How Many Times a Day Should You Poop? The Surprising Truth About Healthy Digestion

Your poop is one of the best clues we have about the state of your digestion, gut health, and overall health.

That’s why, as a functional medicine practitioner, I’m basically talking about it all the time.

Today, let’s dive into one of the most common questions I hear both from patients and from my readers and listeners: how often should you poop?

I think the answer might surprise you.

How Often Should You Poop? “Normal” vs. Healthy

For optimal health, you should be pooping daily— and ideally 2-3 times per day.

This might not be what your doctor has told you or what you’ve read elsewhere on the internet, so let me explain.

The standard line in conventional medicine is that pooping anywhere from 3 times per day to 3 times per week is normal. (1)

I’m less concerned with what’s “normal” and more concerned with what’s healthy. Our Standard American Diet loaded with processed foods and added sugars is normal. That’s not healthy either.

This is a problem, because the more we normalize things that are just common, the more underlying health issues will continue to fly under the radar. 

Patients at our clinic will often come in for concerns like fatigue, low mood, or aches and pains, and tell me that their digestion seems fine— and then I learn that they’re only having a bowel movement a couple of times per week.

This is actually a signal that something is amiss with your gut health. And it’s good for us to have this clue, because it helps us get to the root of that issue or imbalance, and restore your digestion and overall health.

Here’s Why You Should Poop Daily

Why should you be pooping every day? The biggest reason relates to detoxification.

Our bodies come with a built-in detox system. And for optimal health, every component of that system needs to be considered.

Arguably the best known component of our inner detox system is the liver, which works to break down toxins, making them less harmful and easier for the body to deal with. This is just the first phase.

Next, these broken down substances are converted into water-soluble molecules for easier excretion.

Finally, we eliminate toxins and waste through bile, urine, and of course, stool. If you’re not having a bowel movement (or more) every day, this waste is not being eliminated properly.

There are other reasons to aim for more regular bowel movements— if you’re going less frequently, you might be experiencing the pain, straining, and/or discomfort of constipation.

Other Clues In Your Poop (And Beyond)

We can learn even more about potential gut health issues by considering other clues alongside how often you’re pooping.

Here’s a quick overview of other gut health indicators in your stool, and a few beyond it.

Shape and Consistency

Ideally, you’re looking for a curled-up “snake” shape— solid enough to stay together, long and soft enough to curl into the snake. A solid log with a few cracks that comes out easily is also considered a healthy poop.

If your stool more commonly looks like a very hard or lumpy log or hard pellets, these are signs of constipation. If it’s smaller, softer, and more separate, this may be considered diarrhea.

Color

Put simply, your poop should be brown!

Sometimes, something we eat or a new medication or supplement can cause temporary changes in stool color (for example, poop might look green after eating spinach or kale, or black after taking activated charcoal).

But if your poop is more consistently a different color, or if you’re noticing a white or creamy color, there may be an underlying issue to take a look at.

And make sure to speak with your healthcare provider right away if you notice any blood in your stool as this may indicate hemorrhoids or intestinal bleeding.

Other Signs and Symptoms

Digestive symptoms and non-digestive symptoms can all be signs of a gut health imbalance— your gut health influences everything!

Here are a few common signs and symptoms (beyond chronic constipation or diarrhea) that something may be off with your digestive system:

• Abdominal pain
• Nausea
• Bloating
• Acid reflux
• Persistent fatigue
• Brain fog or difficulty concentrating
• Headaches
• Unexpected weight loss or weight gain
• Mood changes, depression, or anxiety
• Joint pain
• Trouble sleeping
• Symptoms of inflammation or inflammatory conditions
• Food sensitivities or intolerances

Lab Results

Specialized lab testing, when paired with a thorough health history and understanding of symptoms, is one of the best ways to really get to the bottom of what’s going on with your gut and digestive health.

A few kinds of tests I often run at my functional medicine telehealth clinic when someone is experiencing chronic diarrhea, constipation, or other symptoms include:

• Gut microbiome stool testing to get an understanding of the makeup and diversity of bacteria in your microbiome, as well as the presence of parasites, yeasts, fungi, inflammatory markers, and other insights into the environment in your gut.
• Gut permeability labs to look for markers of leaky gut including zonulin and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) antibodies.
• Breath testing to detect SIBO (an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine)

These tests can help us get to the root of what’s causing your digestive issues so that we can work to heal them (and improve your bowel movement frequency).

LISTEN: Constipation Poop-Cast: How To Heal A Sluggish Gut (Foods, Supplements, Labs, Vagus Nerve Therapies) | Dr. Will Cole 

Causes of Constipation

There are several different factors that can lead to constipation or having too few bowel movements. In some cases, it’s as simple as not getting enough water or having a low fiber intake.

For many people, there’s a bit more going on related to diet, environment, use of medications, and/or underlying gut problems.

Here are a few common causes of constipation:

• Dehydration
• An inflammatory diet
• Not eating enough fiber
• Hormonal imbalances
• Dysbiosis (imbalance in the gut microbiome)
• Chronically high stress levels (2)
• Chronic use of certain medications including antidepressants, antihistamines, and antacids
• Low level of physical activity
• Underlying gut conditions such as SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) or IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)

Causes of Diarrhea

If you’re regularly going to the bathroom more than 3 times a day, or if your stools tend to be soft, loose, and/or urgent, there is likely an underlying gut imbalance or medical condition.

This may include SIBO, IBS, celiac disease, lactose intolerance, inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis), a hormonal imbalance, or a food sensitivity.

How to Improve Your Regularity

If you’re not pooping enough, there are several things you can do to improve your regularity and motility, support your body’s ability to detoxify, and heal your gut.

Here are a few of my top tips:

• Support bacterial balance with probiotics and prebiotics. We need a balanced gut microbiome for healthy digestion. You can help restore your balance with probiotics and prebiotics (either as supplements or from food sources).
• Get regular exercise. Exercise helps to stimulate your bowels (and your lymphatic system), reduce inflammation, and reduce stress, all of which can help to improve digestion and bowel movement regularity. (3)
• Eat more insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber (fiber that doesn’t dissolve in water) is essential for healthy movement of stool through the digestive tract. Artichokes, avocados, almonds, and chia seeds are a few of my favorite healthy insoluble fiber sources.
• Stay hydrated. Dehydration is more common than you may think, and is often a cause of constipation. Beyond just drinking more water, make sure you’re getting enough electrolytes (especially if you’re more active), and boost your hydration even more with food sources like cucumbers and watermelon.
• Supplement with magnesium. Magnesium is one of my favorite supplements, because it offers so many different benefits to so many different people— and many people are deficient in it. In addition to improving mood, sleep, mental health, and overall wellness, magnesium can help to reduce constipation. (4) You can try my supplement, The Magnesium, here.
• Test for gut health imbalances. Knowledge is power. Understanding what’s going on in your gut is the best way to fix it! I would recommend working with a functional medicine practitioner to help order and interpret the right tests for you, and uncover potential underlying causes of your symptoms.
• Identify food sensitivities. Often, even for those who are eating a generally healthy diet, hidden food sensitivities or intolerances can cause all kinds of inflammation and gastrointestinal issues. An elimination diet is usually the best way to figure out if you have any hidden food triggers and what they are.

READ NEXT: The 7-Second Poop Method For Constipation Relief 

The Bottom Line On Bowel Movements

You and your gut deserve to have 2-3 healthy, normal bowel movements per day! If you’re not there right now, don’t panic. But now is a great time to start figuring out whether there might be an underlying gut imbalance behind your sluggish (or otherwise disrupted) digestion.

As one of the first functional medicine telehealth clinics in the world, we provide webcam health consultations for people around the globe.