Controlling your ... umm... s***

Okay, I’m going to be accused of obsession like Kellogg in ‘The Road to Wellville’

Starting point: This list has been around on the 'net, e-mail etc…:

http://www-und.ida.liu.se/~andbr000/Humor/shit_list.html

Humor aside, it gives rise to a question:

Is it possible for human beings to, through diet and other means (NOT drugs or chemicals) to control/influence the characteristics (texture, odor, etc.) of their umm elimination?

How can we guarantee we have ‘teflon coated s***’ more often than not?

And would it be better for our health to do so?

Different foods will cause your s*** to have different consistancies. A close personal friend of mine swears that Feta Cheese hardens his poop. Also the greasier the food you it the more likely you are to have a bout of the Hershey squirts :smiley:

Welcome the the SDMB born2run

and you get the grand prize for the best combination of UserName and OP Subject Line for a First Post!!!
Oh, the OP … I dunno, I suppose so, but have no clue.

There is the medically recommended combination of rice and bananas (not necessarily at the same sitting – but in relatively close succession) that will give you gentle, firm and complete… shall we say… movements. Very satisfying, I can attest.

More details! A serving of each daily? Any literature on this?

People’s intestines vary so there is no tried & true formula. Olean, that fake fat, has some interesting posts here though.

Apropos of little, I’d just like to recommend the book I just finished re-reading, How to Shit in the Woods : An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art by Kathleen Meyer. In addition to tips and techniques for the shitting camper, kayaker, and ourdoorsman, Ms. Meyer provides a sound discussion of shit in general, including a good etymology of the word itself.

Of course you can affect your elimination through diet.

The tried and true diet for children suffering from diarrhea is the “BRAT” diet-bananas, rice, applesauce, and (dry) toast. These foods will indeed tend to firm things up.

For people with the opposite problem, increasing the amount of fiber and fresh fruits/vegetables and making sure you are well hydrated will tend to make things move more easily.

Interestingly, while I find that the “greasy food equals intestinal difficulties” formula is generally true, I found that when my oldest was a toddler, an inadequate amount of fat in her diet would tend to cause diarrhea. Limiting her fruit and juice and sneaking butter under the cream cheese on her toast helped keep her healthy.

For all fecal-related matters: http://www.heptune.com/poop.html
And while you’re at it: http://www.heptune.com/farts.html

Cecil should use them the next time he gets a question of this nature.

It would be cool if you could eat just right so you wouldn’t have to poop however, you would still have to because of billirubin.

OK, I knew I’d end up posting this someday.
Although there are other books on the subject of poop, the best one I’ve come across is Dan Sabbath’s End Product http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/091635475X/qid=997972479/sr=1-4/ref=sc_b_4/002-3935201-6616815

It’s out of print and Amazon doesn’t really have anything on it. I found my copy in a used book store. I was amazed that anyone would write so detailed a book on the topic. There are people interested in any damned thing. But then again, I bought the book.

If you can find a copy, it will answer your questions.

… because that would be both unrealistic and probably unhealthy. I’m just wondering if those rather pleasant ‘Teflon coated’ experiences (which I have about once every 6 to 12 weeks) could be made to happen more often, and the less pleasant varieties reduced or (um) eliminated…

~born2run (who chose his handle because of he’s a Springsteen fan, not 'cos he has poop problems…), off to the grocery store to stock up on rice and bananas…

What’s the rule of thumb? Hard in, soft out. Soft in, hard out. Make sure you get enough fiber.