Everything that comes out of your body carries information on what is going on inside your body. You just have to know how to read it. Taking a closer look at the color, odor, amount, consistency, and frequency of your body’s excretions can be quite informative.
So, let’s take a look at poop!
Color and odor are indicative of heat and cold in the body.
Heat is usually colorful, smelly, and burning. Cold excretions are pale, odorless, watery, and the stool may contain undigested foods.
Excess and deficiency will show in the amounts of excretions. Big amounts of excretions indicate excess or stagnation, small amounts indicate deficiency and also stagnation. Stagnations are further reflected in consistency and frequency.
Indicators of constipation (1):
- Size (big toilet-cloggers)
- Consistency (rabbit pellets, big logs, bumpy sausages)
- Pooping pellets, logs, or bumpy sausages, all of them hard, indicate constipation.
- Pooping mushy blobs, thin snakes, or soft-serve ice cream, indicate all is well. Pudding, a fresh cow patty, hummus is all good, too!
- Frequency (less than 3 times a week).
Constipation is very common
A rough estimate of 30% (or more) of children are chronically constipated!
When children retain stool, it accumulates, their rectum gets dilated and becomes overstretched. It then presses against the bladder and can lead to day and nighttime peeing accidents. Retained stool further gives the body time to reabsorb the toxins that should be eliminated. Once the toxins have reached the bloodstream, symptoms can manifest anywhere in the body. Headaches, skin problems, mood and behavioral issues, sleep problems, bedwetting can occur, and later lead to IBS, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis…
Easy home remedies to help with constipation
- Make sure to drink enough water. Dehydration is number one reason for constipation in kids.
- Make sure you walk, run, wiggle, jump, move a lot every day.
- Belly massages can also help move poop. Massage your belly in big circular movement clockwise around your belly button.
- Besides plenty of fruits and veggies, nuts and seeds also help to keep things moving.
- Avoid dairy, they cause more constipation.
- Put your feet on a little stool when sitting on the toilet, it is a better anatomical position for the poop to come out (nature intended for us to squat not sit on a toilet)
- Going to the bathroom always at the same time really helps, so work on establishing a routine (e.g. in the morning after breakfast)
Food is your best medicine!
Food plays a big role in regulating imbalances and toilet habits. For example, in order to balance heat signs, eat cooling, raw foods. In order to balance cold signs, eat cooked, warm foods. For constipation issues try this slight diet change and see for yourself and for your child how it can help regulate bowel movements.
Start every morning for 2 weeks with a spinach, banana, chia seed, frozen berry smoothie.
Record your observations
Fill out this questionnaire once before you start drinking the smoothies in the morning. Then do it again after 1 and 2 weeks. Compare and see the difference.
It is crucial that we help our children regulate their bowels now. It will prevent many health issues and save them lots of frustration and money in the future!
