It might seem odd to check your child’s stool, but it is a great indicator of what’s going on inside their bodies. Poop reflects your child’s internal health and gives you clues as to what imbalances or deficiencies may be present.
An ideal BOWEL MOVEMENT should be at least once daily (preferably 3 times a day!), it feels easy to pass, is well-formed (not too hard, not too soft) and is medium-brown in color. Preferably there is no undigested food, no blood or mucus.
Food particles in the stool mean that the food eaten is not being properly digested and its nutrients are not well absorbed. Reasons for this could be low stomach acid and/or digestive enzymes, food intolerance or simply your child not chewing food enough.
Be sure your child is not in a rush when eating and that they have the time to sit down and thoroughly chew and digest food. Additionally, investigating food intolerances with a blood test would be a beneficial next step as well as supporting your child’s enzymatic digestion with lemon water and/or digestive enzymes.
Stool that floats and often has a sheen means that there is fat in the stool and that your child is not properly digesting and absorbing fat. A digestive system that doesn’t have enough enzymes or bile acid being secreted is generally the cause of this. Dandelion root tea and digestive enzymes can help support the gall bladder and digestive organs to stimulate bile secretion; however, if this doesn’t resolve, it would be advantageous to look further at digestive function.
Often described as diarrhea, loose stools can be scary for parents. Similar to constipation, there are many different causes of diarrhea so it is imperative to find the cause before immediately treating or stopping it. Some common causes of diarrhea in kids are an infection, food intolerances, stress or food simply moving through the body too quickly. Some simple ways to support the digestive system at this time are to use probiotics, eat fiber-rich foods and if an infection is present, which would need to be confirmed via lab testing, an anti-microbial protocol mediated by a trained doctor will heal the infection naturally and safely.
Not all of these issues are cause for extreme concern or treatment, but if not understood, things could get worse. If you find anyone of these things in your child’s poop, it would be wise to address the issue so that they can continue to develop healthily and optimally. Are you questioning what you see, do not hesitate to contact our office. We can set you up with a Discovery Call to answer your questions and determine if you are a good fit to work with our Naturopathic Medical Doctors.
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