Eating, drinking, and feeding are the basic survival needs of every human being. Among them, stool is an important health barometer, careful observation can also help to detect diseases. Normal stool 6 standards “look at the stool to understand the disease” first of all to understand what kind of stool is normal, healthy. 1, the nature of: soft stool strips are not sticky. Healthy stool is more striped soft stool, not sticky in the pool, can float on the surface, water flush that is clean. Burnt, not dried into a block of stool is also normal. High food protein, the stool will be hard, similar to clay; high carbohydrate, the stool is soft or burnt. 2, color: yellow or yellow-brown. Normal stool appears yellow or yellowish-brown. Intake of dairy products, the stool is mostly light yellow; eat more green vegetables, the stool will be green; eat more meat, the stool is brownish yellow; eat pig blood, pig liver, or take some Chinese medicine, the stool is black. 3, smell: with a slight odor. Due to bacterial decomposition of fecal odor, etc., normal stool is slightly smelly, meat-loving people will smell a little heavier, vegetarians taste light. If the smell is unbearable, there may be health problems. Pungent sour smell, burning smell may be caused by indigestion; fishy smell, it may mean digestive bleeding. 4, quantity: “a stool” about 100 grams. Healthy stool is mostly shaped like a banana strip, each strip length of about 10-15 cm, weighing about 100 grams, each time 2 to 3 strips. The amount of bowel movements can change due to the amount of food, food types, such as dietary fiber intake, the amount of bowel movements will increase. 5, the number of times and habits: once a day, the best morning bowel movement. The number of bowel movements and habits vary from person to person, but once a day and morning bowel movements are the most common. Generally speaking, no difficulty in defecation and other discomfort, 1~3 days defecation is not constipation, not more than 3 times a day defecation is not considered diarrhea. 6, the feeling of defecation: within 5 minutes, no residual bowel movement. Can be in 1 ~ 2 minutes naturally, smoothly, the whole time not more than 5 minutes, feel relaxed after the stool, no residual bowel movements, is normal “smooth stool”. 4 colors do not ignore In addition to the traits, the color of the stool can not be ignored, many diseases may lead to stool color change. 1, black: black burnt, shiny surface of the stool is often called tar-like stool. In the absence of eating special food and drugs in advance, black stool may be one of the characteristic manifestations of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, and peptic ulcer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer is a common cause. Lower gastrointestinal bleeding in small amounts, may also discharge black stool. 2, red: blood stool is mostly due to bleeding in the lower gastrointestinal tract (jejunum, ileum, rectum, colon), due to the short “journey”, less chemical changes, bleeding is still red. If the stool is mixed with blood, and there are grooves, should be checked for colon cancer and other diseases. If the blood is only attached to the surface of the stool, it is more likely to suffer from hemorrhoids, anal fissures. 3. Grayish white: If the passage of bile into the intestine is blocked and there is no bile in the digestive tract, the stool will be grayish clay-like. Gallstones, bile duct cancer, pancreatic head cancer, liver cancer and other diseases, may lead to this change. 4, green: If you do not eat a lot of green vegetables, green stools, watery or burnt, sour smell, may suffer from indigestion, intestinal dysfunction and other diseases. If the green stool mixed with a lot of mucus, it is acute enteritis. 3 principles of healthy bowel movements Although it sounds indecent, but in fact, attention to bowel movements should be as important as eating, in order to balance in and out, to ensure the healthy functioning of the body. Good bowel habits can be cultivated from 3 aspects. 1, do not be distracted when defecating. Many people like to go to the toilet while reading the newspaper, playing with cell phones, do not know that this dual purpose will distract attention, reduce the precision control of the anal muscles, over time may induce constipation. In addition, the morning is most likely to colon movement, after waking up on the toilet, or 20 minutes after breakfast defecation is the best time. 2, do not hold back the intention of stool. Modern life is fast-paced, many people have too late to go to the toilet and “hold it”, which is a very bad habit. Be sure to minimize the behavior of deliberately inhibiting the desire to stool, to avoid the disappearance of the conditioned reflexes brought about by constipation. 3, good posture to help defecate. Generally speaking, when squatting, the muscles around the anus relax, abdominal pressure increases, which helps smooth defecation. Only when sitting, the height of the toilet to keep the thighs half flexed state is appropriate, such as height is not enough, can be a low stool under the feet. For people with cardiovascular disease, forceful defecation may induce myocardial infarction or stroke, it is best to choose to sit, defecate slowly after getting up. In addition, it is best to adjust your diet according to the condition of the stool. If the stool is fishy and difficult to flush, eat less meat and increase dietary fiber, fruits and vegetables. Do not easily give up the routine stool examination at the time of physical examination, it is best to check once a year for people over 45 years old.