Fast Facts

• A new study found that the average frequency of your bowel movements could impact your microbiome and risk of chronic disease.
• Researchers identified a “Goldilocks zone” for a healthy gut of pooping one or two times a day.
• Those in the Goldilocks zone ate a fiber-rich diet, were more hydrated, and exercised regularly.

How often do you poop? New research suggests that the frequency of one’s bowel movements may be linked to their long-term health.

The study, conducted by the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) and published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, found that the number of times you poop in the average day or week could impact your microbiome and your risk of chronic disease.¹

“Overall, this study shows how bowel movement frequency can influence all body systems, and how aberrant bowel movement frequency may be an important risk factor in the development of chronic diseases,” study co-author Sean Gibbons, PhD, an associate professor at the Institute for Systems Biology, said in a news release.² “These insights could inform strategies for managing bowel movement frequency, even in healthy populations, to optimize health and wellness.”

Additionally, the new research discovered a “Goldilocks zone” of bowel movement frequency—the number of times a person would poop each day that was associated with better gut health.

Here’s what to know about bowel movement frequency, its connection to chronic disease, and how many times you should poop each day for a healthy gut microbiome.

A Closer Look at the Study

For the new study, a team of researchers from the ISB looked at the health and lifestyle data from more than 1,400 healthy adults ages 19 to 89, excluding people with certain health conditions or medication usage.¹

The participants were overwhelmingly white (83%), mainly from the Pacific Northwest, and over half were female. Their information—which included blood and stool samples—was originally gathered by Arivale, a now-closed biotechnology company that operated in Seattle between 2015 and 2019.

Researchers also examined their self-reported bowel movement frequency and grouped them into four categories: constipation (one or two bowel movements each week), low-normal (between three and six bowel movements each week), high-normal (between one and three bowel movements each day), and diarrhea (four or more bowel movements each day).

Once all data was gathered, the ISB team looked for links between participants’ bowel movement frequency and other factors, including lifestyle choices, demographics, genetics, gut microbiome health, blood metabolites, and plasma chemistries.¹

The findings showed that younger people, women, and those with a lower body mass index (BMI) often had less frequent bowel movements.

But researchers also “found clear signatures of [bowel movement frequency] variation in the blood and in the stool of healthy individuals, which were independent of age, sex, body mass index, genetics, and a range of health markers,” Gibbons told Health.

Certain bacteria in the gut that ferment fiber—and thus, are associated with a healthy gut microbiome—appeared more often in people who reportedly pooped between one and two times a day, which researchers dubbed the “Goldilocks zone” of bowel movement frequency. Meanwhile, bacteria that are known to ferment protein showed up more often in participants who had constipation or diarrhea.

Similarly, participants’ blood and plasma samples helped tell the story of their bowel movement frequency. People who pooped less often showed signs of decreased kidney function, while those who went far more frequently had markers for impaired liver function.¹

“In constipated individuals, we saw a rise in microbially-derived toxins in the blood, which are known to damage the kidneys in chronic kidney disease patients. One of these toxins, indoxyl sulfate, was also associated with reduced kidney function in these healthy individuals,” said Gibbons. “In individuals with diarrhea, we saw elevated markers of inflammation and markers of poor liver function.”

Chronic Disease and Bowel Movement Frequency

The new research only shows an association between bowel movement frequency and chronic disease, not a “causal connection,” said Gibbons.

Still, “this work points towards [bowel movement frequency] induced changes in the body that may increase our risk for the development of a range of aging-associated chronic diseases,” he added. “The fact that [bowel movement frequency] drove these changes in a healthy population was somewhat surprising.”

According to Joseph Petrosino, PhD, chairman and professor of Molecular Virology and Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, who was unaffiliated with the new research, the connections between bowel movement function and chronic disease “have been made previously, usually in pre-clinical models with mice,” but that “this is the first time the linkage has been demonstrated definitively in humans.”

However, it’s still unclear why or how poop frequency has this effect on chronic disease and overall health—more research over a longer period of time is needed to determine the mechanisms at play here, said Gibbons and Petrosino.

Although no specific chronic diseases were called out in the new research, Petrosino said many past studies have linked gut health to chronic disease, including inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, certain autoimmune conditions, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.^3,4,5,6

Maintaining and Prioritizing Gut Health

The new research shows that prioritizing digestive and gut health may help mitigate chronic disease and improve one’s overall health, experts say.

Unsurprisingly to researchers, the study found that participants who reported eating a fiber-rich diet, being more hydrated, and regularly exercising were typically in the Goldilocks zone for bowel movement frequency.

“We found that eating more fruits and vegetables [was] associated with having a more optimal [bowel movement frequency],” said Gibbons. “This is fairly intuitive. For those who want to maintain a healthy [bowel movement frequency], I suggest eating plenty of plants—whole foods, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds—getting regular exercise, and perhaps taking a fiber supplement, like psyllium husk.”

Another way to prioritize gut health may be to monitor your bowel movement frequency. While temporary shifts may be things like acute illnesses or food sensitivities, other more longstanding changes should be brought up to your healthcare provider, according to Petrosino.

“Most clinicians see variation in [bowel movement frequency] across the population normal, and at worst, a minor nuisance,” said Gibbons. “Our work suggests that we may want to manage [bowel movement frequency], even in healthy people, to lower our risk of chronic disease. However, more work is needed to establish the clinical utility of BMF management.”

Ultimately, when it comes to how to promote gut health and healthy bowel movements, there are some key essentials to keep in mind. “For now,” said Petrosino, “a balanced diet, good sleep, lowering or eliminating alcohol consumption, and daily exercise are among the best ways to maintain good gut health.”

Sources:

1. Johnson-Martínez JP, Diener C, Levine AE, et al. Aberrant bowel movement frequencies coincide with increased microbe-derived blood metabolites associated with reduced organ function. Cell Rep Med. 2024;5(7):101646. doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101646
2. Institute for Systems Biology. Timing is everything: ISB study finds link between bowel movement frequency and overall health.
3. Shan Y, Lee M, Chang EB. The gut microbiome and inflammatory bowel diseases. Annu Rev Med. 2022;73:455-468. doi:10.1146/annurev-med-042320-021020
4. Nesci A, Carnuccio C, Ruggieri V, et al. Gut microbiota and cardiovascular disease: evidence on the metabolic and inflammatory background of a complex relationship. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24(10):9087. doi:10.3390/ijms24109087
5. De Luca F, Shoenfeld Y. The microbiome in autoimmune diseases.Clin Exp Immunol. 2019;195(1):74-85. doi:10.1111/cei.13158
6. Jasirwan COM, Lesmana CRA, Hasan I, Sulaiman AS, Gani RA. The role of gut microbiota in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: pathways of mechanisms. Biosci Microbiota Food Health. 2019;38(3):81-88. doi:10.12938/bmfh.18-032

Important Notice: This article was originally published at www.health.com by their Brian Mastroianni where all credits are due. Fact checked by Nick Blackmer.

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