Extended reading:

Defecation is a normal behavior of human body, which is carried out almost every day. Five common misunderstandings about defecation:

Myth 1: It is best to defecate normally every day. Gastroenterologists believe that people will defecate from three times a day to three times a week if the feces are not too soft or too hard. In other words, regular defecation does not mean that you have to defecate every day, but to maintain a stable and consistent habit from beginning to end. Only when the frequency of defecation suddenly changes should attention be paid.

Myth 2: Shit should be smelly. Shit tastes bad, but it shouldn't be rancid. If the smell of stool is extremely unpleasant, it may be a sign of infection. If not controlled, it may develop into segmental enteritis, celiac disease or ulcerative colitis.

Giardia (a parasitic infection) is the cause of the bad smell of feces. If this happens frequently during defecation, you need to see a doctor.

In addition, it is normal and healthy for people to fart all day, because it is a natural by-product produced by intestinal bacteria when digesting food. However, like stool, the persistent stench of fart may be a sign of some serious diseases.

Myth 3: The colon needs good irrigation. In the long run, cleaning the colon is harmful to health. It can wash away both good bacteria and bad bacteria. To make matters worse, there are not many bad bacteria in the colon.

There are nearly 1000 kinds of bacteria living in the colon, which are helpful to the final stage of digestion, including absorbing water, fermenting dietary fiber and absorbing vitamins, especially vitamin K, vitamin B 1, B2, etc. In the process of cleaning colon, these beneficial bacteria and electrolytes are washed away at the same time. Moreover, the common side effects of colon cleaning include dehydration, rectal perforation, air embolism, blood infection, intestinal muscle out of control and so on.

Myth 4: Spending more time defecating is good for your health. It is not a good habit to sit on the toilet for a long time to defecate. First of all, sitting on the toilet for too long is easy to grow hemorrhoids, which will cause anal relaxation. Secondly, the tissues around the rectum that help control defecation are repeatedly stimulated, which will form an "anal pad"; It can cause hemorrhoids, or venous inflammation in this area. Many studies have also found that patients with hemorrhoids are more likely to stay in the toilet for a long time. The second is dirty. A large number of studies have shown that reading materials or using smart phones when going to the toilet can cause people to be contaminated by fecal bacteria.

Myth 5: More defecation and more weight loss. This view seems to conform to the laws of physics: more substances are excreted, and the weight will naturally be reduced. Actually, it's not. Many people drink laxatives or "slimming tea" in the hope of reducing calories through defecation. However, heat absorption mainly occurs in the small intestine, and laxatives are aimed at the large intestine or colon.