July 18, 2024 – Problems with bowel movements? Don’t just ignore them.
Irregular Bowel movement could lead on to major health problems over time, in line with a latest study of stool frequency in 1,400 healthy adults.
The study The researchers found that folks who've bowel movements a couple of times a day could have healthier gut bacteria than those that have bowel movements roughly regularly. At the identical time, participants with roughly frequent bowel movements – that's, those with constipation or diarrhea – had higher levels of blood markers linked to kidney, liver and neurodegenerative diseases.
“We argue that exposure to these molecules over time at higher concentrations in the blood poses a danger,” said the study writer Sean GibbonsPhD, microbiome researcher and associate professor on the Institute for Systems Biology, a nonprofit biomedical research organization in Seattle. “People should manage their stool frequency to be in a more normal range to avoid chronic stress that could predispose them to some of these chronic diseases.”
Because if waste takes too long or not long enough to go through the gut, it could possibly affect the best way the gut microbiome—the community of microbes in your gut—uses the nutrients out of your food, creating byproducts that might be harmful to your health.
“We are increasingly recognizing that metabolism related to our gut microbiome is one of the most important ways the microbiome communicates with the rest of our body,” said Dr. Christopher J. Damman, clinical associate professor of gastroenterology on the University of Washington Medicine, who was not involved within the study.
Previous studies have shown that the best way gut microbes break down food – and the molecules or metabolites they produce in the method – can affect an individual’s risk of Heart disease, diabetes, Liver disease, High blood pressureAnd Insulin resistance.
“This is a growing topic in microbiome science,” Damman said, “and really helps to figuratively and literally connect the dots and understand how an ecosystem of microbial organisms in the gut could have so many far-reaching consequences.”
Why the stool pattern is significant
Your gut microbiome helps you make higher use of the energy from food. For example, it could possibly digest fiber and make it available to us after we would otherwise not have the opportunity to access it ourselves.
Microbes use this fiber to provide short-chain fatty acidsthat are healthy for you because they reduce inflammation. But if the waste moves too quickly or too slowly, the microbes can't do their work.
At the slow end of the spectrum are individuals with constipationdefined within the study as one or two bowel movements per week. These participants had higher blood levels of p-cresol sulfate and indoxyl sulfate – substances related to kidney damage – than those that had more frequent bowel movements.
“If the feces take too long to pass through the intestines, all the fiber is used up and the microbes switch to protein fermentation,” Gibbons said. When microbes ferment protein, “they start producing these toxins like p-cresol sulfate or indoxyl sulfate.”
These toxins have already been linked to chronic kidney disease in addition to neurodegenerative diseases akin to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. In study participants, increased levels of indoxyl sulfate were related to reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate, a marker of the kidneys' ability to filter waste products.
Intestinal bacteria which can be deprived of fiber can even feed on the mucous layer that lines the intestine, eroding it and allowing bacteria and toxic metabolites to enter other organs.
If the waste moves too quickly – as in Diarrhea – soft stools flush out your colon before the bacteria have completely broken down the fiber into protective short-chain fatty acids, potentially resulting in inflammation.
Study participants who went to the lavatory 4 or more times a day had higher blood levels of markers linked to the chance of liver disease, including bilirubin, the yellowish pigment produced when the liver breaks down red blood cells. High levels of bilirubin within the blood could be a sign of liver or bile duct dysfunction, Gibbons said.
What you'll be able to do to balance your gut
If you may have bowel movements fewer than 3 times per week or greater than 3 times a day, check with your doctor about strategies to keep up bowel movement regularity, the researchers recommend.
“I think physicians should take bowel frequency more seriously as a clinical factor that needs to be actively treated,” Gibbons said.
An easy place to start out is the fruit and vegetable section.
“Eating more vegetables and fruits – whole foods – was associated with more normal stool frequency,” Gibbons said.
These foods are wealthy in fiber, which regulates bowel function, and polyphenols, which feed helpful gut bacteria. The U.S. government's dietary guidelines recommend consuming 14 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories, or about 28 grams per day. Any fruit or vegetable may also help: An avocado has 9 grams of fiber, a cup of raspberries has 8 grams, a banana has as much as 5 grams, and a cup of broccoli has 2 grams.
Keep in mind that symptoms like bloating and diarrhea may temporarily worsen whenever you start eating more fiber as your gut bacteria adjust. “In some cases, it's just a matter of calibration,” Damman said.
However, if problems persist otherwise you notice a sudden, unexplained change in your toileting habits, check with your doctor, Damman advises.
One of the explanations Gibbons began researching this topic is that he and a colleague each had a relative who had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease after years of chronic constipation.
“Our families learned that both individuals had suffered from chronic constipation for decades before they even showed symptoms of neurodegeneration,” Gibbons said. “This is well known in the literature… People who develop Parkinson's disease are much more likely to have chronic constipation.”
However, these studies cannot prove that chronic constipation actually Causes Parkinson’s – they'll only prove a connection.
“Perhaps the disease itself can affect gut motility,” Gibbons speculated. “Many neurotransmitters can affect the speed of bowel movements. But we suspected that even in a healthy population, the microbial metabolism that might be causing some of this organ damage is in a forward direction and actually causally affecting the body.”
Next, Gibbons hopes to acquire funding for further research to observe how people reply to interventions to regulate irregular bowel movements.