Can having frequent bowel movements help you lose weight?

Many people think that having bowel movements more frequently can help them lose weight and become lighter. In fact, this is an unscientific approach. If you want to lose weight, what you really need to cut out is the fat in your body, not the digestive matter in your intestines. In addition, people still have many misunderstandings about the frequency of bowel movements and the specific circumstances of bowel movements. Below, I will introduce in detail some of the misconceptions people have about defecation.

Myth 1: Daily bowel movements are normal and best

Gastroenterologists believe that it is normal for people to have bowel movements from three times a day to three times a week, as long as the stool is not too soft or too hard. That is to say, regular bowel movements do not mean that you should have bowel movements every day, but rather maintain a stable and consistent habit from beginning to end. Only sudden changes in bowel movement frequency should be cause for concern.

Myth 2: Poop should stink

The smell of stool is not pleasant, but it should not smell rancid either. If your stool has an extremely foul odor, it could be a sign of an infection, which, if left unchecked, could lead to Crohn's disease, celiac disease, or ulcerative colitis.

Giardiasis (a parasitic infection) is what can make your stool smell even worse. If this happens frequently during bowel movements, you need to see a doctor.

Additionally, it is normal and healthy for people to fart throughout the day as it is a natural byproduct of the digestion of food by intestinal bacteria. However, like poop, persistently foul-smelling farts could be a sign of some serious medical condition.

Myth 3: The colon needs to be flushed well

In the long run, colon cleansing is very harmful to your health because it flushes out good bacteria along with the bad bacteria, and what's worse is that there aren't many bad bacteria in the colon.

There are nearly 1,000 species of bacteria living in the colon, which help with the final stage of digestion, including absorbing water, fermenting dietary fiber, and absorbing vitamins, especially vitamin K, vitamin B1, B2, etc. During the colon cleansing process, these beneficial bacteria and electrolytes are flushed out at the same time. Furthermore, common side effects of colon cleansing include dehydration, rectal perforation, air embolism, bloodstream infection, and loss of the ability to control bowel muscles.

Myth 4: Taking more time to defecate is good for your health

Sitting on the toilet for a long time to defecate is not a good habit. Firstly, sitting on the toilet for too long can cause hemorrhoids, which can cause the anus to relax, followed by repeated irritation of the tissues around the rectum that help control bowel movements, which can form "anal cushions"; it can lead to hemorrhoids, or inflammation of the veins in this area. Several studies have also found that people with hemorrhoids are more likely to spend a long time on the toilet. The second is dirty. Numerous studies have shown that reading material or using smartphones while on the toilet can lead to people becoming contaminated with fecal bacteria.

Myth 5: More bowel movements lead to more weight loss

This view seems to be consistent with the laws of physics: more substances are excreted from the body, and weight is naturally reduced. In fact, this is not the case. Many people take laxatives or drink "slimming tea" hoping to lose calories through bowel movements. But calorie absorption occurs primarily in the small intestine, whereas laxatives target the large intestine, or colon.