Greasy Stools

If stools are fatty and hard to flush, it means that fats are not being properly broken down – due either to bile insufficiency
or to excessive consumption of fats, especially of animal origin.

If, trying to lose weight, you have taken some fat-blocking tablets, you will have seen that the toilet water, once you've had a bowel movement, is full of orange-slick puddles which are reminiscent of an oil slick in the sea.

This is unfortunately what these fat blockers do – they pass the fat straight into your bowel.

You may have soft evacuations, because the fat is a great lubricant, but these pills can wreak havoc with your bowel flora.

It takes quite some time for the bowel ecosystem to recover from the effects of fat blockers.

What could slight imperfections in my bowel movements mean?

You may not be aware for quite a while of anything going wrong in your bowel: it is not designed to send progress reports to the central nervous system until the condition is established and your bowel is unable to cope with it alone.

Therefore, any discomfort relayed by the bowel to the brain is a serious cry for help and should not be ignored.

Skid Marks

Skid marks are often present after a night on the town, and they appear when passing soft stools that leave a slightly burning sensation after being released.

Alcoholic drinks contain salts, and are accompanied by meals high in salt, proteins and fat. This draws excessive amount of water from outside the bowel wall into the bowel itself, making

the stools heavier and reducing the transit time.

Shorter transit time may cause malabsorption, often wasting valuable nutrients.

Skid marks combined with sticky, foul-smelling and greasy stool can be a sign of fat malabsorption in the small intestine, due to poor bile action, or stomach deficiency that affects the digestion of proteins in the stomach.

Anal Itching

Most adults experience anal itching, the soreness around the anus and the irresistible desire to scratch at some point in their life.

The itching itself is a sign of something going wrong somewhere in the body. Sometimes the cause is simple and local: wearing clothes that are too tight; dry skin or, on the contrary; too much moisture on the skin; even sweating or using shower gels that can cause a skin allergy

Occasionally the causes are found in overusing laxative preparations, taking some antibiotics (especially if they cause diarrhoea); or being prone to psoriasis or eczema.

Itching could also be caused by dysbiosis, which results in excessive yeast production in the Bowel (best known manifestation of this condition is Candida albicans), or by infections, especially by worms or other parasites.

Finally, the dietary ‘culprits' that cause dysbiosis and itching often are coffee and other drinks containing caffeine, nuts, popcorn, tomatoes, chocolate and sometimes fruit.

Light-coloured greyish stools

Light-coloured and greyish stools can be indicative of anaemia (shortage of iron in red blood cells),

gallstones or other blockages in the bile duct, as well as of insufficient production of bile by the body.

White chalk-like stools

White chalk-like stools normally result from a combination of factors: low-fibre diet high in

fat and processed foods, anaemia and severe dysbiosis that is often caused by excessive or

long term use of prescription drugs, appetite suppressants, street narcotics and laxatives.

All this virtually brings the colon to a standstill.

Apparently, the autopsy on Elvis Presley showed that his colon was approximately twice the normal diameter – around 12-13cm (or 5 inches ) compared to the ‘norm' of 5.5 to 6.5cm (about 2.5 inches ) and full of compacted chalk-like faeces.

Elvis was notorious as an unhealthy eater, who was prescribed ‘the constellation of uppers, downers, laxatives, narcotics, hormones and shots that kept Elvis going through the last decade of his life. “Doctor Feelgood. The Observer Magazine, 11 August 2002).

At the time of his death he was suffering from an enlarged colon.

Glossy (smelly) stools

Often gassy, smelly stools are the evidence of lactose intolerance (lactose is found primarily in milk). This means that the body is deficient in lactose, an enzyme that speeds up the breakdown of lactose.

These stools can also be caused by a bacterial infect ion or dysbiosis.

Sometimes gassy smelly stools are caused by overdoing one type of food, especially high-fibre vegetables, such as onions or artichokes, or beans and pulses.

On the other hand, gas can also be caused by the excessive consumption of fatty animal foods combined with stomach acid or bile deficiency.

Mucus in Stools

If you have mucus in your stools, this can also mean several things. There might be an agent that your body is intolerant to, and the bowel lining has secreted excess mucus to try to eliminate it.

On the other hand, it might mean that you are eating a disproportionate amount of proteins and fats, especially of animal origin, also including milk, yoghurts, fromage frais and cheese.

Some people process milk products, animal proteins and fats better than others. If you regularly consume high amounts of proteins and you don't find any mucus in your stools then your body seems to be coping.

It is worth remembering though, that most people are historically and biologically conditioned to eat fewer proteins and more grains, vegetables and pulses.

If you consistently find mucus in your stool, try to eliminate animal proteins for a while and increase your fibre intake, and see if the situation improves.

The bowel will produce excessive mucus mostly for its own protection, or in order to increase the lubrication of the bowel wall, and to wrap up and help eliminate undesirable wastes.

It could be caused by dysbiosis, bacterial infections, and obstructions in the bowel, parasites, haemorrhoids and multitude of other things.

Goat Pellets

Goat pellets (also known as ‘rabbit droppings') are normally a sign of constipation caused by dehydration.

If you don't eat enough fibre, which serves as a bulking agent and don't drink enough liquid, which helps increase the weight of the waste, your stools may be small in size and very compacted.

Sometimes people have a good diet, but still produce goat pellets. This could be a sign of adrenal exhaustion, of an emotional blockage or of high levels of suppressed stress and anxiety that increase acidity in the body.

Bits of undigested food

If you have discernible bits of food in your stools, it might mean that you are not chewing your food properly.

It may also mean the bacterial colonies that live in your small and large bowels are not doing a very good job. Or it may that you are not producing enough of the enzymes that speed up food assimilation by the body.

Some foods are notoriously harder to digest than others. A lot of people do not digest tomato, potato and apple skins, seeds or nuts, sweet corn and popcorn.

Peeling your fruit and vegetables and not eating the skins, making sure that sweet corn or popcorn are chewed properly and grinding your seeds and nuts shortly before eating should help your digestive system and assist in nutrient absorption and assimilation.

Straining and Constipation

Straining is a sign of constipation.

If you have a bowel movement less often than every day with an occasional day off, then you are almost certainly suffering from habitual constipation. It means, in simple terms, that dead stuff is not getting out through the bowel. Straining means that the stool is too dry or dehydrated to come out on its own. It irritates the nerve endings in the lower bowel enough to create an urge, but there is insufficient moisture and bulk in the stool to build momentum for an easy evacuation. It may also be indicative of a weakness in the gut muscle.

Nutritional and lifestyle advice contained in the last two parts of this book should help you alleviate the problem of straining and constipation.

Ribbon stools,
painful to pass 

If your bowel movements look ribbon like it means that your bowel is spastic, and that the mucus coating of your bowel is inflamed or dried out. Almost certainly, some sections of your bowel are swollen. As the stool cant pass out easily, it comes out as a ribbon, trying to make its way through the sections of the bowel that are suffering from inflammation.

A ‘sore bowel' is very much like a sore throat. If you think how difficult it can be to swallow when your throat is inflamed, imagine that the bowel lining is very similar to the throat lining.

However, it has fewer nerve endings that are part of the central nervous system, so it takes a while for the condition to build up and for you to take notice.

You can deal with this problem nutritionally. Try to eliminate spicy foods, carbonated drink, alcohol and coffee from your diet.

Have ‘warm, wet, boring meals', runny porridge, vegetable soups and stews with some grains, such as brown rice or barley, warm fruit compotes and jelly. Keep our meals small and do not sit down or bend down for about 20 minutes after each meal. Avoid anything that is too hot or too cold.

Diarrhoea

Diarrhoea is a defence mechanism. If you have diarrhoea, it means that you have consumed something that the bowel is trying to eliminate or that you have caught a bug.

In order to help trigger the defecation process as quickly as possible, the bowel will not extract as much fluids out of the stools as it would do under healthy circumstances. This will enable the body to get rid of the offending substances and start the healing process.

If diarrhoea stops of its own accord after a day or two and gradually gets better it means that the body has mobilized its immune defence potential.

Do not ignore diarrhoea

If diarrhoea starts wearing you down, you definitely need to think about supporting your body's healing potential with whatever means you are used to.

Some people prefer natural ways, which include extra hydration, taking large amounts of probiotics to stimulate bowel acidity and the fermentation process, increasing their intake of live yoghurt, taking mucilage herbs, such as slippery elm, using charcoal, etc. Others will go to the doctor, who may prescribe the relevant medication.

On the whole, diarrhoea is one way of the bowel telling you that the body needs support when it needs support. Please don't ignore these signs. Give your body support when it needs it, and it will give you support when you need it.

Remember that constipation and diarrhoea could also be consequences of stress, taking antibiotics, going on holiday, increasing or decreasing your level of physical activity, and of any sudden or drastic changes that the body and the mind are not prepared for.

Blood in your stools

If you have fresh blood in your bowel I might mean that your stool was too heavy and dry. It may have scratched the bowel wall, causing it to bleed. If blood continues to appear in your stools, you must seek medical advice.

If you have darkened blood in your stools, this means that you have a haemorrhage somewhere higher up – possibly in your stomach or small intestine. Seek advice, and don't put off contacting your doctor. Make sure you undergo all the tests that are available to determine the source of dark blood.