Stool Tracking: In Search Of The Perfect Poop

One more thing you don’t want to talk about at the Thanksgiving table: stool tracking. That’s right, the careful consideration of the color, shape and consistency of the product of your bowel movements. Maybe you do it; maybe you don’t. Nobody’s asking, but those who do might appreciate a helpful reference chart that, as reported by National Public Radio, was first published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology in 1997.  A handsome wall hanging, the chart classifies stool into seven types, using  shapes like snakes and sausages, and it is recommended by the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research as a reliable guide for identifying irritable bowel syndrome. According to GP Notebook, a medical reference website, “types 1 and 2 indicate constipation, with 3 and 4 being the “ideal stools” especially the latter, as they are the easiest to pass, and 5-7 being further tending towards diarrhea or urgency.” Anyone thinking the chart might make a nice holiday gift for the person who has almost everything? Buy one here.