Being part of Western civilization with its modern toilets means you aren’t pooping in the proper manner. This is because you sit down to poop.
Well, research has proven that you have been pooping wrong your whole life, especially if you are using the fancy, sit-down toilets.
Such toilets do not allow the “hatch” to open all the way, which in turn puts strain on the colon that stores waste from the small intestine. The waste is moved by the colon using rhythmic muscular contractions. The sitting position interrupts the flow, causing the waste product to “cement” to the colon wall.
The sitting position also increases the risk of hernias, constipation, hemorrhoids, inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer and diverticulitis.
On the other hand, the squatting position is the perfect posture for defecation. In this position, the guts straighten out, leaving you to do the job in comfort.
A 2002 study published in the Archives of Iranian Medicine compared the effectiveness of sitting versus squatting for evacuation using 30 healthy subjects (21 males and nine females ranging in age from 11 to 75 years). Researchers found that the subjects who used squat toilets reported “complete” evacuation
The study shows that when using the squat method, puborectalis relaxation occurred easily and straightening of the rectum and anal canal facilitated evacuation. The anal canal became wide open and no folding was noticed in the terminal rectum.
On the other hand, in the sitting position, a remarkable folding was created in the terminal rectum and puborectalis relaxation was incomplete. The subjects reported that elimination felt “incomplete” in the sitting position.
Another study published in 2003 in Digestive Diseases and Sciences reports that squatting to poop was the “most satisfactory”.
The study compared the straining during defecation in three positions – sitting on a standard toilet seat (41 to 42 cm high), sitting on a lower toilet seat (31 to 32 cm high) and squatting.
Twenty-eight volunteers with normal bowel function were asked to use a digital timer to record the net time needed for sensation of satisfactory emptying while defecating. A total of six consecutive bowel movements were recorded in each position.
