make their way into the bloodstream," said Johannes Johnson-Martinez, the lead author of the study.
The study also suggests that to achieve the ideal frequency of bowel movement, eating a fiber-rich diet, ensuring better hydration, and exercising regularly would help.
"Overall, this study shows how bowel movement frequency can influence all body systems, and how aberrant bowel movement frequency may be an important risk factor in the development of chronic diseases. These insights could inform strategies for managing bowel movement frequency, even in healthy populations, to optimize health and wellness," said Dr. Sean Gibbons, corresponding author of the study.
