As an integrative pediatric neurologist, I’m often the first doctor to have even asked about their child’s stool, so parents are genuinely shocked by the suggestion that it might hold secrets to the problems in their bodies and brains. If your child has a healthy gut and digestion, here’s generally what you should notice: Your child poops at least once a day, and it should take under 5 to 10 minutes between entering to exiting the bathroom (of course, bringing a book or a device might artificially increase toilet time). The stool should come out easily, without strain or pain, be brown and shaped like a tube or banana, and clean up easily. It should flush easily — no clogging the toilet or sticking to the basin. And while there may be an odor for a short period of time, it shouldn’t linger for long after the toilet is flushed. Gas, burps, and stomachaches should be minimal. What else should you know? Here are a few common examples of what your child’s stool might be telling you about their health, and a few easy ways to respond: What to do: Try to set aside ample time for peaceful meals that encourage better digestion. To safely stimulate acid, I often recommend is with a good quality, gentle bitter tonic to my patients, which stimulates stomach acid production to aid digestion, among other benefits. Of course you may want to speak with your medical practitioner before trying this treatment. Constipation can be caused by many culprits. It can be a manifestation of food reactivity (such as dairy or gluten). It could also be from eating too many processed foods, and not enough fresh produce (especially vegetables) or unprocessed grains (less bread, cereal, and crackers and more quinoa, unprocessed oatmeal, and sprouted rice). Or, it can be caused by chronic stress, as movement of the digestive tract is shut down by the fight-or-flight response. What to do: To treat constipation, keep careful track of your child’s stool habits and note any foods that may be interfering with healthy digestion. Triphala (an ayurvedic combination of three fruits) and probiotics (beneficial bacteria) may also help. What to do: These symptoms may also indicate that gut flora is significantly out of balance, so incorporating foods naturally rich in beneficial bacteria like fermented cucumbers or sauerkraut or kefir may help. The gallbladder normally adjusts to more fat in the diet by increasing production of bile, which binds fat and helps it to be absorbed. Without enough bile, fat ends up in the stool, making it float and glisten. What to do: I often recommend dandelion root tea as a beverage or in soup to help stimulate bile production and release, and it may help the body absorb fat more efficiently. Photo credit: Tanya Malott
