# How often do Eskimos poop?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 9, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759 "2022-03-09T16:45:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/1 "2022-03-09T16:45:21Z")
How often do Eskimos poop?
Just wondering about the traditional diet; I assume they eat lots of meat, fish, and blubber and very little roughage.
---
### Author:  [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2022, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/2 "2022-03-09T18:28:57Z")
For 2 1/2 years I strictly followed a diet that allowed only 30 carbs a day. I was a daily pooper before that diet and the same during (and after) that diet. No special efforts (extra water, laxatives etc) were necessary.
---
### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/3 "2022-03-09T18:47:58Z")
The joys of studying Eskimo elimination:
> **[Stool samples from the Inuit of Nunavut: Study documents their 'gut microbiome'](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170110151357.htm)**
>
> Since 2012, doctoral student Catherine Girard has collected stool samples from the Inuit of Nunavut. In a new study, she documents for the first time their 'gut microbiome' -- with surprising results.
> [@](#):
>
> Way up north in Resolute Bay, an Arctic hamlet of less than 300 people in Nunavut, the locals are used to seeing Catherine Girard.
>
> The Université de Montréal student of environmental biology has flown in every summer since 2010 to research the diet and health of the local Inuit population.
>
> By 2012, after undergraduate work on aquatic mercury, she narrowed down her PhD subject to analyzing “gut microbiome,” the bacteria in people’s digestive tracts.
>
> And to do that, she had to collect stool samples.
>
> Her findings, published in early January in the American Society for Microbiology journal mSphere, mark the first time that Inuit microbiome has been described.
>
> **‘Weird and gross and embarrassing’**
>
> "I got to know people up there very well over the years, said Girard, 28.
>
> “And they did me a big favour by welcoming me into their community and then doing this weird and gross and embarrassing thing for me.”
>
> She started out low-key. Helped by a local guide and interpreter – essential to her work – Girard pitching her project in as polite terms as possible.
>
> “I tried to keep it casual. We’d joke a lot about me being ‘the poop lady’ and stuff, and people would generally burst out laughing,” she recalled.
>
> Asked to donate a stool sample, “they’d say yes or no immediately. Either they’d be grossed out by the idea or think it was hilarious and want to see what’s in their poop.”
---
### Author:  [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2022, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/4 "2022-03-09T18:50:15Z")
> [@2\_More\_Bits](#):
>
> For 2 1/2 years I strictly followed a diet that allowed only 30 carbs a day.
Jeez, I misread that at first and thought you said 30 _calories_ a day. I was like, “How are you still alive?”
---
### Author:  [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2022, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/5 "2022-03-09T19:24:18Z")
FWIW ( it’s anecdotal ) some of my acquaintances where I work got into this low carb diet thing. It was like a fad that swept through the place.
They all eventually quit the regimen and said the same thing to me, and I’ll paraphrase:
“Yeah I _was_ losing weight…but I couldn’t sh\*t”.
---
### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2022, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/6 "2022-03-09T20:46:38Z")
When I was doing low carbs, flax seeds helped me to poop.
---
### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2022, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/7 "2022-03-10T18:46:06Z")
Not directly relevant, but I’m looking for an excuse to share this fun paper. I can view it so I assume it’s open access. 2020 Ig Nobel Materials Science winner.
[Experimental replication shows knives manufactured from frozen human feces do not work](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X19305371?via%3Dihub)
The supplemental material has images and it’s not as gross as you’d expect!
Not a lot of data points, but one author went on a protein-heavy diet and one on a western diet. 3 times in one day. To actually answer the question, you’d need a baseline from each participant.
---
### Author:  [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2022, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/8 "2022-03-10T19:17:44Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#):
>
> Not a lot of data points, but one author went on a protein-heavy diet and one on a western diet. 3 times in one day.
Did they eat the three meals before or after the diet?
PS: I have an idea for tabulating the calory content of feaces in relation to diets and slimming that I hope gets me an Ig-Nobel mention some day, if I ever find anyone willing to perform it. Feel free to PM me if you have a suggestion.
---
### Author:  [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2022, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/9 "2022-03-10T23:20:12Z")
Yeah, but Mythbusters Adam Savage proved you can [polish a turd](https://youtu.be/yiJ9fy1qSFI).
---
### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/10 "2022-03-10T23:32:56Z")
Sorry, to clarify one one day he pooped 3 times but usually. Technically “collected” and could’ve potentially skipped collection, but I assume not. There’s a word doc towards the bottom with a list, but don’t expect thorough rigor.
---
### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2022, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/11 "2022-03-10T23:44:00Z")
The traditional Inuit diet does include many meat and fish sources, but it also includes, berries, grasses, tubers and seaweed.
---
### Author:  [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2022, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/12 "2022-03-11T03:58:31Z")
Some people poop three times a day and others three times a week. A third of the nerves in your body supply the gut. Diet is a factor, but this probably depends on season, preference, stress, age and proximity to town. I suspect people everywhere are less different than sometimes supposed.
---
### Author:  [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2022, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/13 "2022-03-11T04:12:08Z")
> [@BrickBat](#):
>
> “Yeah I _was_ losing weight…but I couldn’t sh\*t”.
Most vegetables are low carb and high fiber - sounds like they were just eating meat and cheese.
---
### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2022, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/14 "2022-03-11T16:05:46Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#):
>
> Not directly relevant, but I’m looking for an excuse to share this fun paper. I can view it so I assume it’s open access. 2020 Ig Nobel Materials Science winner.
You could have posted it here:
> [@Eskimo Shit Knife--fact or fantasy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eskimo-shit-knife-fact-or-fantasy/790696):
>
> Besides being an excellent name for a band, what do you think the likelihood that [it](https://www.google.com/#q=eskimo+shit+knife) actually happened, and would work?
---
### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/15 "2022-03-11T16:18:53Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#):
>
> You could have posted it here:
So if someone says “This knife is shit”, it might simply be a statement of fact, rather than a critical evaluation?
---
### Author:  [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2022, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/16 "2022-03-13T02:49:22Z")
> [@BrickBat](#):
>
> FWIW ( it’s anecdotal ) some of my acquaintances where I work got into this low carb diet thing. It was like a fad that swept through the place.
>
> They all eventually quit the regimen and said the same thing to me, and I’ll paraphrase:
>
> “Yeah I _was_ losing weight…but I couldn’t sh\*t”.
On January 2, 1997 I started the Atkins Diet. I stopped on September 21, 2000. My weight loss hovered between 45-55 pounds.
Metamucil was my friend. That and an amazing amount of water/ clear fluids every day. Coupled with Tae Kwon Do 2-3 times a week, the weight stayed off and my bloodwork was about as good as it had ever been.
I miss those days. AND that body !!! 😕
---
### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2022, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-eskimos-poop/960759/17 "2022-03-13T03:01:57Z")
Eskimo do eat berries, etc, and often the contents of reindeer stomachs. Not to mention lots of fat moves your bowels quite nicely.
> **[The Inuit Paradox](https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/the-inuit-paradox)**
>
> How can people who gorge on fat and rarely see a vegetable be so healthy?