# What's the Large Intestine Good For? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 15, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131 "2018-06-15T01:46:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RichardSRussell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/47e85d/32.png) [@RichardSRussell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RichardSRussell)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/1 "2018-06-15T01:46:01Z")
Why do we have a large intestine? The stomach and small intestine do most of the work of extracting nutrients from whatever we eat, leaving the (ahem) residue to be stored in the large intestine until we can find a convenient time and place to offload it. That certainly works well in the modern era of indoor plumbing, so yay for that, but what survival advantage did it impart during the millions of years of mammalian evolution to have to carry a load of crap around with us wherever we went? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/2 "2018-06-15T01:50:30Z")
Water is extracted from whatever passes through it. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/3 "2018-06-15T02:02:31Z")
To follow up on what **Joey P** said, the colon removes water from your digestive slurry exiting the small intestines. This is important, for at least a couple of reasons: it saves you from having to intake even more water than we do to stay hydrated, and it reduces the residue from our scat, which presumably is a positive survival trait. In addition, the large intestines soak up a significant amount of vitamins from the _chyme_ (that slurry I talked about), many of which are the by-product of bacteria in your large intestine attacking the chyme. So it’s not accurate to think that all nutrients from digestion are absorbed by the small intestine. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/4 "2018-06-15T02:15:15Z")
In addition to the above, the colon contains large amounts of [flora](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora) which are increasingly recognized as important to health. > [@](#): > > Research suggests that the relationship between gut flora and humans is not merely commensal (a non-harmful coexistence), but rather is a mutualistic, symbiotic relationship.[10] Though people can survive with no gut flora,[29] the microorganisms perform a host of useful functions, such as fermenting unused energy substrates, training the immune system via end products of metabolism like propionate and acetate, preventing growth of harmful species, regulating the development of the gut, producing vitamins for the host (such as biotin and vitamin K), and producing hormones to direct the host to store fats.[2] Extensive modification and imbalances of the gut microbiota and its microbiome or gene collection are associated with obesity.[34] However, in certain conditions, some species are thought to be capable of causing disease by causing infection or increasing cancer risk for the host.[9][28] ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/5 "2018-06-15T02:17:34Z")
The main nutrient absorbed in the colon is vitamin K, which we do get from our diet but most of it is manufactured by colon bacteria. It does lots of other things too. > **[Large intestine | Variation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_intestine#Variation)** > > One variation on the normal anatomy of the colon occurs when extra loops form, resulting in a colon that is up to five metres longer than normal. This condition, referred to as redundant colon, typically has no direct major health consequences, though rarely volvulus occurs, resulting in obstruction and requiring immediate medical attention. A significant indirect health consequence is that use of a standard adult colonoscope is difficult and in some cases impossible when a redundant colo ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/6 "2018-06-15T02:25:12Z")
:smack: ignorance fought, here:D Thanx. I didn’t even know I missed that week of health class. ---
**Author:** ![Delicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@Delicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delicious)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/7 "2018-06-15T07:31:06Z")
It can also make a stylish scarf that is guaranteed to cause a stir, even in the fanciest of restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/8 "2018-06-15T08:42:04Z")
> [@Delicious](#): > > It can also make a stylish scarf that is guaranteed to cause a stir, even in the fanciest of restaurants. Does one leave it attached to the small intestine? I wish to avoid a serious social faux pas whilst dining. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/9 "2018-06-15T09:39:50Z")
> [@Dereknocue67](#): > > Does one leave it attached to the small intestine? I wish to avoid a serious social faux pas whilst dining. Yeah, get it wrong and you could be in deep… trouble. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/10 "2018-06-15T09:59:57Z")
Soylent Green Summer Sausage ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/11 "2018-06-15T10:55:30Z")
So when one gets diarrhea, does that mean the LI isn’t doing its job? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/12 "2018-06-15T11:55:36Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > So when one gets diarrhea, does that mean the LI isn’t doing its job? There are small bowel diarrheas (enteritis) and large bowel diarrheas (colitis). Things get broken down further by the mechanism (for example secretory). ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/13 "2018-06-15T11:57:02Z")
Sounds like a bunch of shit to me. ---
**Author:** ![Textual\_Innuendo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@Textual\_Innuendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Textual_Innuendo)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/14 "2018-06-15T12:16:29Z")
> [@Delicious](#): > > It can also make a stylish scarf that is guaranteed to cause a stir, even in the fanciest of restaurants. Fashion! This guy gets it, right down to the sublime nuances and details. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/15 "2018-06-15T13:42:34Z")
The colon has a vital role in supporting supplement pushers and other woo promoters who make $$$ convincing people that it’s full of toxins and must be “detoxified”. Beware: [“death begins in the colon”](http://jonbarron.org/article/death-begins-colon)\*. :eek::eek::eek::smack: Reminds me of the pioneering quack who said one vital purpose of the spine was to support the chiropractor. \*favorite line in the article: “the colon cleanse program is not all roses and sunshine”. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/16 "2018-06-15T15:58:41Z")
Without your intestines you’d be unable to digest. [Then you’d look a bit of a fool, wouldn’t you?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn08cA5zNAI) ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/17 "2018-06-15T20:42:59Z")
And in pigs, they are good for chitterlings (for certain definitions of “good”). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/18 "2018-06-15T20:46:39Z")
o/` GUT! Huh! Good god, y'all! What is it good for?! o/` ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-large-intestine-good-for/816131/19 "2018-06-15T23:50:57Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > o/` GUT! Huh! Good god, y'all! What is it good for?! o/` I wonder if ZDoggMD has ever done this as a parody. > **[ZDoggMD (Dr. Zubin Damania)](https://zdoggmd.com/)** > > Join the Movement to build Health 3.0.