A really crappy problem for your body

We've all got that friend who's never at a loss for a bathroom joke.

And although we all laugh, for a great many people, digestive and elimination issues are no-go. Literally.

I realize no one likes discussing their bathroom habits and schedule, but the bottom line is avoiding the issue will only increase the problem.

About 25 years ago, my youngest had a blocked colon. She had been complaining of stomach pains for quite a while but because she was having a bowel movement everyday, doctors would not do the x-ray necessary to take a peek inside. That was until she started waking up in the middle of the night in pain.

When they finally did take a look, there was, “more than we'd like to see in there,” which, given what they prescribed to help clean her out, was code for, “We did not expect this.”

I share that to say one normal-looking bowel movement per day doesn't always mean things are as normal as they should be on the inside.

Think about it. Every time you take in food, your body extracts the nutrients and good stuff it needs to send out to your body and discards the crap. It's literally your body's version of taking out the trash.

What happens when you get lazy and the trash can doesn't get taken out when it should? It can start to smell, it's hard to put any more garbage in, and when you do, you've got to stretch the bag to make it all fit. When you do decide to finally take out the trash, it's really hard to pull that bag out of the can because the amount of trash going in hasn't stopped, and in order to fit, it ended up getting packed in there.

Your body's not so different. Gas, bloating, harder, fewer and more difficult poops that keep you in the bathroom longer trying to pass them are all signs your “trash” needs to be taken out, and you probably shouldn't wait. It’s not a pretty visual but you get the point. It's important not to get lazy with the things that keep your body taking out the trash consistently. FYI, that's gonna be more than just once per day.

Surprisingly, when I discuss with clients their number one and number two bathroom habits, many view taking a trip to the bathroom as an inconvenience, annoying and something that gets in the way of what's happening in their day. Some will purposefully avoid drinking water or eating anything at all in order not have to ask the person beside them on a plane to let them out to go to the bathroom, not to stop for a break on a road trip or not to use the bathroom at the grocery store.

Are you really saving time or being any more productive by not taking out your “trash”? Continuing to pack more in so that when you finally do decide it's time to dump it out, it takes a lot longer and is more difficult to try and get that trash bag out, if you can even get it all?

The more often that happens and the longer toxic trash hangs around inside your body, the more inflammation you'll have and the greater havoc it will wreak with your health. A pretty crappy situation for sure.

Inflammation is the root cause of all disease. You'll never be able to eliminate it entirely, but doing everything you can to keep inflammation to a minimum, like doing things to support a good pooping environment, reduces your risk of disease.

Cleaning up a crappy diet is just about the simplest and most effective way to bring down inflammation and gets things moving again. Choose whole, single ingredient foods and ditch the packaged and fast options 80 to 90% of the time. The more often you eat fast food, the slower your digestion and elimination will be. Choose organic and non-GMO whenever possible. Sprays, pesticides and herbicides are toxins and disrupt your body's systems.

Eat small, balanced meals that include a clean protein, fruit and/or veggie carbs, together with a healthy fat frequently throughout the day. Your body can only properly take in and metabolize a certain amount of food at a time and giving it too much will fill up that garbage can more quickly.

Replace coffee, soda, juice and alcohol with water 80 to 90% of the time to keep your body properly hydrated and consistently flushing out toxins.

Fill in your nutritional gaps. Soil is depleted, produce is harvested before it's ripe, food just doesn't have the nutriitonal value it did a few generations ago. In order to get the vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients your body needs, you'd need to eat between 13 and 15 servings of fruits and veggies every day. Most are lucky if they get in four to six per day, creating gaps in nutrition that need to be filled.

Our bodies are not designed to live in disease, they are designed to heal. And when you give it what it needs consistently, it will thrive and you get to enjoy optimal health and feel great.

For more information on gut how to improve health email [email protected] to request a free video.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.