In case you’ve ever observed that constipation feels worse once you haven’t been ingesting sufficient fluids, that’s not a coincidence.
However once you’re dehydrated, your colon shifts into conservation mode, pulling much more water from stool because it passes via, in response to Rabia de Latour, MD, a therapeutic endoscopist and gastroenterologist who’s an assistant professor of drugs at NYU Grossman Faculty of Medication in New York Metropolis and an On a regular basis Well being medical reviewer.
“It’s the water regulator in your physique. If you’re dehydrated — since you ran a marathon otherwise you exercised and didn’t drink sufficient water — one of many first issues it can do is attempt to steal some water again from stool,” Dr. de Latour says. “So if anyone’s severely dehydrated and the colon absorbs plenty of water, [stool] can turn out to be dry and onerous like rabbit pellets.”
“Staying hydrated is so vital to have simple bowel actions as a result of it helps to maintain issues shifting,” says Amanda Sauceda, RD, a registered dietitian in Lengthy Seaside, California, targeted on intestine well being. “In case you’re all the time dehydrated, that can present up with tougher stools otherwise you’ll end up pooping much less typically,” she says.
