Gut health expert reveals test to determine if you are fully emptying your BOWELS

A Canadian gut health expert has lifted the lid on how to tell if you’re completely emptying your bowels, saying you can still be constipated even if you go to the bathroom several times a day.

Roslyn Kent, a registered holistic nutritionist based in Vancouver, is known as @plantsfirstnutrition on TikTok, where she has nearly 50,000 followers. She went viral after sharing her top tips for finding out if you’re backed up or not.

“I do have to point out that you do indeed need to remove all of the stool in your colon that has formed each day the day before,” she explained at the beginning of the video.

“So this means all the waste, all the toxins, all the bulk of it in the form of fiber, all that stuff that makes up your stool, you want to completely eliminate that every morning.”

Kent’s recommended doing a transit test first, which measures how long food takes to travel through the digestive tract. She suggested eating corn and white sesame seeds before dinner to see if they show up on the toilet the next morning

She noted that if you don’t completely empty your bowels every day, you’re probably “quite constipated,” which can cause bloating, food sensitivities, fatigue, hormonal imbalances, and other “unexplained” chronic symptoms.

Kent’s first piece of advice is to do a transit test, which measures how long it takes for food to travel through the digestive tract.

“With dinner, eat half a cup of corn and also have a tablespoon of white sesame seeds stirred in water. Drink that back with the same meal and see if they show up in the toilet the next morning,” she said.

The expert told viewers that another indicator of constipation is swiping too much after a bowel movement.

“If you have to keep swiping, keep swiping, keep wiping, and that residue never seems to go away, it’s likely you’re not completely drained,” she explained.

The volume of your bowel movements is also of the utmost importance, according to the constipation expert.

“Your volume will tell you everything you need to know about how much you’re eliminating the day before,” she said. “A little hint is that we want to aim a large amount of bowel movements every day.’

Finally, Kent suggested thinking about “how you feel after a bowel movement.”

The expert told viewers that another indicator of constipation is swiping too much after a bowel movement

The volume of your bowel movements is also paramount, and the goal is to have a large bowel movement once a day

“You should feel satisfied and complete after a bowel movement,” she concluded

Kent’s video has been viewed over 1.1 million times and received nearly 1,000 comments and questions about constipation

‘Do you feel bloated? Do you feel uncomfortable? Do you feel that some stool still needs to be removed?’ she asked.

“If you’re feeling any of these sensations, it’s likely you haven’t completely eliminated them. You should feel satisfied and complete after a bowel movement.’

Kent’s video has been viewed more than 1.1 million times and received nearly 1,000 comments and questions about constipation.

“I’ve always wondered if I’m pooping to my fullest potential,” one wrote, while another added, “Not that I’ve been watching this pooping 1-2 times a week all my life.”

“What if I poop three times a day but the amount is small?” someone else asked. “Almost no wiping afterwards.”

Kent filmed a follow-up video about what it means if you have several thin bowel movements during the day, and says it’s probably a sign of constipation

“However, I will say that the more constipated a person is, the smaller and more frequent their bowel movements are during the day,” she said.

Kent filmed one follow-up video to answer the viewer’s question and say it’s a “very common scenario” she wanted to address.

“If you’re having three thin bowel movements a day, you’re probably still constipated,” she said. “It’s the volume of stool you remove that matters most.”

So of course the word “small” is subjective, so we need to clarify it here. Do you defecate three times a day with rabbit chunks or do you eat three small sausages every day?’

Kent recommended doing a throughput test again to determine what’s going on.

“Ideally, we all have a large, satisfying, full-volume stool every day, but for many people that doesn’t happen,” she said. ‘So of course we also have to pay attention to volume and transit time.

“However, I will say that the more constipated a person is, the smaller and more frequent their bowel movements are during the day. Until, of course, they get to a point where they don’t even have a bowel movement on some days.’