The number of times you go to the bathroom may indicate chronic diseases

A new study has shown that the number of visits to the bathroom daily may indicate chronic diseases, such as Parkinson's and chronic kidney disease, according to the American CNN network.

The study, published in the medical journal Cell Reports Medicine, revealed that bowel movement (the number of times you go to the bathroom) affects the gut microbiome, and increases the risk of chronic diseases such as Parkinson's disease and chronic kidney disease.

According to the study, people who use the bathroom once or twice a day have a gut microbiome rich in beneficial bacteria, compared to people who suffer from diarrhea or constipation, who may have a gut microbiome that is harmful to health.

The researchers noted that these results provide “preliminary support for a causal link between intestinal motility, intestinal microbial metabolism, and organ damage.”

The British newspaper "The Guardian" reported that a team of researchers has been able to discover the main driver of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and many other immune disorders that affect the liver, arteries and spine, which has increased hopes of recovery for millions of patients in the world.

The network quoted the study's senior author, Sean Gibbons, who lost family members to Parkinson's disease, as saying: "Many people who suffer from chronic diseases, including Parkinson's and chronic kidney disease, report suffering from constipation for years before diagnosis."

“However, it is unclear whether these disturbances in bowel movements are drivers of the disease or merely a consequence of it,” added Gibbons, an assistant professor at the Institute for Systematic Biology in Seattle, Washington.

The study included an analysis of health and lifestyle data from more than 1,400 healthy adults who agreed to provide blood and stool samples.

According to the network, the researchers noted a correlation between different bowel movements and the levels of several metabolites in the blood and blood plasma chemistry, as they found that protein fermentation products in the intestine, which are known to cause kidney damage, were high in participants suffering from constipation.

Blood plasma chemistry linked to liver damage was also higher in people with diarrhea, who also showed higher levels of inflammation.

A recent study revealed that diets high in sodium can have a harmful effect on the “gut microbiome,” which helps digest foods, provide energy to the body and absorb nutrients, according to the Washington Post.
CNN quoted Kyle Staller, director of the Digestive Motility Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard University, as saying: “What interests me about this study is that we have known for a long time that there is an association between constipation and chronic kidney disease, but "Potential mechanisms were not well understood."

However, Staller said the study "does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship" and that more research is needed to confirm these findings, noting that the number of bathroom visits is not the best measure of bowel function.

He added: "We know that the normal frequency of defecation ranges from three times a week to three times a day, but the best measure of how quickly things move through the intestines is the shape of the stool."

Source: CNN + The Guardian