Why Poop Matters

A change in color is generally not serious, as it is often caused by the foods you eat. However, a red stool could mean you have inflammatory bowel disease, hemorrhoids, polyps, or other sources of bleeding in your digestive tract.

Black or very dakr stools could mean you have bleeding higher up in your digestive tract. Of course, colors could also be explained by the foods you eat- so don't get too worried if you ate something of that color. Crohns Disease, iron supplements and Pepto Bismol can cause black stools as well. Always talk to your doctor for medical advice and to determine the best course of action. But your stool can impact more that just your gut:

Emerging research suggests: The state of the GI tract affects the quality of this messaging from gut to brain.

So if your gut is unhappy, you might notice psychological and cognitive problems such as:

brain fog
anxiety, depression or other mood disorders
ADD/ADHD

You may also have other physical problems such as:

trouble controlling your weight
asthma and allergies
autoimmune disorders
skin conditions (e.g. rashes, acne)
arthritis / joint inflammation
heart disease
neurodegenerative disease
narcolepsy or other sleep disorders
migraines
kidney problems
These can make it hard to be yourself and be happy.

But one gastronomic casualty of the Westernisation of our diets has been fibre. A typical Westerner may consume as little as 12-15g of fibre per day. While no upper limit for daily fibre intake has been defined, healthy Australians are recommended to consume at least 30g of dietary fibre per day, with around 15-20g of that comprising resistant starch.

However, if you have gastrointestinal symptoms – such as an upset stomach, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea – fibre may not always help. You may need to carefully consider the type of fibre you consume, with the help of your doctor.

It's important to realize the importance of gut health for the body. But one way you can improve is by using Crappsy, to track your bowel movements and improve them to get to a healthy level- which can be hard with many of our diets.