The ancestors of the human species pooped while squatting. Today, hundreds of thousands of years later, it has become common to spend long hours sitting on the toilet checking social media or playing an online game.

According to experts interviewed by the g1, having fun at the wrong time increases the time spent on the toilet and has health consequences because the musculature of the anal region is strained more than necessary. The main negative effect is the hemorrhoids (swelling and inflammation of the veins of the rectum, which may even justify corrective surgery).

“Before, when you took a newspaper or a magazine to the toilet, at some point you finished reading. Now, with Instagram and Youtube, it’s endless,” explains coloproctologist Thaís Takahashi.

(This report is part of a series that the g1 publishes this week on poo, which will still address factors associated with hemorrhoids and what the poo can tell about your health.)

Among the attitudes that can compromise the health of the rectum and, therefore, trips to the bathroom include:

• take your cell phone to the bathroom and spend more than five minutes sitting;
• make a lot of effort to evacuate;
• hold back the urge to go to the toilet for a long time;
• bodybuilding with high loads.

In addition to these behavioral factors, pregnancy and having a very tight or very loose bowel are also risk factors for developing problems in the area.

In addition to avoiding the risky behaviors above, one of the strategies for assisting with evacuation is “poo stool“. According to doctor coloproctologist Thaís Takahashi, the fulcrum to raise the lower limbs works because aligns the right musculature.

The position simulates an ideal posture (similar to the ancient habit of squatting) and requires less effort.

“Our rectum, to send the signal of who has something to eliminate, it makes a small curve passing through the muscle of the anus and, when we raise our leg, we facilitate this elimination”, explains Thaís.

• And there is a biological difference between men and women, even at this point.
• Directly opposite, in women is the vagina and in men is the prostate, which ends up serving as a partition to help the exit of feces.
• As for women, especially those who have given birth vaginally, this exit is more difficult because the vaginal wall is more flabby.

food has an influence

Sérgio Alexandre Barrichello Júnior, gastroenterologist and bariatric endoscopist, says that evacuation is closely linked to the presence of a well-formed bolus. Evacuation movements are mainly due to the presence of this already digested bolus, which is transformed into a faecal bolus in the large intestine.

“If it is made up of red meats and foods that putrefy a lot, it will create a lot of gas and often the intestine will not work properly. Once it has fibre, vegetables, fruits and a sufficient amount of liquid, the food bolus turns into a faeces cake that is easier to get out,” explains the doctor.

He points out that a inefficient digestion may affect evacuation.

• Each organism is unique and may have difficulty digesting certain types of nutrients. This causes constipation, diarrhea or heavy fermentation (gas).
• For example, a diet high in meat can lead to less regulated bowel habits because the body takes longer to digest this type of food.
• “If there is no additional problem, vegetarians can have a more effective evacuation than what a diet rich in foods of animal origin, in particular meat and ultra-processed foods, does”, specifies the doctor.

Morning is the best time

According to the doctor, we were physiologically prepared to have a bowel movement in the morning, because the intestines were resting all night.

“When you get up on waking you automatically have a reflex and after breakfast too. As the routine goes by, people inhibit the reflexes, which cease to exist, and the will no longer comes the morning,” says coloproctologist Thaís Takahashi.

That is, to facilitate the mission, the ideal is to create a routine to take advantage of these natural movements and start the day with a free run.

And do physical activity it also helps. Thaís Takahashi explains that the diaphragm, when we breathe vigorously, exerts pressure that ends up indirectly influencing the functioning of the intestine.