We have all, at one time or another, had the experience of being asked to have our stool tested during a medical examination. In fact, the stool is the measure of human health, the health of a person can be judged by the amount, smell, shape, color and hardness of the stool, in terms of oriental people, the standard stool is 2 to 3 cm, about 15 cm in length, yellow in color, like a banana, weighing about 100 g. A day to pass A stool of about two and a half sticks is ideal. In addition to the volume of stool, the main points to check the health status of stool are: color, shape, smell and hardness. Shape and hardness The ratio of water in the stool determines the hardness of the stool, and an average stool contains 70-80 percent water. Moisture more than 80% is soft stool, equivalent to semi-paste, mud-like diarrhea stool; if the water is up to 90% or more, the stool will be watery, that is, diarrhea; if constipation, the water content is less than 70%, the stool is round and rolled or hard type. The color of the stool The stool of infants is yellow, while most people once they reach adulthood, the stool becomes black or brown. If you eat mainly tofu and green vegetables every day and do not eat meat at all, your stool will be yellow. In other words, the biggest reason for black or brown stools is meat and fatty foods. Although a black or brown stool is a warning sign, there is no need to panic and go to the hospital, as long as you consume as much acidic food as possible to make your stool yellow. However, if the stool is darker than usual or purple, you should pay special attention to the possibility of bleeding from the stomach or intestines, and if you have tarry stools, you may have a stomach ulcer, duodenal ulcer or stomach cancer. If a person with constipation passes hard, dark stools, it may also be a sign of colon cancer. This is caused by bleeding somewhere in the large intestine, which accumulates in the intestine for a long time and turns black. The main component of stool is indole, fecal odor, which is a substance formed by the decomposition of protein by intestinal bacteria, and when a large amount of high protein is consumed, the stool will become very smelly. For example, a pungent sour smell from the stool may be caused by abnormal fermentation in the intestine (so-called fermentative dyspepsia), when the diarrheal stool pulled out is yellow in color. Therefore, both color and odor must be carefully observed. If the diarrhea stool smells like tar, it may be caused by indigestion due to a decrease in the function of the small intestine; tarry stool with a fishy smell indicates bleeding in the digestive system, and the amount of bleeding is quite large. If there is a putrid smell of meat or fish from watery or muddy diarrhea stools, it is possible that a large amount of blood or mucus has been broken down and expelled from the intestines.