There is one toilet related thing you are doing which can have some serious consequences to your health.
It’s no secret that your body operates like clockwork, and anything you can do to disrupt this will have a negative effect.
This one thing that a lot of people do can actually cause things like constipation, which isn’t great news for you later in life.
According to GI MD, the most common issue related to this habit might be caused by beginning to do it during childhood.
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Then, as an adult, you might continue doing it if you work in an office surrounded by people and are too busy with work to take that much-needed bathroom break.
This common issue is called ‘voluntary withholding’ and it’s when you have the urge to release your bowels but you ignore it.
We’ve talked about the colour of poop and the warning signs as well as the certain type of poo, and now it’s time to talk about holding poop.
Sydney gastroenterologist Professor Peter Katelaris told news.com.au (via the New York Post) that office workers might do this to avoid going to the toilet in the building.
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“People may try and override the urge to pass a bowel motion,” Professor Katelaris said.
They added: “Some people do this as they may consider it inconvenient or embarrassing to go to the toilet during a busy day at work. Others don’t like to use a shared public toilet, and much prefer to use their own toilet, so suppress the urge which then passes.”
The worst part is that when they have time to go to the toilet, they might strain to push it out, even though they have no urge to go anymore.
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The professor shared how this habit can ‘cause bloating, fullness, and discomfort as they become constipated’.
Professor Katelaris shared that if you need to go, you should be using that time to poop.
He said: “Some people expect their bowels to open when they want them to, typically after breakfast and before work.
“They sit in hope and expectation, sometimes for a long time, waiting for something to happen.”
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If you do this, you can develop fissures and haemorrhoids.
As per the NHS, fissures are a split in the skin which can be painful, whereas haemorrhoids are swollen veins in your lower rectum.
However, don’t think that just because your body isn’t providing you with urgency as much as others that you need to force yourself to poop when it’s not needed.
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The professor said: “What is normal for one person may not be normal for another. In general, the majority of adults open their bowels between three times a day and three times a week.”
If you find that you’re not going very frequently, there are things you can do to help.
So, you think there’s a problem or you’re finding it very difficult to go to the toilet, make sure to get yourself checked out, as it’s one sign of bowel cancer.
He explained that eating a balanced wholefood diet with minimal ultra-processed foods and fibre is the best way to regulate yourself.
Ultra-processed foods, or UPFs have been linked to an uptick in colon cancer diagnosis in Gen Z.
He added: “If a diet contains mostly low fibre, processed and ultra-processed foods, it is much more likely that bowel function will be affected – as well as lots of other potential downsides to our health.”
You should also aim to drink more fluid, and you’ll know if you need to increase your water if your ‘urine is dark’.
All in all, allowing your body to guide you is the best way you can live.
Britt Jones