Bowel movements:
Seven reasons why they're good for you

Going to the bathroom should be a part of your daily routine. It's also a good health practice because:

1.You eliminate waste and toxins from the body. (So much better than keeping it all trapped inside)

2. You lower your risk of developing colorectal cancer, one of the most common types of cancer in industrialized countries.

3. You lower your risk of experiencing irritable bowel syndrome, chronic constipation, and chronic diarrhea.

4. You have less risk of developing hemorrhoids.

5. Less gas production.

6. More efficient absorption of water and minerals.

7.A feeling of lightness, comfort, and well-being in your abdominal region.

What you can do to ensure healthy BMs

1. Eat healthy, nutritional meals.  Eat plenty of vegetables, fruit and whole grains. Avoid junk food, dessert, sugar, fried foods, and white flour.

Eating nutritional food stimulates the receptors in your stomach that are responsible for triggering normal and mass peristaltic waves throughout your small and large intestines. These natural contractile waves promote regular movement of waste material through your colon and rectum.

Also, eating nutritional food allows significant boluses (roundish masses) of waste materials to travel together through your colon, turn into well formed stools, and get eliminated from your body in an efficient manner.

2. Don't suppress the desire to go.

If you regularly suppress the urge to have a bowel movement, waste materials spend more time than is optimal in your colon, causing excessive dehydration of these materials and formation of hard stools.

3. Drink plenty of water and eat water-rich foods.

Water helps to move waste materials along, and is absorbed throughout the entire length of your colon. Insufficient water intake can cause stools to form far before waste materials reach your rectal pouch, which can cause constipation.

This doesn't necessarily mean that you need to drink several glasses of water per day. If you eat plenty of water-rich plant foods, then you can rely on your sense of thirst to dictate how much water to drink.

4. Eat fiber-rich foods regularly such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains.

Fiber adds bulk to the boluses of waste material that travel through your large intestine, and this bulk is essential to your colon's ability to turn waste materials into well formed stools.

5. Take vitamin D. Optimal vitamin D status significantly lowers your risk of developing all types of cancer, including colorectal cancer.

6. Take vitamin A.  The glands that line the mucosal lining of your colon are responsible for releasing mucous that is needed to lubricate your feces; vitamin A is needed to maintain the health of these specialized cells that release mucous. It's best to ensure adequate vitamin A status by eating healthy foods that contain vitamin A.

7. Eat plenty of healthy fats, such as avocados, organic eggs, olives, extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil, coconuts, raw nuts, raw seeds, and cold-water fish.

All of your cells, including those of your large intestine and nervous system, require a constant influx of undamaged fatty acids and cholesterol to remain fully functional. If you don't ensure adequate intake of healthy fats, your nervous system and the smooth muscles that surround your digestive passageway - both of which are responsible for creating peristaltic waves throughout your digestive tract - may deteriorate in function.

Also, intake of healthy fats is necessary for optimal absorption of fat-soluble vitamin A, which, as mentioned above, is critical to building and maintaining the mucosal lining of your colon.

8. Build and maintain a population of friendly bacteria in your digestive tract.

Large populations of friendly bacteria can keep your digestive tract clean and healthy by:

•Promoting optimal digestion, thereby preventing build-up of toxic waste materials.

• Taking up space and resources, thereby helping to prevent infection by harmful bacteria, fungi, and parasites.

9. Strive for emotional balanced with exercise, proper nutrition and stress reduction.

Stress can interfere with your ability to clean your colon through its effect on your enteric nervous system. If you have a challenge with colon and rectal health, I encourage you to take a careful look at ways that you can minimize the amount of stress and anxiety you experience.

Closing Thoughts On Having Healthy BMs

Remember that healthy bowel movements are very important. Chronic constipation is the single greatest cause of having an unclean and unhealthy colorectal region because over time, constipation causes your bowel walls to face excessive pressure. This pressure is created by you straining to go and by your colon walls creating stronger contractions to help eliminate hard stools.

Excessive pressure on your colon walls can cause little pouches called diverticuli to form. Sometimes, small bits of waste material can get lodged in diverticuli, which can lead to diverticulitis and other potentially serious health challenges.

Sometimes people ask, "how many bowel movements should I have daily?" As a rule of thumb, if you eat two meals a day, you should have two BMs a day.

However, the number of BMs you have isn't as important compared to the quality of each movement. If you focus on making food and lifestyle choices that produce comfortable bowel movements, you can have peace of mind in knowing that your colon and rectum are in likely in good health.