What your festive poos could reveal about your health – and 3 red flags you must never ignore
OVER the festive period, it’s natural to overindulge, while letting your exercise routine slip a bit.
And while it’s to be encouraged, it’s worth bearing in mind that it might spark a few changes – especially in the gut department.
Most changes to your poo over Christmas will get better by themselves within a couple of weeks when your diet and lifestyle reverts to normal.
But certain changes in bowel habits that last three weeks or longer could be pointing to something wrong with your health.
Dr Deborah Lee, of Dr Fox Online Pharmacy, shared with Sun Health some of the important changes to look out for.
Firstly, drinking less water and eating less fruit and veg over the Christmas period means constipation is more likely, with hard pellet-like stools.
And the consumption of high-fat foods – think rich desserts and pigs in blankets – can cause diarrhoea as eating excess fat slows gastric emptying.
Undigested fat is broken down in the large bowel, which draws water into the colon giving rise to a bout of the runs.
Dr Lee added: “High-sugar foods and some artificial sweeteners can also cause diarrhoea.
“A high sugar content in the gut alters intestinal permeability and causes unfavourable changes to the gut microbiome.
“Alcohol causes inflammation in the intestinal walls.
“This means food hurries along faster than it should and there is not enough time for water to be reabsorbed, leading to more frequent, loose bowel motions.”
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is another condition known to flare up over the festive season.
High-fat foods, spicy foods, alcohol, caffeine and fizzy drinks can all trigger unpleasant symptoms, including bloating, tummy pain and constipation or diarrhoea, said Dr Lee.
And the Christmas period is also high-risk for food poisoning, which can cause bowel issues.
Many factors affect your bowel habits, including getting enough exercise and sleep
Dr Deborah Lee
Dr Lee explained: “Salmonella, E.coli and campylobacter are all common culprits.
“This is a time when the fridge is often bulging with food, and family members may have brought along a contribution.
“It may not be possible to keep meat and vegetables on separate shelves in the fridge and food can easily become contaminated.
“There’s also always a risk of food poisoning when reheating turkey and other meats.
“It can be hard to keep the kitchen work tops and preparation areas and utensils as clean as you would like.
“Food poisoning causes stomach ache, cramps, diarrhoea, and fever.
“The poo may be watery and green, and may have blood in them.”
The best treatments
For constipation, Dr Lee recommends drinking more water and adding more fibre into your diet.
She explained: “Fibre bulks out the intestinal contents, putting pressure on the intestinal walls and stimulating peristalsis, the muscular contractions of the intestines that propel the partly digested food along it.
“High-fibre foods are all fruit and veg, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.
“Many other factors affect your bowel habits, including getting enough exercise and sleep.”
Diarrhoea suggests something is wrong with your diet, for example, a high-fat or high-sugar diet, or excess alcohol.
Dr Lee advised: “In the short term this will settle when you go back to eating normally.
“For good gut health we need a balanced diet with the right combination of protein, fat and carbohydrate.”
Red-flag bowel changes to watch for
Most changes to your poo over Christmas are nothing to worry about, and will ease up as you get back to normal.
But Dr Lee said you should be concerned if you notice the following three changes:
1. Blood in your poo
You should never see blood in your poo.
It can occur from piles (haemorrhoids), which are often harmless, but you should never assume this is the case unless it’s been properly assessed and diagnosed by a doctor.
Blood in the poo can be a sign of bowel cancer.
2. Black poo
Poo should not be black either. This suggests bleeding higher up in the gastrointestinal tract as black blood is old blood – called melaena.
This can be a side effect of taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, which can cause stomach and duodenal ulceration, oesophageal varices or cancers of the upper GI tract.
Note that taking iron tablets can also make your stools black.
However, if you have black poo, see your GP promptly.
3. Pale poo
Pale, putty-coloured, smelly, loose poo is called steatorrhea.
This means you’re not digesting fat properly and can be a sign of pancreatic cancer or liver disease.
If this happens for more than a couple of days, or keeps coming back, see your GP without delay.
When to see a doctor
Most cases of diarrhoea stop within five to seven days.
NICE recommends that you see your GP if you have a change of bowel habit that lasts three weeks or longer.
Dr Lee said: “If it persists after seven days, call NHS 111.
“If you are acutely unwell with diarrhoea and vomiting, and have signs of dehydration – dry mouth, dry skin, high temperature, not passing urine or passing dark coloured urine – contact your GP, call 999 or get to A&E.”
If you have severe constipation which is making you distressed, ask your pharmacist for advice about laxatives that can soften and help you pass a hard stool, said Dr Lee.
She added: “If you’re impacted, you’ll need a suppository or an enema. Contact your GP or ring NHS 111.
“In general, eating a balanced diet, low in refined sugars, containing healthy unsaturated fats (plant fats such as olive oil), getting your five a day of fruit and vegetables (as these contain that all-important dietary fibre), and drinking at least two litres of water a day, is the best way to have a healthy bowel habit.”
What a healthy poo should look like
AT medical school, Dr Lee was taught that a healthy poo is twice round the pan and pointed at both ends...
The 1997 Bristol Stool Chart uses pictures to interpret the type of stool and how it relates to your diet and health.
Although there are seven stool types, numbers 3 (a sausage shaped with a few cracks on the surface) and 4 (smooth and snake-like) are the easiest stools to pass and signify your gut health is normal.
Dr Fox said: “Poo should be brown in colour, smell pretty bad but no worse than it normally does, and sink in the toilet, not float.
“There’s a wide range in how often a person should poo – some people poo three times a day and others three times a week.
“The important thing to notice is if your own poo frequency changes and becomes more or less frequent.”