Go ahead and laugh!! But let’s face facts. Millions of people suffer from a variety of colon problems. Some of these problems are merely inconvenient, some are painful, and some are deadly. Millions of other people will eventually have colon problems. So colon health should be a concern of everyone and one of the best indications of colon function is to be found in the nature of the stools each of us produce.

What does a "healthy stool” look like? The answer surprises most people. A truly healthy individual, with a truly healthy colon, eating foods we were meant to eat, produces a stool that is typically a medium brown color, 1 to 1½ inches in diameter, about as long as a banana, well formed, almost odorless, and moves through the anal passage without any straining. It should be just firm enough to hold it’s shape but should start to "fall apart” shortly after hitting the water.

You might see such a stool from infants, young children, even our dogs, but most adults rarely have such stools on a regular basis. Age, poor diet, not enough vegetables, not enough water, lack of exercise, too much stress, and too much red meat–to name a few causes– have all had their degenerative effects. The stools, produced just aren’t what they use to be. But let’s try to understand what specific conditions might be causing certain stools.

You should go at least once in the morning and once after each meal. Yes..you heard right. THREE to FOUR times a day would be ideal.

Type of Stool Often Seen

• "Rock Hard” Stools Constipation, diets low in roughage and/or water, sedentary individuals, persons who ignore body signals for defecation.
• Poorly Formed Stools Diarrhea, diets with too much roughage, colons with too little muscle tone, poor food combinations and/or food allergies.
• Thin or Ribbon Stools Spasms or obstructions any place from the descending colon thru the anal passage, tightly coiled sigmoid colon, enlarged prostate.
• Floating Stools High fat diets, person with poor absorption or digestion or fats, high mucus conditions.
• Mucus Stools Irritated colons, ulcerative colitis diets high in mucus producing foods, (milk, cheese, etc.), with food allergies or sensitivities.
• Foul Smelling Stools Poor digestion, poor food combinations, meat and dairy, wrong bacteria in colon, increased colon transit times (when you don’t go often enough the food is in the digestive tract too long and starts decomposing in the body releasing toxins in the process. The toxins start getting absorbed back into the body)
• Red Blood in Stools Hemorrhoids, bleeding in the lower intestinal tract.
• Black stools Bleeding in stomach or small intestines, ingestion of too much iron, bismuth, certain berries or beets.
• Green stools Problems with the production and conversion of bile, a lot of chlorophyll (greens) being consumed
• Light colored stools Insufficient bile production, or gall bladder obstructions, large quantities of milk