What Does Your Stool Say About You? Improve Digestive Health with This Daily Habit

What does your stool say about you? Do you realise that what you do every day makes an impact on your bowel movements? Consistency really is the key to digestive health and bowel movements. And let’s be honest, we always kind of know if something isn’t quite right with our gut – the tell-tale sign is often what’s deposited in the toilet bowl.

Maybe you’re constipated and feeling like you’re going to re-do your abdominal separation with excessive straining. Or maybe things are running out the back door and you’re struggling to form something firm? Wherever yours (or your child’s) bowel movements sit, probiotics are an easy way to help regulate your bowel movements. And that’s both in their consistency AND how many times you visit the loo.

Yakult is a gut game-changer and can help with improving bowel consistency and it’s SO easy to drink. So, grab a stool (no pun intended) and let’s talk about how to get things moving smoothly!

Your stool says a lot about you!

Where do your bowel movements sit on the Bristol stool chart? Ideally, your bowel movements should make a smooth and comfortable exit out the back door and take no longer than 10-15 minutes to let go. If you have time to read a full chapter of a book while you wait for your stool to pass, you need to take a look at what you do on the daily to help move things along.

digestive health stool chart — Where does your stool sit on the chart? Source: Supplied

Life factors that can impact your stools

There’s no getting around it, lifestyle habits absolutely play a role in how well your digestive system functions and coincidentally, your bowel movements. Here’s what you need to consider to keep consistent and regular:

You have to fuel your body right! We need a well-balanced diet to adequately support our gut bacteria balance so aim for a diet rich in fibre (whole grains, legumes and vegetables). Try and get five daily servings of colourful vegetables in as often as you can. One serve is ½ a cup of cooked vegetables or one cup of raw salads.
Drinking water is super important too. Not only great for hydration, but water also keeps things moving smoothly and fluidly in the right direction! An easy way to tell is to look at the colour of your urine – it should be a light straw colour – darker than that and you need to drink up!
Regular, consistent exercise improves intestinal microbiota and encourages bowel regularity. And no, it doesn’t mean you have to hit the gym – it can be a walk in the park with the kids, tidying the house or getting out in the garden. Any movement helps with movement if you get my drift.
Stress plays a part too. Anyone who’s ever had to make a quick dash to the loo to do a nervous poop knows only too well how anxiety can affect your body’s digestive system, so it’s great to practice mindfulness to help manage those emotions.

improve digestive health with water — Drink up! When it comes to your bowel movements, your daily habits MATTER! Source: Bigstock

Probiotics and the role they play in our body

Wondering what probiotics are? Glad you asked! Probiotics are live microorganisms that when consumed in adequate amounts, help maintain the balance of beneficial and potentially harmful bacteria in your intestines – encouraging the growth of beneficial bacteria while holding back the potentially harmful bacteria.

Remember that lifestyle factors such as stress, ageing, medications (including antibiotics) and poor diet can upset the balance of bacteria in your gut. This is why probiotics are so important. They may help to maintain and replenish the number of beneficial bacteria (especially important during and after taking antibiotics), assisting with digestion and absorption of nutrients PLUS can even help support the immune system.

digestive health probiotic — Probiotics really are our body’s superhero, keeping everything ticking along nicely! Source: Supplied

Why choose Yakult?

Not all probiotics are created equal. Lucky for us, Yakult ticks ALL of the boxes! Yakult is truly unique – the only product in the world to contain the unique probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain – or LcS for short. There is 6.5 billion Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain in every 65ml bottle of Yakult. Amazing!

Yakult survives through the gut to reach the intestines alive, which is important to gain its benefits. Drinking Yakult daily improves bacterial balance by increasing the number of beneficial bacteria in the intestines, which is great for your gut! Yakult also encourages regular bowel movements by improving your stools. So, if you’ve been having a tough time in the loo, make today your first day of drinking Yakult!

Why consistency is key

To be able to experience the benefit of Yakult, consistency is key! Probiotic bacteria doesn’t stay in the gut long-term, so making sure you drink one bottle of Yakult every day is the best way to ensure you obtain and maintain the LcS benefits.

You HAVE to give probiotics time to flourish and take action. It’s recommended that you drink Yakult daily for a minimum of three weeks to allow for the bacteria to begin influencing your health. You can add Yakult to your cereal or smoothie or drink it straight from the bottle, bottoms up!

digestive health — Grab your Yakult from the fridge section of the supermarket. Source: Supplied

Buy Yakult today, your whole body will love you for it

A happier, healthier gut and more regular bowel movements await! Start your Yakult journey today, head to the refrigerated section at the supermarket and pick yourself up a packet of Yakult or Yakult LIGHT. It’s time to get the whole family in on improving their digestive balance. Probiotics can ONLY do good things – it’s certainly a gut gamechanger, but remember consistency is key!