TT – gastrointestinal transit time is the time it takes food to move from your mouth, through your digestive system, and out your anus. Overall, this could be called your complete digestion cycle. For our purposes, we will use TT (transit time).
You probably haven’t thought about this, but…
Let’s say right up front that most of us have probably not measured this, nor has our PHP (Personal Healthcare Provider). We might have had our TT measured if we’d been sent to a gastroenterologist for some digestive tract issues, but this is not likely either.
Most OMYs should have had a colonoscopy by now, but this common (and essential) test has nothing to do with TT.
TT, however, has much to do with your overall health and your general sense of well-being. A well-working digestive system is central to our daily lives and causes many problems if it gets out of whack.
From your mouth to your anus, many things have to happen to the food you eat or drink.
We take this complex journey for granted and don’t think about it too much except when it has problems.
Things like indigestion, heartburn, constipation, and its opposite, diarrhea, are very common.
But, for the most part, these are treatable with over-the-counter medications.
Sometimes you gotta go see a gastroenterologist. This stuff can be serious.
TT and longevity:
As far as I know, there have been no studies investigating TT’s relationship to longevity. Nor, to my knowledge, have there been any such studies on the overall quality of your poop. Maybe it’s the nature of the subject that limits it to gastroenterology textbooks and keeps it out of polite conversations.
I don’t know, but we should talk about it and monitor it from time to time. For reference purposes, here is an easy-to-read article about aging and transit time frequencies. Here’s another one about stool banking and longevity.
This is about it TT and longevity. Most of the attention is on the frequency of bowel movements. I think this is changing, however, as gut health and its performance get more attention. A lot of work is being done with probiotics, so we will have to see.
One thing is certain, however; the huge volume of TV ads aimed at digestive distress guarantees it is ubiquitous in the American population, and probably in most other countries. Tracking TT is a way to monitor your digestion process and spot possible problems. TT is different for everyone but averages 36 hours.
Your TT should remain relatively consistent for you.
Daisy-Chaining:
There are several daisy-chained steps in TT, and each segment can be timed. You can find this information online or in textbooks. For our purposes, though, we’re looking for an overall event time that, when significantly altered, should be considered a warning sign.
So…
Let’s get your Gastrointestinal Transit Time.
Before we go any further into your TT, let’s talk about measuring it. This is a simple thing to do, and you should do it quarterly.
You will be doing this measurement three times in a row and taking the average. Each measurement could take several days – it depends. TT varies for different people and can depend on outside factors – changing your diet, for example. We will get into this and more later, but let’s get the measuring done for now.
[Note: if you are suffering from a digestive disorder, this test might return useless information. For those of you with “normal” digestion, it will work quite well. Also, note that this test is informal and is not a substitute for a clinical evaluation.]
Follow your usual diet, and don’t make any changes to your eating habits.
- First thing in the morning (Day 1), swallow four tablespoons of canned corn. Resist the urge to chew the corn; you can take it in small amounts chasing it with some water. Record the date and time (very important).
- Monitor your stools looking for corn. When it comes out, record the date and time (very important).
- The next morning, swallow more corn and repeat the cycle.
- Repeat the cycle one more time.
- Add up all your TT hours and divide the sum by 3.
- You now have a pretty reliable approximation of your TT.
Repeat this evaluation every three months.
As time goes by, a pattern will emerge, and you will have good information about the relative efficiency of your digestive system.
Keep in mind there is no “right time” for digestion to complete its cycle. Each OMY will have their own right time. Once you have a good idea of your TT, you can identify different patterns. Radical changes in TT warrant seeing your PHP.
Constipation and diarrhea are not normal, and if they continue for more than a few days or if they happen off and on, it’s worth a trip to your PHP.
Regular is good.
Regular and predictable bowel movements are characteristic of good health. TT is not as important as its predictability – when the predictability aspect of TT goes awry and becomes unpredictable, it is an indication that something is wrong, and you should seek expert medical advice.
Fiber is good.
By and large, Americans don’t get enough fiber in their diet. This usually comes from not consuming enough fiber-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, and legumes.
Junk food has almost no fiber (except for salads — maybe). Meat has no fiber, and white flour-based foods have very little, if any. If this describes what you’re eating, you will do well to incorporate more fiber into your meals.
Fiber-rich foods can resolve a lot of digestive problems and stabilize your TT. It’s easy to look up high-fiber foods on the internet and fold them into your diet.
Question: how much fiber do you need? Well, most credible sources say 25 grams of fiber per day. As for myself, I shoot for 40 grams per day.
A personal decision:
It’s only common sense that fiber consumption is different for everyone. People come in different sizes and have different TTs. Here’s a rule, you probably can’t get too much fiber, but you can certainly get too little. This rule makes sense because there is no “right” amount of fiber.
Fiber is your “feel good” friend.
OMYs all know how satisfying it feels to have a substantial bowel movement. There’s a good reason for this. Your body is designed to break down food, absorb nutrients, turn the residues into waste, extract moisture, and expel this leftover mess from your body. Getting this right is a job well done. Why wouldn’t it feel good?
GET UP, TURN AROUND, AND SALUTE YOUR POOP.
The last step in our TT chain is poop. The remarkable process of turning food into poop is not given the respect it deserves – salute your poop and take a close look at what’s left in the toilet before you flush.
Poop can tell us a lot about what’s going on in our digestive process if we give it a look. Let’s go through the exam:
COLOR:
Healthy poop is brown. This brown color comes from the breakdown of red blood cells. Poop that is a tarry black is unhealthy, and if it persists, you should see your PHP – soon. A poop that is colorless, kind of like clay, would also merit a PHP visit if it persists. Poop can be other colors or even striped. Usually, these colors self-resolve, but if they are persistent, see your PHP.
SMELL:
Healthy poop has a characteristic odor. If this changes to a rotting or putrid smell or a solvent-like odor and stays this way, see your PHP. These odors might also be accompanied by color and consistency changes. These are warning signs.
CONSISTENCY:
Poop should be well-formed into cylindrical segments 4-5 inches long, and these should break up easily when you flush. This is healthy poop. Obviously, watery poop happens on occasion but usually clears up in a day or two. Long-term diarrhea is not normal, and you should see your PHP. An obstruction can cause skinny rope-like poop, and when it persists, see your PHP – ASAP.
(Note that consistency applies to your TT as well.)
Hammer turds:
Finally, let’s talk about hard poop “hammer-turds” – HTs. These do not break up when flushed and can be quite long. They can also be streaked with blood. You will see blood on the toilet paper when you wipe. HTs are a common cause of hemorrhoids.
Although HTs don’t necessarily indicate serious issues, they can cause problems on their own. HTs wreak havoc on your TT, disrupting this chain of healthy events. This is bad enough, but there’s more.
Everyone gets HTs once in a while, and they can be more than just a literal pain in the ass. In addition to disrupting your TT, they can cause fecal backups, bloating, and tears. They can trigger infections in the rectum and the fragile tissues in the anus. Sometimes HTs cause medical emergencies (like an impacted colon). If you have HTs often, you need to discuss them with your PHP.
Things you can do about HTs on your own.
- Drink more water in the morning when you get out of bed – it’s better to drink very warm tap water – no such thing as too much water.
- Drink 8 ounces of magnesium citrate along with your morning water. Magnesium citrate helps flood water into the colon and rectum.
- Incorporate more fiber into your diet. This usually means leafy or crunchy vegetables at each meal – nuts and beans are also good. You can also have a teaspoon of psyllium husks with each meal (stir this in a glass of warm water or mix it into your food, DO NOT try to swallow it dry). HTs are dense and thus hard. Fiber makes them less dense and softer.
- Get completely off junk food – this is food with no fiber – perfect food if you want more HTs.
- Ask your PHP for a prescription stool softener if HTs continue.
- Stop using laxatives unless recommended by your PHP. In the long term, laxatives worsen the problem by creating dependency.
Give your body time.
It might take a while for your body to clear out the HTs. #’s 1 and 2 above will work quickly (stop the magnesium citrate once the HTs are gone). #’s 3 and 4 are long-term solutions that you need to stay with from now on.
HTs are not normal and usually reflect a lack of dietary fiber and fluids. If HTs become a continuing problem after you fully adopt a high-fiber habit, and quit junk food, see your PHP.
Keep a sharp eye on your digestion.
Digestion is a delicate and well-coordinated chain of events. Digestion of food is time and energy-consuming and, aside from thinking, is mostly what our body does all day. Digesting food needs to be given its due. Tracking TT is an overall check on digestion. Interruptions and irregularities in TTs are a red flag.
Reliable TT and healthy poop are markers of good health. Monitoring and managing these are an OMY obligation.
TT information is especially important when meeting with your PHP.
In America, we have “Months” for this and “Months” for that. I would like to see a “Gastrointestinal Appreciation Month.”
OMY1
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