A constipation expert has shared a PSA regarding our poop habits – and even those of us going regularly need to listen up.
Nutritionist Roslyn Kent specialises in all things constipation and faecal health, and she says that many of us are having issues without even realising it.
In a TikTok which has gone viral with 490,000 views, the 29-year-old revealed that even if you are ‘going’ multiple times a day, you may still be constipated.
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According to the expert, it all depends on size, shape and texture.
But even if you are passing faeces several times a day, if the volume is small enough, there’s a problem.
“There are so many constipated women out there and not nearly enough education and awareness around how to address slow motility in a sustainable way that recommends more than just ‘take a laxative and eat more fibre’,” Roslyn, who is based in Vancouver, told What’s The Jam.
As a result, she shares informative videos with her 138,000 followers.
In the recent clip, Roslyn says: “This is to all of you who poop multiple times a day: you think that you’re not constipated because you’re very much regular, you’re going every day, but those bowel movements are all small, little pieces.
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“Whether they are hard, dry pebbles or they look like little Cheetos, or maybe they’re even tiny little sausages – there are many of them, but the volume is very small.
“You might be going 1-4 times a day, but they’re all very small.
“If these are the types of bowel movement that you are having, then it is very likely that you are backed up and constipated – shocking, I know.”
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Roslyn clarified that if you are passing large, sausage-shaped stools, there shouldn’t be a problem.
She recommends testing your transit time by consuming half a cup of corn at dinner time, and jot down when it appears in the toilet.
She warns: “If it’s not tomorrow [the following] morning, then you are backed up and constipated.
“You could still be pooping multiple times a day, it’s just that your gut is struggling to release a regular volume stool.”
Healthy bowel movements should include one “high volume” stool per day.
Roslyn, who has been working as a nutritionist for the past five years, added: “Constipation is complex and is multifaceted, but at the core, we’re looking at a microbiome and motility imbalance that requires the implementation of extensive dietary, lifestyle, and motility agent strategies.
“But the key is, they have to be realistic.
“I’m not about elimination diets and laundry lists of supplements.
“After working with hundreds of constipated women in my practice, it became clear to me that most women are told to take conventional laxatives as needed, for the rest of their life to manage their constipation.
“This is not only incorrect, but also misleading.
“I’m on a mission educate women about the various microbiome and motility focused strategies they can implement to not just manage their constipation, but retrain their gut and overcome slow motility for good.”
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