Have you ever wondered how poop is made? Everybody poops but what exactly are these brown things that fall into the toilet water? Keep reading to learn more about how food becomes poop.
From Food to Poop
BBC / Via media.giphy.com
It all starts with the food we put in our mouths. Then the digestive system goes to work.
- The Mouth. Digestion begins as soon as we put food in our mouth and chew it into small pieces.
- Throat. When you swallow this chewed-up food, it goes down the throat which serves as the door to the esophagus.
- Esophagus. The esophagus is a muscular tube connecting the throat to the stomach. It will perform a series of wave-like muscle contractions called peristalsis, which will bring the food through our digestive tract.
- Stomach. The stomach is a sac-like organ that has strong muscular walls that mix and grinds food. Our stomach secretes enzymes and acids that continue breaking down the food and by the time it leaves the stomach, it is already in a paste or liquid form.
- Small Intestine. From the stomach, this food paste/liquid goes to the small intestine. The small intestine is a long tube loosely coiled in the abdomen that continues the process of breaking down food by using the enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the liver. Bile is a compound that helps digest fat and eliminate waste products from our blood.
- Large Intestine. Also called the colon, the large intestine is a muscular tube that connects the first part of the large intestine down to the rectum (where the poop exits). Waste passes through the colon by means of contraction in a liquid or pasty state until it becomes a solid form as water is removed from it. The stool is stored in the colon until the body is ready to release it to the toilet.
When the lower part of the colon gets filled with stool, it gets eliminated through pooping.
What is Poop Made of?
Poop is what’s left over after the food we eat goes through the digestive process. The body takes the nutrients it needs and leaves the rest for the toilet.
The stool itself is mostly composed of food debris and bacteria, the latter of which synthesize various vitamins, process food particles and waste products, and protect the body against harmful bacteria. Yes, these are lovely gut bugs.
Poop is made up of about 75 percent water and 25 percent solid matter. That 25% of solid matter is broken down as follows:
- 30 percent dead bacteria;
- 30 percent indigestible food matter;
- 10 to 20 percent cholesterol and other fats;
- 10 to 20 percent of inorganic substances like calcium phosphate and iron phosphate,
- 2 to 3 percent is protein.
How to Have Healthy Poops
TV One / Via media.giphy.com
Speaking of the digestive tract, if you’ve been reading ourblog, you will know how much we advocate taking care of the gut and keeping it healthy. That’s because our body’s immune system is dependent on our gut health as it acts as our second brain.
To take care of our digestive tract, (and also to have pleasant poops), we need to eat foods that are good for the gut like eating a variety number of food types to achieve a healthy diverse microbiome, like fruits and vegetables.
And get your fiber! Doctors agree that a high-fiber diet is a great way to support your gut health. Fiber comes with many health benefits like regulating the body’sblood sugar andcholesterol levels, lowering inflammation in the body, increasing healthy gut bacteria, and helping you digest better. Fiber is that amazing!
Examples of high-fiber foods that are good for our gut are apples, bananas, raspberries, artichokes, green peas, broccoli, beans, and whole grains.
It's hard to get enough fiber daily via diet alone. The good news is you can get additional fiber from a fiber supplement like Bonny.
Bonny Makes Pooping Easy
Bonny is an all-natural prebiotic fiber powder that helps you have a pleasant pooping experience. Bonny contains a custom blend of psyllium husk and prebiotic inulin to help with digestion and support gut health.
Bonny is vegan, gluten-free, and fab. The best part is that Bonny tastes so good plus it comes in fabulous flavors like Apple Pie and Mixed Ripe Berries. Take Bonny daily and you’re on your way to sweet relief!
As always, we wish you pleasant poops!
