By Heather Goodspeed Walters
Sometimes, it’s the simplest acts in life that are the hardest to get right. Read on to learn if you’ve been pooping the hard way all your life, and how to get your bathroom groove back.
Sometimes, it’s the simplest acts in life that are the hardest to get right. Read on to learn if you’ve been pooping the hard way all your life, and how to get your bathroom groove back.
The word “squatting“ brings all kind of visually enhanced ideas spring to mind: The act of trespassing, of working one's glutes, or maybe that one time you were in the woods and really had to go.It’s the latter iteration of the word that I’m focusing on here, and, as with so many things, it turns out that getting back to nature is the best way to go, literally and figuratively. Yes: That day in the woods, you were doing it right!
Right Angles
At the center of the latest studies focused on the intersection of our bowels, the bathroom, and health is the anorectal angle. This is the angle between the rectum (the lowest portion of the large intestine) and the anal canal. The larger, more open the angle is, the easier it is for fecal matter to pass. It has a straight shoot, as it were. X-ray studies have shown that the anorectal angle is open to about 130-150 degrees in the squatting position, whereas it diminishes to around 90 degrees while in the sitting position that our Western toilets require. Think about driving: It's the difference between a sharp turn, or meandering around a gentle, broad bend.
The “modern, civilized“ seated posture and the resultant narrowing, or kinking, of the anorectal angle causes unnecessary strain (studies show three times the strain) and difficulty fully emptying the bowels, both of which can contribute to a wide array of health issues.
Let's talk about straining. Yes, the grunting, the pushing, the bearing down. All of that effort taxes the cardiovascular system, as is demonstrated by the fact that patients in cardiac wards are given stool softeners to avoid this very thing. The circumstances of Elvis' demise come to mind. Straining also increases abdominal pressure and here we see a host of potential issues, all having to do with some sort of ballooning or over-stretching of structures: Hemorrhoids, colon protrusion (diverticulosis), and a tethering type of damage to pelvic floor nerves that supply the bladder, prostate, and uterus. Prolapsed uterus runs in my family, could my fate be altered with a simple squat?
Elimination Diet
The other facet of the seated bathroom posture is difficulty fully emptying the bowels, and here's where it gets interesting: Fecal build-up as cause of disease. Researchers postulate that incomplete evacuation may have just as much to do with colon cancer as lack of dietary fiber. Essentially, there is a build-up of waste products not only making the colon toxic, but resulting in a decrease of nutrient absorption as well. Taking it one step further, researchers are now studying whether there is a reflux, or backwash, of feces wherein the bacteria could cause such issues as appendicitis or inflammatory bowel disease.
The great news is that constipation, or even hard stools, are the last thing associated with a healthy, plant-based diet. Frequency and ease of defecation are practically synonymous with a diet high in fiber and low in animal protein, and there is some research showing that people in developing countries--where squatting toilets are the norm--have a larger volume of feces when they defecate compared to their Western counterparts. However, this could also be due to the fact that their diets are largely plant-based, with little to no meat or dairy products, which are known for their bowel-irritating and constipating effects.
Curious about conducting some of your own squatting experiments? There are a handful of “squatting stools“ available on the market. These stools run flush with your own toilet and provide a platform for your feet to put you in the desired squatting posture. My two favorites are the Squatty Potty Tao Bamboo model, or the beautifully designed Lillipad Squat Toilet Platform out of New Zealand.
Right Angles
At the center of the latest studies focused on the intersection of our bowels, the bathroom, and health is the anorectal angle. This is the angle between the rectum (the lowest portion of the large intestine) and the anal canal. The larger, more open the angle is, the easier it is for fecal matter to pass. It has a straight shoot, as it were. X-ray studies have shown that the anorectal angle is open to about 130-150 degrees in the squatting position, whereas it diminishes to around 90 degrees while in the sitting position that our Western toilets require. Think about driving: It's the difference between a sharp turn, or meandering around a gentle, broad bend.
The “modern, civilized“ seated posture and the resultant narrowing, or kinking, of the anorectal angle causes unnecessary strain (studies show three times the strain) and difficulty fully emptying the bowels, both of which can contribute to a wide array of health issues.
Let's talk about straining. Yes, the grunting, the pushing, the bearing down. All of that effort taxes the cardiovascular system, as is demonstrated by the fact that patients in cardiac wards are given stool softeners to avoid this very thing. The circumstances of Elvis' demise come to mind. Straining also increases abdominal pressure and here we see a host of potential issues, all having to do with some sort of ballooning or over-stretching of structures: Hemorrhoids, colon protrusion (diverticulosis), and a tethering type of damage to pelvic floor nerves that supply the bladder, prostate, and uterus. Prolapsed uterus runs in my family, could my fate be altered with a simple squat?
Elimination Diet
The other facet of the seated bathroom posture is difficulty fully emptying the bowels, and here's where it gets interesting: Fecal build-up as cause of disease. Researchers postulate that incomplete evacuation may have just as much to do with colon cancer as lack of dietary fiber. Essentially, there is a build-up of waste products not only making the colon toxic, but resulting in a decrease of nutrient absorption as well. Taking it one step further, researchers are now studying whether there is a reflux, or backwash, of feces wherein the bacteria could cause such issues as appendicitis or inflammatory bowel disease.
The great news is that constipation, or even hard stools, are the last thing associated with a healthy, plant-based diet. Frequency and ease of defecation are practically synonymous with a diet high in fiber and low in animal protein, and there is some research showing that people in developing countries--where squatting toilets are the norm--have a larger volume of feces when they defecate compared to their Western counterparts. However, this could also be due to the fact that their diets are largely plant-based, with little to no meat or dairy products, which are known for their bowel-irritating and constipating effects.
Curious about conducting some of your own squatting experiments? There are a handful of “squatting stools“ available on the market. These stools run flush with your own toilet and provide a platform for your feet to put you in the desired squatting posture. My two favorites are the Squatty Potty Tao Bamboo model, or the beautifully designed Lillipad Squat Toilet Platform out of New Zealand.
| Heather Goodspeed-Walters is a chiropractor, food photographer, marathon runner, wife, and mother. She has sustained a 75-pound weight loss for 18 years through healthy eating and is passionate about teaching others the joy and deliciousness of healthy foods. Dr. Heather lives, works, and yes, poops, from the rolling foothills of Northern California’s Sierra Nevada. She can be reached at drheather95959@gmail.com. |  |
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