When we talk about gut health, it is not just about our stomach but it actually starts from the mouth and ends at the anus -- from what you eat to what you excrete. Talking about excretion, it is essential that you have healthy bowel movements, which means that you are able to easily evacuate your bowels every morning.
If you have watched the Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone-starrer ‘Piku’, you will be able to understand the agony and the desperation one can get to have a peaceful and healthy bowel movement. While the film focused on the case of an aged man, several people, including teenagers and young adults are suffering from intestinal disorders such as Irritable bowel syndrome, which is often due to an unhealthy lifestyle revolving around junk food, sitting all day and not being aware enough of one’s body.
Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar in a recent video explained that paying attention to your bowel movements is pretty important as they are a strong indicator of your digestive health. Your stool can actually reveal if you have a healthy, well-functioning body or if you are carrying signs of infection, digestive issues or other serious health problems.
The Bristol Stool Scale created by Ken Heaton, MD, from the University of Bristol in 1997, is a great tool to identify your stool type and whether it falls in a healthy category or not.
The seven categories, based on size and texture, are:
1. Hard, pebble like stool
2. Scaly stool which is hard and painful to pass
3. Well-formed, healthy stool with some cracks
4. Well-formed, healthy and smooth stool
5. Well-formed, soft and mushy stool
6. Soft stool which is not well-formed
7. Liquid stool
Stool types 1 and 2 are stools which have been sitting in the large intestine and colon for a long time and are a sign of constipation. Types 3 and 4 are a sign of healthy digestion and are considered the optimal form of stool. Your aim should be that your lifestyle should lead to a healthy stool, falling in types 3 or 4. Types 5 through 7 are in the large intestine and colon for the least amount of time and may indicate diarrhea.
How to fix your stool type and gut health
Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar shared the concept of ‘Paiyu-Vayu-Aayu’ in her video which can be explained as the link between your leg movement, the gas in your body and the length of your life. So if you stay active, then you will have minimal gastric issues and it will contribute to a healthier and longer life. Apart from this, for a healthy gut, you need to get a good night’s sleep and eat home-cooked foods which are natural and seasonal. Avoid any packaged products and include foods such as rice, legumes, pumpkin and curd in your daily diet. Lastly, remember to drink plenty of water for a happy and healthy gut.
