Before we begin

It’s important to understand why potty perfection is crucial to your wellbeing. While you don’t need to be an expert, knowing the information on this page will greatly increase your awareness… and willingness to improve.

It’s so much more than just avoiding bloating and painful poops (although those are both good reasons).

Wikipedia has a great overview ofthe GI tract if you’re curious about what’s under the hood.

Take out the trash!

The world around us has a way of demonstrating why movement and flow are vital for health. Picture a running stream vs a standing pond? Which would you rather drink from?

Or what would happen if you plugged the exhaust pipe on your car?

The answers are pretty obvious.

Crapping is our way of eliminating what your body can’t use. More importantly, it’s the primary escape route for toxic waste that was filtered out through your liver. The longer your poop remains inside your body, the more difficult it is to contain the “bad stuff.”

Needless to say, the more efficient you are at pooping – the better. Pretty simple really. But you’d be amazed how many people have no idea what potty perfection really looks like (more on this here).

Goldilocks & potty perfection

One of the primary functions of the colon is to reabsorb water into your body. Digestive matter remains fairly liquid until it reaches the large intestine. At that point, bacteria (where the brown color originates) helps the fecal matter solidify as water is being pulled out – resulting in a solid poo. But what happens when this process malfunctions? Bacteria imbalance, long bowel transit time, etc may cause your body to extract the wrong amount of water.

Results? Watery stools or extremely hard turds. Neither option is cool.

Impact on immunity

There are something like 100 trillion (with a T) microorganisms residing in/around your body.  A large portion of those hang out in your gut (stomach, intestines, colon, etc). Yes, they break down food, but they also help process waste and carry it out of the body. Your liver filters your blood (hint: this is really important). The gall bladder and pancreas produce fluids that help clean and digest your food. And last, but not least, the intestinal walls are constantly absorbing the results of the digestion process The better they function, the better your body will be at flushing the bad stuff while gleaning the appropriate nutrients.

As mentioned above, lingering waste in your GI increases the opportunity for toxins to escape and be recirculated in the body. Think of them as serial killers who escape prison – it forces the good guys (immune system) to recapture, process, and readmit them to death row. All this extra work causes additional stress on organs such as the liver, kidneys, and lymphatic system.

Leaky gut

Delayed elimination isn’t the only problem. Poor diet, toxic exposure, ineffective gut bacteria, perpetual medication, and other trauma can further damage the lining of the intestinal walls. People with especially compromised intestinal walls may suffer from what is known as leaky gut syndrome – where “cracks” in the walls that normally absorb nutrients are now too large to block out other waste. This overworks the immune system and further damages your body.

Actual diagnoses can be challenging and may require professional attention to get things back on track. However, it can be healed with proper care and attention.

Stagnant gunk in the trunk

Did you know that inside your belly sits about 30 feet (9 meters) of intestinal tract? That’s the length of an NFL first down. There are a gazillion folds, kinks, crevices, and other opportunities for “plaque” to build up. Have you ever looked inside your sink pipes when they get backed up? It looks (and smells) disgusting. Over time, improper diet and poor elimination contribute to a buildup of mucus and undigested food. This “gunk” restricts the flow of matter and exacerbates the above listed problems.

Parasites

Conditions that contribute to an unhealthy gut conversely establish a hospitable environment for parasites. Sound gross? They are way more common that you might realize. They love sugars, various toxins, heavy metals, and stagnant matter. They steal vital nutrients before ever reaching your bloodstream – then poop out their own waste into your intestines, further poisoning your body.  Their protective homes (biofilm) make them difficult to kill. They are highly adaptive and incredibly adept at survival.

I’ve personally eliminated quite a few of these buggers and let me tell you – seeing alien/worm like creatures in your poo is a shocking, yet satisfying, experience.

In summary

The synergy of events (positive or negative) has a dramatic effect on our immunity. Your body is constantly attacking harmful toxins and trying push them out of your body. Pooping and urinating are the primary exits. Your intestinal walls are also permeable, allowing nutrient absorption into your bloodstream to feed your body. But if your GI is all backed up, caked with undigested matter, or riddled with parasites, those toxins that your body spent so much effort filtering will be reabsorbed in to the body.

Hopefully you’re beginning to see how this can spiral downward.

But there’s good news!

Your body is an amazing organism. What can spiral down, can spiral back up. The positive synergy of potty perfection can rapidly turn things around. This was my experience!

Ready to press forward? Read about some of the skills you will need moving forward.

Or you can jump to the action – read the actions I took to reclaim my GI tract.